The Prime Directive makes no sense
The episodes that bring 'moral dilemmas' because of The Prime Directive are pretty laughable.
Why?
First of all, they pretty much ALWAYS break the prime directive. Consequences? Happy ending! Err.. so why not just remove the prime directive, if there are never eny alarming consequences for breaking it? Heck, they can MEMORY WIPE, so what's the problem?
Secondly, they should have been TRAINED before sending people into space. Trained to understand ALL these ethical, moral, etc. dilemmas about prime directive. They should have gone through RIGOROUS testing and training about ALL KINDS of moral and ethical dilemmas about the prime directive and other things, before sending people to 'rescue a dying child, let's all cry and sing cumbaya while memorywiping her and doing the 'human thing' by violating the PRIME directive again and again'..
I mean, seriously, the prime directive would never bring any moral or ethical dilemmas, if the people were trained properly and HAD THESE TALKS LONG BEFORE BEING SENT TO ACTUAL SITUATIONS!
One of the worst things is that DEATH is somehow seen as 'a bad thing to avoid at all costs'. Yet, it's a perfectly natural, normal thing that happens to everyone regardless.
At the same time, no one really ever dies, only the bodies do. A body dies, you do not. You are not your body.
This is one of the biggest obstacles to the prime directive, and people should have been informed how souls work - but then, this show is atheistic-nihilistic and physical science-worshipping, so the only spiritual viewpoint allowed is some tribal ooga booga-stuff that we can laugh at, oh, so easily.
People should NOT fear death. Not their own, not a stupid kid's.
It is called PRIME for a reason, it should surpass every other directive and rule. Your 'emotional humanity' should NOT be able to supercede it, OR it will always do just that, as indeed happens in the show.
So it's exactly because of this nihilistic, materialistic, atheistic worldview, that does not allow spiritual life, spirits, souls or any kind of understanding of death as a normal thing, that makes people panicky if some kid is going to die on some forsaken rock.
Why is DATA so emotional about it anyway? He should be with me on this.
In any case, if 'rescuing someone from death' trumps the PRIME directive, then it should not called prime directive, it should be called 'secondary thought that you can remember if you want to bother with that kind of stuff'. It should be called 'a lazy rule that you should almost never bother to follow' or something.
If there is such a thing as 'The Prime Directive', its importance should be underlined with HEAVY consequences for violating it, and people should be trained extremely well so they understand and obey it at all and any circumstances.
This show is trying to have it be important AND non-important when it suits the 'humanity' aspect. It's as if the creators of the directive NEVER thought that some crying kid might be in danger on some planet, and they might... GASP!! ... DIE!
It's just so ridiculous and childish, AS IF these discussions would not have taken place LONG BEFORE implementing such a directive! Are they all just happily agreeing with it unless it interferes with some kind of emotional value, and THEN they can say no to it?
If the crew understood souls, and that death is NOT A BAD THING, they could actually OBEY that gosh-darned directive.
It's exactly this nihilistic, materialistic, narrow-minded 'death is a bad thing' kind of panic that LEADS to breaking of the prime directive.
I would almost say that such a directive can NOT exist without people understanding how life, souls and death work. Death is not a bad thing, it does not end life, so it's all good. Let people die. They would anyway, and from a larger, eternity-perspective, everyone has already died, so what's the difference if they live in a physical body for more years? That body will get ill, feel uncomfortable and heavy, gets injured, tired and so on.
It's actually much better to live outside a physical body - just think about the MOST wonderful dreams you have ever experienced while your body was asleep.. just how much more fun was that compared to your dull everyday physical life moments?
In a more spiritual show, where souls and spirit are allowed, the prime directive would make more sense. Leave things in the hands of the Creator of the Universe, instead of meddling with primitive tribes just to 'save a life', which can't be done anyway. They might die quickly on a planet that goes supernova, while they would grow to some kind of mental anquish, agony, physical distress, injuries and fragile old age where everything hurts and they have alzheimer's...
Now, which destiny do you really want to prevent? Wouldn't following the directive be actually better for everyone?
As I said.. it makes no sense, and the reason is they abandoned the TRUE science in this show in favor of materialistic nihilism.