The Star Trek franchise is filled with dialogue that becomes more and more meaningful over time, and Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard has uttered more than his fair share of these iconic lines. When we boil them all down to only his most impactful quotes, there’s one that stands out for being more relevant than it ever has, even 35 years later. Despite being set in the 24th century, The Next Generation inevitably folds in social commentary from the ’80’s and ’90’s, which is when the franchise’s first live-action spin-off was in production.

​