While true, the Jedi cannot protect everyone, it is still their intent to do as such. So according to this guy, they should be purged by the Empire...right.I. The Problems with the Galactic Republic
At the beginning of the Star Wars saga, the known universe is governed by the Galactic Republic. The Republic is controlled by a Senate, which is, in turn, run by an elected chancellor who's in charge of procedure, but has little real power.
Scores of thousands of planets are represented in the Galactic Senate, and as we first encounter it, it is sclerotic and ineffectual. The Republic has grown over many millennia to the point where there are so many factions and disparate interests, that it is simply too big to be governable. Even the Republic's staunchest supporters recognize this failing: In "The Phantom Menace," Queen Amidala admits, "It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions." In "Attack of the Clones," young Anakin Skywalker observes that it simply "doesn't work."
The Senate moves so slowly that it is powerless to stop aggression between member states. In "The Phantom Menace" a supra-planetary alliance, the Trade Federation (think of it as OPEC to the Galactic Republic's United Nations), invades a planet and all the Senate can agree to do is call for an investigation.
Like the United Nations, the Republic has no armed forces of its own, but instead relies on a group of warriors, the Jedi knights, to "keep the peace." The Jedi, while autonomous, often work in tandem with the Senate, trying to smooth over quarrels and avoid conflicts. But the Jedi number only in the thousands--they cannot protect everyone.
What an ass. He clearly did not watch how Obi-Wan Kenobi helped the misguided drug dealer clean up his act with the Force.What's more, it's not clear that they should be "protecting" anyone.
The Jedi are Lucas's great heroes, full of Zen wisdom and righteous power. They encourage people to "use the Force"--the mystical energy which is the source of their power--but the truth, revealed in "The Phantom Menace," is that the Force isn't available to the rabble.
Since WHEN do the Jedi ever encourage the common people that are NOT Force-sensitive to use the Force if they CANNOT? He's pulling this out of his ass. They encourage their STUDENTS to use the Force, not people without the ability to do so.
Yeah, great comparison. Comparing Jedi that have abilities no other life forms in the galaxy have to people that are the same as everyone else.The Force comes from midi-chlorians, tiny symbiotic organisms in people's blood, like mitochondria. The Force, it turns out, is an inherited, genetic trait. If you don't have the blood, you don't get the Force. Which makes the Jedi not a democratic militia, but a royalist Swiss guard.
The fact of the matter is that you CAN'T compare the Jedi to anyone in our world because they are unique. They are Jedi only because they are Force-sensitive. It is not royalty. ANYONE can be made royal, but not anyone can be made a Jedi. And an arrogant royalist Swiss guard, at that.
They are NOT royalist!
Maybe because they ARE. Why are Jedi considered arrogant if they know damn well what their abilities, importance, responsibilities, and duties in the galaxy are?With one or two notable exceptions, the Jedi we meet in Star Wars are full of themselves. They ignore the counsel of others (often with terrible consequences), and seem honestly to believe that they are at the center of the universe.
When the chief Jedi record-keeper is asked in "Attack of the Clones" about a planet she has never heard of, she replies that if it's not in the Jedi archives, it doesn't exist. (The planet in question does exist, again, with terrible consequences.)
So what? If they plotted every single planet in the galaxy, then why is it not logical to assume it doesn't exist? If there was such a near-perfect organization such as the Jedi, then why would or should it doubt itself? None of them were able to detect the Sith, so they had no reason to assume there was foul play going on anywhere. Not only that, but because the Jedi had no such problems for millenia, they most definitely got so accustomed to their temples and facilities being so well-organized and without flaw that they never learned how to deal with such problems. Why is this considered arrogance? They just never had to deal with anything like this, so there was no real reason to suspect any wrongdoing by anyone.
Maybe if this guy observed their plans for the DEATH STAR and their freaking DROID ARMIES he would get that the Separatists weren't only trying to break away from the Republic but DESTROY it by all means necessary, without giving much thought to pooling together all of their economic and political resources to lobby for their causes. Hell, even use the Senate's corruption for some good. Just bribe some other Senators for their own causes and reform the Republic to make it a more effective means of government. There was no other point in fighting the Republic other than to overthrow it and claim power for themselves.In "Attack of the Clones," a mysterious figure, Count Dooku, leads a separatist movement of planets that want to secede from the Republic. Dooku promises these confederates smaller government, unlimited free trade, and an "absolute commitment to capitalism." Dooku's motives are suspect--it's not clear whether or not he believes in these causes. However, there's no reason to doubt the motives of the other separatists--they seem genuinely to want to make a fresh start with a government that isn't bloated and dysfunctional.
I suppose this guy also supports the Confederates in the U.S. Civil War. Not only that, but the Republic wasn't the one who attacked first. At starwars.com it says that there were flashpoints of violence caused by the Separatists breaking away from the Republic. So the Republic had every right to retalliate.The Republic, of course, is eager to quash these separatists, but they never make a compelling case--or any case, for that matter--as to why, if they are such a freedom-loving regime, these planets should not be allowed to check out of the Republic and take control of their own destinies.
II. The Empire
We do not yet know the exact how's and why's, but we do know this: At some point between the end of Episode II and the beginning of Episode IV, the Republic is replaced by an Empire. The first hint comes in "Attack of the Clones," when the Senate's Chancellor Palpatine is granted emergency powers to deal with the separatists. It spoils very little to tell you that Palpatine eventually becomes the Emperor. For a time, he keeps the Senate in place, functioning as a rubber-stamp, much like the Roman imperial senate, but a few minutes into Episode IV, we are informed that the he has dissolved the Senate, and that "the last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away."
So now that the people have NO VOICE in the government WHATSOEVER, this is good?! Even if the U.S. Senate was as corrupt as the Republic Senate, I'd rather have it around than have it ELIMINATED.
Lucas wants the Empire to stand for evil, so he tells us that the Emperor and Darth Vader have gone over to the Dark Side and dresses them in black.
HE MAKES THEM SITH LORDS!
This is coming out of the mouth of the EMPEROR of the GALACTIC EMPIRE. And even if he was true, it still does not mean that installing a totalitarian regime over a corrupt republic is a just action or even a smart thing to do.But look closer. When Palpatine is still a senator, he says, "The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good." At one point he laments that "the bureaucrats are in charge now."
No, we see at heart he is pure evil that has alternate personalities. He has his political personality which is a bunch of bullshit, and his TRUE personality, that of a Sith Lord.Palpatine believes that the political order must be manipulated to produce peace and stability. When he mutters, "There is no civility, there is only politics," we see that at heart, he's an esoteric Straussian.
To oppress anyone that actually likes expressing their political views and disagrees with handing over all of the decision-making to Palpatine.Make no mistake, as emperor, Palpatine is a dictator--but a relatively benign one, like Pinochet. It's a dictatorship people can do business with. They collect taxes and patrol the skies.
By making business deals with them?They try to stop organized crime (in the form of the smuggling rings run by the Hutts).
Until those law-abiding citizens oppose his political views and want a voice in the government.The Empire has virtually no effect on the daily life of the average, law-abiding citizen.
The Jedi are NOT divine-right. I explained this before.Also, unlike the divine-right Jedi, the Empire is a meritocracy.
What about this guy's claims about not using any evidence outside of the movies? And he also fails to explain the details in depth about how Han Solo's career ended because he didn't like the Empire's policy of enslaving aliens.The Empire runs academies throughout the galaxy (Han Solo begins his career at an Imperial academy),
WTF? He just side-steps how Vader killed Admiral Ozzel just for screwing up! He wasn't a coward or a traitor, just incompetent. So he kills him instead of demoting him or giving him a dishonorable discharge!and those who show promise are promoted, often rapidly. In "The Empire Strikes Back" Captain Piett is quickly promoted to admiral when his predecessor "falls down on the job."
Yes, the Nazis were great people for being so polite and well-mannered and having such a sophisticated taste for classical music. And let's not forget Vader once was a cultured Jedi. But all Jedi are aristocratic assholes in this guy's opinion, so that can't be a product of the elite royal Jedi order...And while it's a small point, the Empire's manners and decorum speak well of it. When Darth Vader is forced to employ bounty hunters to track down Han Solo, he refuses to address them by name. Even Boba Fett, the greatest of all trackers, is referred to icily as "bounty hunter." And yet Fett understands the protocol. When he captures Solo, he calls him "Captain Solo." (Whether this is in deference to Han's former rank in the Imperial starfleet, or simply because Han owns and pilots his own ship, we don't know. I suspect it's the former.)
He takes this out of context. This is right after slicing off Luke's hand and telling him he is his father. Vader only spared him because he was his son. The Anakin inside Vader actually still loved Luke, so he was probably desperate and would tell him anything to join the Dark Side to be with him and not have to kill him.But the most compelling evidence that the Empire isn't evil comes in "The Empire Strikes Back" when Darth Vader is battling Luke Skywalker. After an exhausting fight, Vader is poised to finish Luke off, but he stays his hand. He tries to convert Luke to the Dark Side with this simple plea: "There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. . . . Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
It doesn't want slavery so it enslaves alien races. It doesn't want destruction, so it destroys an entire planet without a second thought. It doesn't want evil, so it does evil acts such as enslave races, torture people, slaugher civilians, and is ruled by two Sith Lords that are evil by nature. WHAT?!It is here we find the real controlling impulse for the Dark Side and the Empire. The Empire doesn't want slaves or destruction or "evil." It wants order.
None of which is to say that the Empire isn't sometimes brutal. In Episode IV, Imperial stormtroopers kill Luke's aunt and uncle and Grand Moff Tarkin orders the destruction of an entire planet, Alderaan. But viewed in context,
THAT IS in context! The Empire killed them on mere suspiscion and destroyed a planet for no reason!
How could an act be any less brutal if it has an explanation? If a man was murdered by being viciously stabbed, mutilated, and disembowled, does it make it any less brutal if the man was a murderer himself? No it does not. The act itself remains brutal no matter how good or evil the intentions were.these acts are less brutal than they initially appear.
Oh, so just random killings are a-ok so long as they are called traitors without sufficient evidence. And the fact that Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen knew nothing about the droids containing the Death Star plans makes them innocent. INNOCENT! So now he is saying it's fine that two innocent people were brutally slaughtered without due process based on suspicions that they knew what was in the droids they purchased the day before.Poor Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen reach a grisly end, but only after they aid the rebellion by hiding Luke and harboring two fugitive droids. They aren't given due process, but they are traitors.
Hmm...maybe because...IT IS!The destruction of Alderaan is often cited as ipso facto proof of the Empire's "evilness" because it seems like mass murder--planeticide, even.
Who gives a shit about the audience? This argument is what the EMPIRE. The Empire should believe her since it believed her about Dantooine right before Tarkin blew up Alderaan. Notice how he sidesteps this fact that screws over his entire argument.As Tarkin prepares to fire the Death Star, Princess Leia implores him to spare the planet, saying, "Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons." Her plea is important, if true.
But the audience has no reason to believe that Leia is telling the truth. In Episode IV, every bit of information she gives the Empire is willfully untrue. In the opening, she tells Darth Vader that she is on a diplomatic mission of mercy, when in fact she is on a spy mission, trying to deliver schematics of the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance. When asked where the Alliance is headquartered, she lies again.
THINKS! IT IS serving the greater good! I wouldn't want this guy in the military! He'd probably be one of those people trying to justify the Allied bombing of Dresden.Leia's lies are perfectly defensible--she thinks she's serving the greater good
Yet Alderaan never attacked the Empire, did it?--but they make her wholly unreliable on the question of whether or not Alderaan really is peaceful and defenseless. If anything, since Leia is a high-ranking member of the rebellion and the princess of Alderaan, it would be reasonable to suspect that Alderaan is a front for Rebel activity or at least home to many more spies and insurgents like Leia.
Only one; the destruction of an entire planet.Whatever the case, the important thing to recognize is that the Empire is not committing random acts of terror.
So what? The Rebels are engaged in a fight for the survival of its regime against a violent group of militarists who are committed to its destruction.It is engaged in a fight for the survival of its regime against a violent group of rebels who are committed to its destruction.
WOOT!III. After the Rebellion
As we all know from the final Star Wars installment, "Return of the Jedi," the rebellion is eventually successful. The Emperor is assassinated, Darth Vader abdicates his post and dies, the central governing apparatus of the Empire is destroyed in a spectacular space battle, and the rebels rejoice with their small, annoying Ewok friends.
The Imperial Empire wallows in its own mess of a disorganized goverment because their decision-makers are now dead and they have no guidlines on how to rule the galaxy.But what happens next?
Then don't make reference to Han Solo's career in the Imperial Navy, asshole.(There is a raft of literature on this point, but, as I said at the beginning, I'm going to ignore it because it doesn't speak to Lucas's original intent.)
Yeah that sounds like a nice government to live under.In Episode IV, after Grand Moff Tarkin announces that the Imperial Senate has been abolished, he's asked how the Emperor can possibly hope to keep control of the galaxy. "The regional governors now have direct control over territories," he says. "Fear will keep the local systems in line."
More of a reason why the Emperor was such an asshole. He never had an heir to the throne or a workable form of government to leave the galaxy should he die.So under Imperial rule, a large group of regional potentates, each with access to a sizable army and star destroyers, runs local affairs. These governors owe their fealty to the Emperor. And once the Emperor is dead, the galaxy will be plunged into chaos.
Yes, it's the Rebel Alliance's fault that Palpatine set up the Imperial Empire like that. Those rat bastards should have thought twice before disrupting the Imperial Empire's iron grip on the galaxy!In all of the time we spend observing the Rebel Alliance, we never hear of their governing strategy or their plans for a post-Imperial universe. All we see are plots and fighting. Their victory over the Empire doesn't liberate the galaxy--it turns the galaxy into Somalia writ large: dominated by local warlords who are answerable to no one.
Yeah, the driving force was to get Leia's tiara back. What a complete fucking asshole.Which makes the rebels--Lucas's heroes--an unimpressive crew of anarchic royals who wreck the galaxy so that Princess Leia can have her tiara back.
Die, Imperial boot-licker. May you rot in an Imperial Detention Center when you have a problem with the Empire fucking you over if you aren't a white male human. I'd like to see how well this guy does if he gave up his rights as an American and lived under the Galactic Empire.I'll take the Empire.
