February 16, 2021
CYA – I am just posting this for discussion purposes only. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are fictional. Just a perspective to think about 😊
This is a story about a farm boy. His name is John. A young man in his early 20’s. He lives in the destitute area of the country where the desert is hot all the time. The sun is relentless and turns the ground into hard cracks of clay. Irrigation is required to help the crops survive. John spends most of his time attending to the irrigation systems and ensuring they are doing their job. He dreams of a better life, but none really exists in his world. His parents were killed in a disastrous accident when he was a little boy. He has no recollection of the accident and any memories of the incident were provided by his uncle who he now lives with.
John has made a deal with his uncle that he will stay on and help around the farm until his 23rd birthday. That will be next month. John still feels obligated to help until the migrant works can be shipped in. Due to border closures, that will not be for at least 6 months. He feels trapped. If he wants, his future is pretty much set to take over the farm, but he as the urge to do something better. What is this better life… he is not sure yet, but he needs to explore his options. Today, John and his buddy Mike wander into the wrong part of the near by small town looking for a drink. After a few too many beers they wander outside to find their pickup. It was parked somewhere on the street, but they don’t remember where they put it. The sun is setting, and night is beginning to take hold. As they walk along trying to find the truck they look across. On the other side of the street there are four tattooed grunts. They are definitely from the local gang. John wants nothing to do with them. They notice John and Mike and wander over. John just wants to go home, but the gang has other thoughts. Just as they are about to be assaulted John and Mike are saved from the attack by the neighbourhood kook.
John and Mike are grateful and want to repay the old man by buying him a drink at the bar. He agrees and the crazy old fella takes the opportunity to fill the impressionable young man’s head with all sorts of crazy ideas, including a pile of quasi-religious mumbo jumbo about a now-defunct cult the old guy was part of. He explains that Johns father was part of the “cult” and they were once friends. The old man and John’s dad fought in the long civil war which still rages around them. John is intrigued by the old man and wants to hear more about his father. In short order, the young man is convinced to join a band of insurgents intent on civil war and overthrowing the government. He goes on to kill thousands in a successful attack on a government military base.
You see, John didn’t become a terrorist overnight, but he did exhibit signs that would make him a prime candidate for terrorist recruiters. The process of radicalization, as described by Anthony Stahelski in the Journal of Homeland Security, notes terrorists tend to:
Come from families where the father is absent (check)
Have difficulty forming relationships outside the home (check)
Be attracted to groups offering acceptance and comradeship (checkmate)
John is just the kind of isolated disaffected young man that terror recruiters seek out.
Wait – who is this John – could it be Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) – the terrorist?
“When viewers first meet Luke, he’s an immature adolescent making a decent living working on his family’s farm and spending his free time shooting womp rats in Beggar’s Canyon with his best pal Biggs.
He abandons this dull but peaceful life in favour of using extreme violence to bring freedom to a galaxy he knows nothing about beyond his upbringing on an isolated desert planet. He can’t wait to overthrow an empire that, while non-democratic and authoritarian, has brought a semblance of peace and order to most people, himself included.
He’s tempted to join the rebellion but his family responsibility initially stops him (“I’ve got to get home… I can’t get involved… I’ve got work to do… there’s nothing I can do right now… it’s all such a long way from here.”). Only when he discovers Imperial storm troopers have murdered his aunt and uncle in the search for the missing droids does a grieving Luke side with old Ben Kenobi and join the rebellion.”
Seen from this perspective, Skywalker is little more than an ignorant farm kid whose grief and desire for revenge are radicalized to serve an insurgency. The Force is presented to him as a moral and spiritual justification for his actions, positioning his enemies as cruel, inhuman soldiers under the spell of the dark side. If they won’t change willingly, they must die, casualties in a righteous and necessary war.
Does that make him any different from an ISIS recruit in Syria or Yemen?
A more focused study, however, is needed to truly understand that the Star Wars films are actually the story of the radicalization of Luke Skywalker. From introducing him as a simple farm boy gazing into the Tatooine sunset, to his eventual transformation into the radicalized insurgent and his descent into terrorism. We can witness Luke’s dark journey into religious fundamentalism and extremism happen before our very eyes.
But Skywalker isn’t a terrorist and a mass murderer, of course. He is a freedom fighter, a loyal friend and, we eventually learn, a devoted son willing to die in an effort to save his father’s soul. And that military base he destroys is the Death Star, an interstellar weapon that had already been used to commit genocide, wiping out an entire planet and its inhabitants.
But it all depends on perspective, doesn’t it?
Applied to recent events much closer to home, the same perspective sheds light on the surge in extremist thought and behaviour. Yellow Vest protesters see themselves as today’s Luke Skywalkers, awakened to the clear and present danger of Justin Trudeau selling out Canada to Quebec, to immigrants and to a new world order.
Qanon followers see themselves as real-life Princess Leias and Han Solos, battling urban, intellectual elites enslaving children for sex, controlling every aspect of modern life and selling out America to the Jews, the Mexicans and George Soros.
Calling these people racists and conspiracy theory quacks doesn’t shame them. It empowers them. When Darth Vader and the Emperor mock him for refusing to accept his destiny and embrace the power of the dark side, he is not ashamed. He is empowered. In the same way that Star Wars is far more about the personal struggles of its heroes (and the redemption of its central villain) than it is about a civil war, the Yellow Vesters and Qanon followers also see their struggle against the many perceived evils of modern society as deeply personal.
On one hand, it seems trivial to apply the themes and characterizations of Star Wars to complex and very real social forces. Yet it also shows how easily individuals can insert themselves into the middle of a compelling and heroic narrative to give their lives meaning and purpose.ISIS fighters are willing to fight and die for their cause, as are Luke and his friends.
Hopefully the Yellow Vest brigade, Qanon followers and other people with fringe beliefs stick to peacefully sharing their grievances at roadside protests.
Last month’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol, however, shows there are now some willing to take their battle to the next level, while ensnaring others in their bogus conspiracies and lies.
Its all about perspective. Stuff to think about……………..
Excerpts of this post were taken from “The Star Wars freedom dilemma” - The Daily Courier, Canada Feb 10, 2021 by Neil Godbout is managing editor of the Prince George Citizen.
Also the website:
That’s it for now. Let’s hear what you have to say.
Ronco 😊
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