We conservatives tend to gripe about cultural degradation, and with good reason: with each passing day, our institutions lurch leftward, from our education system to our scientific establishment and yes, even America's pastime.  Yet pointing out society's shortcomings is only half of the culture war; it is of equal importance to emphatically celebrate triumphs of American society.  This week, Americans of all political stripes should unify in exalting the second successful space launch of Blue Origin, which notably included among its passengers 90-year-old actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame.

Under normal circumstances, the choice of Shatner as a civilian passenger on a space voyage would be a no-brainer.  Star Trek has, after all, captured the imagination of an adoring audience for over fifty years, predicting and inspiring the development of a wide range of technologies, from Bluetooth headphones to GPS.  The series has been intertwined with American space exploration. Who better, then, to represent civilians in space travel than Shatner, who portrayed the fearless Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise?  Origin Blue's decision to include Shatner in its voyage was an ingenious homage to the dominance of American ingenuity and American culture.

Alas, in today's woke era, no decision is straightforward.  Ours is a society that seeks to tear down and denigrate our past rather than exalt our heroes.  Once beloved figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are now ostracized, held to a modern standard of morality that no public figure could hope to achieve.  Despite being an extraordinarily progressive show for its time, even Star Trek is not immune to criticism, nor is its cast.  Indeed, William Shatner in particular has been taken to task by leftists for his willingness to attack progressives, demonstrated most famously in a series of 2017 tweets in which he raged against social justice warriors (SJWs).  He was attacked, for instance, as a "fascist" for asking, "Why is it that SJWs think they can align themselves with those that demanded social reform in the '60s?" during a Twitter debate.  In addition to not always toeing the line of left-wing political orthodoxy, Shatner is also the thing leftists hate most: a white, straight, elderly, wealthy male.  As such, it is something of a minor miracle that an angry Twitter mob did not fight to cancel Shatner's blastoff.

And yes, credit must also go to Jeff Bezos, owner of Blue Origin, despite the well-known liberal bias of his parent company Amazon.  He did not bow to a Twitter mob.  Nor did he submit to attacks on his space ventures from high-profile socialists such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).  Ocasio-Cortez angrily noted on Twitter that "[y]es, Amazon workers did pay for [Blue Origin space travel] — with lower wages, union-busting, a frenzied and inhumane workplace, and delivery drivers not having health insurance during a pandemic. And Amazon customers are paying for it with Amazon abusing their market power to hurt small business."  Such arguments are a far cry from the patriotic fervor that traditionally has surrounded the American space program, a legacy that has continued with ventures from private citizens including Bezos and Elon Musk.  Bezos, despite his liberal sensibilities, was undeterred.  Shatner, for his part, was exuberant.  "So now I can say something.  Yes, it's true; I'm going to be a 'rocket man!'" he tweeted when news of his voyage initially broke.

History was made this week, with Shatner earning the distinction of being the oldest person to travel to space.  The journey was made not without apprehension, as Shatner admitted: "I'm terrified. ... I'm Captain Kirk, and I'm terrified going to space.  You know, I'm not really terrified.  Yes, I am.  It comes and goes like a summer cold. ... You have three minutes to look into the abyss of space and the beauty of this oasis of Earth, and I was planning on pressing my nose against the window, you know?  And my only hope was I wouldn't see somebody else looking back."

Following his successful journey, the actor was more introspective.  He gushed to Bezos: "What you have given me is the most profound experience. ... I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened.  I just hope I never recover from this.  I hope I can maintain what I feel now — I don't want to lose it.  It's so much larger than me and life. ... It has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the suddenness of life and death.  Everybody in the world needs to do this.  It was so moving."

With that, a legendary actor in one of the most iconic American TV series of all time provided a unifying moment in which Americans, and all the world, could rejoice.  In a culture war in which victories are hard-fought and scarce, we should rejoice.

J. Allen Cartwright writes about the interplay of politics with cultural and scientific institutions.  He can be followed on Parler at @jallencartwright.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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