I agree with the others saying start with TNG season 1. Just know, some of the episodes are rough. They took a little while to find their feet. Check episode ratings on review sites, if you want to avoid the bad ones.
I've recently started getting a friend into Trek myself. They're more into DS9, because they've been seeing memes about the Bell Riots, so we've been taking it slow on the other series. We decided to do a Best Of for TNG to begin with. So far, we watched episodes 1 and 2, Encounter at Farpoint, as well as episode 12, Datalore. Then we skipped straight to season 2, and watched episodes 3, 8, 9, 16, and 21. We also watched episode 16, Samaritan Snare, but only because it's relevant to Star Trek: Lower Decks lol
I think Encounter at Farpoint is important for that hopeful view of the future that OP is looking for. It establishes what the Federation is as a power in the Alpha Quadrant, and also gives a nice basic moral hurdle for them to overcome. Plus, seeing Q's first appearance is kinda necessary imo
It's not just recent. MLK wrote about it in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, and he referenced some considerably older sources as well:
Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.
And in another section:
Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.
Humans are really good at normalizing things. It takes a lot to push someone from theoretical opposition to direct action. It's harder to get to that point for those not directly suffering the worst oppressions. Dr. King talks about that too.
Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
They can be configured for different medications on a single cartridge though, it seems like, so it must not be just medicine, but some kind of solution of components that the case can mix
Similarly, Voyager is my favorite, but it also has my absolute least favorite episode: the one where Kes goes into heat. I'm not going into any further details lol
Glass straws seem like a good option. I've got some re-useable ones, but I bet recycling them would be feasible. We already do it for glass bottles