I’ve always been more of a “Star Wars” guy, but I still have a deep appreciation for “Star Trek” and a soft spot for actor William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the popular sci-fi series. Nowadays, Shatner spends much of his time calling out progressive nonsense on social media, which brings us to his ridicule of the European Union and its new effort to promote equality among the genders.
If you’re reading this, chances are you have watched at least one episode of “Star Trek,” which means you are familiar with the opening line:
Space:
The final frontier.
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.
Its 5-year mission:
To explore strange new worlds,
To seek out new life and new civilizations,
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Well, it appears that last line is problematic because it uses the word “man,” and the EU plans to do something about it. The union recently unveiled a plan to revise gendered language, including the “Star Trek” intro. Shatner, in typical form, slammed the decision, accusing them of “presentism.”
Presentism at work yet again. Why start at Trek? Isn’t it better to start at the beginning and redo foundation material such as the Magna Carta, religious writings, works of Shakespeare before worrying about a silly TV show opening that reflects social commentary of the time? If people are offended by 6 seconds of dialogue recorded in 1966 without a modicum of understanding of the social issues at the time there’s bigger issues that they need to deal with first – like educating themselves.
😳👇🏻Presentism at work yet again. Why start at Trek? 🤨Isn’t it better to start at the beginning and redo foundation material such as the Magna Carta, religious writings, works of Shakespeare before worrying about a silly TV show opening that reflects social commentary of the… pic.twitter.com/P0okn5rYca
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) January 29, 2024
To provide more context, the European Institute for Gender Equality is behind this latest display of stupidity. The agency released a document recommending changes to various phrases and terms to supposedly make them more inclusive.
The phrase, made famous by Captain Kirk (William Shatner), has a red cross next to it in a 61-page toolkit on gender-sensitive communication.
EU agency the European Institute for Gender Equality calls it an example of “where women may be subject to invisibility or omission”.
World War One phrase “no man’s land” should be “unclaimed territory”, they say.
And, with inanimate objects, it is seen as discriminatory to say “the ship slipped her moorings”.
Shatner’s response to this silliness is hilarious but also on point. This is an example of “presentism,” which occurs when insane progressives apply current practices, norms, and values to interpret historical events or cultural mores.
Back in the day when “Star Trek” was created, it was normal to use the word “man” in the same way. But clearly, this did not mean only men traversed the uncharted areas of outer space. There were females on Kirk’s crew on the starship Enterprise. Indeed, in later iterations of “Star Trek,” women are featured prominently in the galactic escapades.
Of course, none of this matters to the virtue-signaling bureaucrats in the European Union — or to those in the United States.
