"Well, there is at least one person out there who disagrees with Cruz's assessment -- and that's Capt. Frickin' Kirk himself."
No, dumbass (and to be clear, I'm calling the author a dumbass, not you, ZiprHead). Capt. Frickin' Kirk himself is a fictional character. Actors are not actually the rolls they play.
Roles*
Anyway, here's what Shatner said:
Star Trek wasn't political. I'm not political; I can't even vote in the US. So to put a geocentric label on interstellar characters is silly
While there is the obvious problem of Shatner appearing to conflate his personal views with those of the iconic character he portrayed, I wouldn't go so far as to say "dumbass".
I think that, after the director or the writer, the actor playing the part probably has the most insight into the character. On a television series, the actor may even know the character better than anyone, if there's any churn at the writer's table or in the director's chair.
So despite his unfortunate mixing of the personal and the professional, I would consider William Shatner to be perhaps the only remaining authority in the world, on the values and politics of James T. Kirk.
And I think his closing remark is extremely important: "to put a geocentric label on interstellar characters is silly". I'm glad that, having been dragged into a politician's silliness, Shatner chose to explicitly recuse himself from the debate.
Kirk's not political. Shatner's not political. Stop being silly.
I can support such a position.
