MORALE

I am the Mister Neelix of Pandemics

‘His function on this crew is diverse.’ 

That's what Seven of Nine said about you. 

Even our Borg understands how important you are on this ship. 

It's not just the duties you perform, it's the way you make people feel when you're around. 

“Well, you know, as men we’re taught not to not to feel pain and grief, as children. 

I remember seeing one of my boys, he was maybe about nine. 

He was hit in a basketball [game], maybe hit by the ball, and I saw him turn around and bend down and get control of his pain and his grief before he stood up again. 

That same boy would be so wonderful in being open to wounds and crying and so on when he was very small. 

But, you know, The Culture had said to him, “You cannot give way to that, you must turn around and when you must turn around; you must have a face without pain or grief in it,” right?

So therefore, as a son of an alcoholic, I received that. 

I mean, when you’re in an alcoholic family, you’re hired to be cheerful. 

That’s one of your jobs. 

You’re appointed that way. 

One is hired to be  Trickster, another I was hired to be cheerful, so that when anyone asked me about the family. 

I’d have to lie in a cheerful way and say, “Oh, it’s wonderful, yes, indeed, we have sheep, you know, and we have chickens, and everything’s wonderful.”

Well, then if you can deny something so fundamental as the deep grief in the whole family, you can deny anything. 

So then how can you write poetry, then, if you’re involved in that much denial? 

So the word denial was very helpful to me.

MOYERS: Did you resent your father? Did you feel -

BLY: No, I think that what happened was that as far as the grief goes, being appointed to be the cheerful one in the family, I would tend to follow a movement upward like this, hmm? 

More and more achievement, more and more and so on, hmm? 

That’s what you’d do. And finally you’d redeem the family’s name by doing this.

(Neelix enters with a tray.) 

NEELIX:

Time for refreshment. 

Ailis paté, Felada onion crisps, stuffed Cardaway leaves. Yum.

JANEWAY: 

I appreciate the thought, Neelix, 

but this is hardly the time.

NEELIX: 

As the morale officer on this ship, 

I insist that a break in the workload 

is both healthy and necessary. 

Go on, Mister Vulcan. It might even help you loosen up. Or not.

TUVOK: 

May I ask when you became morale officer?

NEELIX: 

Oh, just a few minutes ago when I sensed crew morale might be especially low.

Mine certainly was. 

We were in a free fall at the time.

KES: 

Cooking always helps Neelix to unwind.

NEELIX: 

Yes, and after we stabilised, I certainly needed to unwind.

So, it seemed to me, I had a choice to either come up here and say I told you so -

PARIS: 

No.

NEELIX: 

Or to try to do something constructive to help out in my own humble manner. 

Try the stuffed Cardaway leaves. 

They're irresistible. 

(Janeway takes one.) 

NEELIX: 

Now, as your new morale officer, I thought it might be fun for us all to sing a few songs together.

JANEWAY: 

Don't push it, Neelix.