Today I read a new article in Variety about William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on screen for many years. His insights on space exploration were different than most others, and I think it would be an excellent read for all of you.
I had thought that going into space would be lthe ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things—that being up there would be the next beautiful step to understanding the harmony of the universe. In the film “Contact,” when Jodie Foster’s character goes to space and looks out into the heavens, she lets out an astonished whisper, “They should’ve sent a poet.” I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound.
William Shatner
The full Variety article is available here https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/william-shatner-space-boldly-go-excerpt-1235395113/