William Shatner and other Legacies

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen

Every once in a while, celebrities make remarks about their legacies and the public also gets involved for a spell. Perhaps we all want to be remembered. Most of us want to have a legacy that is kind to us, but others may strive for a legacy of crime and evil.

A song by Blue Öyster Cult titled "Goin' through the Motions" has several possible meanings, the most likely being about troubled relationships. It referenced earlier dreadful lyrics, but was a mite touching here:

To thee, I dedicate this photograph 

I'll even sign it "love to you" again

And when it's faded and forgotten in some book

You'll sometimes look...

A celebrity was important enough to someone to want an autograph, but the singer knew he would be mostly forgotten. Will we forget Bill Shatner?

Truth Jabs by Dan Lietha, used with permission (click for larger)

People probably know him from the Star Trek franchise and hosting The UnXplained documentary series, among other things. (They may also know what impressionists.have.done to make.his.speech seem jerky. Such acting characteristics were not typical of him or of James Tiberius Kirk.) But Shatner knows that he doesn't have long to live (having lived nine decades), and he wonders about his legacy. EDIT: I didn't realize that I had scheduled this to post on his 92nd birthday. Happy birthday, Bill!

Let's ride off on a side trail for a spell. Folks can be known internationally in this age of instant global communication and long-term archiving of web materials. Digitize your paper photos for storage because they get lost or faded and forgotten in some book. Hope your storage media don't fail. People can be local heroes or villains but have little impact on larger areas. Some get famous, but end up as items in reference material. I may be remembered for writing these here weblogs and initiating Question Evolution Day, but when I ring down the curtain and join the choir invisible, my internet work is gone. If I'm remembered at all, it will be a footnote in internet history. Just like so many others.

Back to the main trail now. Bill will be mostly forgotten as time passes. His claim to fame is acting, but let's cowboy up and admit that he hasn't made contributions to better the world outside the entertainment industry. Don't be disunderstanding me, he seems like a great guy and people who actually know him will remember him fondly. Too bad I never met him.

For Christians, sure, build up your legacy by living for Christ. Teach and admonish others, present the gospel, affirm creation and refute evolution (which is exceptionally important to Shatner), and so on. We know that everything in this life is all temporary, and we have a far better place waiting for us. I take comfort in the fact that my physical ailments will be removed, and that all of my failures won't matter anymore.

Mr. Shatner, there are two chances you'll see this: slim, and none. But I can still hope and pray that if you do, you'll take the message to heart and seek the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. You will have meaning now and in eternity — and nobody can take that away. Take a look at what Ken Ham had to say about this on Twitter. I'd like to meet you on the true final frontier.