Genuinely one of my favorite things about TNG is how often they're just doing art for fun. Riker's been playing trombone since he was a kid and he really enjoys it and also he is Not Good. Dr. Crusher is stalking the halls trying to rope all her friends and acquaintances into joining her community theater productions and musical reviews even if they've never been on stage before. They're constantly going to their crewmates' music recitals and poetry readings, and some of these people are impressively good at what they do but some of them are just getting started or content to stay at beginner level. They're having fun! They don't have to be prodigies in order to be involved with art because engaging with art on whatever level has value of its own! THIS is what I want to see in my post-scarcity socialist space future. Will Riker's bad trombone playing is load-bearing, actually.
























