Lileks on Patrick Stewart

The NY Post reports that Jean-Luc Picard, Captain on STTNG, wants to put the Starship Enterprise in dry dock:

I'm a bit of a wet blanket when it comes to the whole business of space travel," Stewart said in an interview posted on the BBC Web site.

The man whose mission was to "explore strange new worlds" as the captain of the starship Enterprise from 1987 to 1994 thinks space exploration is the height of "arrogance."

"I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly flawed civilizations out onto other planets," Stewart said.

Naturally, James Lileks gives Stewart a proper Fisking:

Oh: right. Actor talking. "Get this place right." What would that look like, exactly? And how would we know? If in 2079 there's one monomanical Marxist sub-saharan leader starving his people for political gain, does this obligate other nations to shut down their rocketry programs until the guy dies and crop production returns to pre-tyrant levels? "Arrogance to put significantly flawed civilizations out onto other planets." So it's arrogant to put Americans on Mars, because our myriad "significant" flaws would somehow contaminate the gentle Martian polity that reigns today.

Well, I never trusted Stewart. I mean, how can a guy named Picard (the "house" of the Benelux countries at the 12th century University of Paris) speak with a British accent?