Halo, like Star Trek, thankfully exists in the same timeline (kinda sorta) that we live in today. The problem's we've faced in our past and today shape the universe and the stories told in these two great franchises.

What I think sets Halo apart from Star Trek, however, is that this universe takes humanity as it is rather than what we so desperately want it to become, a fact that I believe is greatly to its benefit. Star Trek's United Federation of Planets is a utopia of peace and tranquility overwhelmingly free from want. I find it very hard to believe that we can accomplish something so idyllic in a short two centuries when humans living today have yet to free themselves of its sins that have been around for thousands of years. Halo is primarily set 500 years in our future where humanity exists in the same light as we do today to great degree, and like ourselves, we've barely come close to eschewing all that separates 2014 from 500 years in our past.

Halo has immense potential to be a culturally influential franchise as long as the stories that drive it stay relevant and force us to ask questions merely than something to sit back and consume.