Carl Sagan I think touched on what things like Star Trek are about.........
"The visions we offer our children shape the future. It matters what those visions are. Often they become self-fulfilling prophecies. Dreams are maps. "I do not think it irresponsible to portray even the direst futures; if we are to avoid them, we must understand that they are possible. But where are the alternatives? Where are the dreams that motivate and inspire? We long for realistic maps of a world we can be proud to give to our children. Where are the cartographers of human purpose? Where are the visions of hopeful futures, of technology as a tool for human betterment and not a gun on hair trigger pointed at our heads?". His answer is that "NASA, in its ordinary course of doing business, offers such a vision...."
Actually, Sagan wasn't very enamored with Star Trek, (or a lot of popular science fiction, for that matter), according to a chapter of "Broca's Brain".