Even in idealistic settings like Star Trek, you still have divisions and unification based wholly on race. Even in the federation, one of the things people learn is how to deal with "different" races because some races are more aggressive than others or handle insults differently etc... No one tries to pretend differences between races don't exist.
Race seems to be one of those things we implicitly understand to be a cause of unification or division, yet if one considers this reality in our culture, you're immediately labelled a racist.
The conservative ideal of race neutrality, as in we can just pretend race is a social construct and treat everyone the same, is a denial of reality. The liberal ideal of all races being equal, as in any differences is due to racism, is also a denial of reality.
Can we not just accept that races exist, they are different and then adapt our society toward this?
My guess is when the Romulans show up we will all unite, because you know what happens when they come to town...
Isn't the backstory of the Romulans that they were once Vulcans but then split off? Who says all of Earth ever unites. We could have our own Romulans and Vulcans like Americans and Chinese.
Yep, probably something about whether shoulder pads were appropriate military dress :)
I don't see why the earth should unite, peacefully coexist is probably better don't you think?
Unite tends to create monsters like the EU.