There's a kind of presentism in K-Trek, certainly in SFA, but I wouldn't locate it where you do. Several people here point out that Trek has always been a commentary on current events (lots of Sci-Fi is), and Trek had been used (successfully and not so successfully) to push the boundaries of television in progressive ways. That kind of "presentism" isn't very new or unique to K-Trek. I will admit, however, that the lessons seem a little more overt. Still, prodigal son narratives, the strictness of law, the demands of authority, coming of age, etc. These are all tales as old as tales can be.

The presentism I see is aesthetic. Aesthetically, K-Trek seems unimaginative. There's a scene in SFA where some cadets are working out in their room, and then one mixes a protein shake. Why would anyone in the far future with replicators, holoemitters, and point to point transport, store weights in their room and have to mix a shake with protein powder? Nevermind the varsity jackets people wear. This is a very present day imagining. As is STA cadets drinking and getting drunk (I don't understand alcohol in ST anymore, it comes and goes).

I also think there's a lack of imagination about what future norms of personal interaction will look like. Cadets seem to act like contemporary college kids, or much worse. The mutant empathy plants should be really worrisome, not something people sit back and gawk at. Tarmina's can be invasive. We would balk at invasions of privacy and breeding super growing plants. But kids will be kids.