Star Trek has been important to me for as long as I can remember in my life. I have grown up with Star Trek, and learned important life lessons from it. Over the years, Star Trek has guided me in the same way Religion guides people. It provides various lessons, parables, viewpoints I would not have otherwise considered, and ways to interpret the difficulties of the world around me. From lessons on how to enjoy life in times of adversity to how to process the death of a loved, Star Trek has provided me a lot of food for thought over the years.
I am under no delusion that the characters I have come to respect and identify with are real, but the combined wisdom of the writer's room in Star Trek over the years, and the novelists that have helped create a cohesive universe, have done a good job creating something bigger than any one person. They have created a universe that allows for interpretation of the modern world through the lens of a hopeful future that does not shy away from the problems of it's imperfect past. I believe, and there is ample evidence to support, that this was intentional. Gene Rodenberry himself has, and so many of the lead characters' actors over the years have, spoken in interviews about confronting modern political and social problems with storylines in the various Star Trek series. The people in the modern day that like to ask "When did Star Trek become political?" should not need to look very far before finding their answer: Late 1964 with the writing of the Cage and Captain Pike's discussion with Doctor Boyce about his insecurities as captain. Discussing themes of burnout, pressure of the job, and emotional processing in a time when that sort of thing was considered un-masculine. It showed an emotional captain dealing with issues of trauma. In Star Trek's first breaths, it discussed themes that were social and political commentary. They put a woman in the first officer position. Literally, in the first scenes ever written for Star Trek it tackled social commentary.
It misses the mark a lot of the time, to be sure, but it also has gems that can provide depth for interpetation of the world, and helping one understand oneself. Any fiction can do this, music can do this, a lot of things written by other humans can provide a depth and lens for understanding the self and the world around them in new ways. The various holy books of world religions are written by man, if inspired by their respective divinities. Star Trek has, even in its missteps, strived for a better and more just future.