the lesson of star wars

star wars is a classic good vs evil story, much like the bible and similar sacred religious writings.  the lessons are obvious...or are they?  i think the true lesson of star wars comes from anakin's greedy desire to take over everything and run it all because only he could do it right.  anakin wanted to be (and sorta became) a dictator over the people of the empire.  anakin knew the true nature of humans (and other life forms of that time long ago).  and, right or wrong, good or evil, he knew that a dictatorship was the only way to govern this massive empire.

democracy sounds great.  we all know it is pure and good.  but it just don't work when your group gets larger than a couple hundred.

human beings are greedy, selfish, and ignorant.  governing these walking assholes requires a strong hand to ensure no one goes off and does something really harmful like rape or murder or poisoning the groundwater or shitting on other people's desks.

but exactly how to govern is not clearly evident, with many options, and thus there becomes disagreement and conflict.  the bigger the group being governed, the more people must be involved in leading and deciding.  and it doesn't take a very large group being governed at all to have multiple "leaders", all in conflict and disagreement.

ah, you say, but that's where the power of a democracy comes in to save us all.  a democracy uses this conflict, and the willingness of the participants to compromise, to create outcomes that are best for the most people.

and there's the breakdown.  human beings are loathe to compromise.  we hate it.  we know it is the best path in the end.  or at least i think "we" do.

(there's that royal we again)

but, at our core, we want everything and we want it now, fuck everyone else.  compromise is seen as weak and it never happens.  never.

so just how do you govern this self-obsessed mass of douchebaggery?  take out the conflict and things become a helluva lot simpler.  ergo, dictatorship.  one dude in charge means no one to conflict with.

i'm not saying a dictatorship is good, by any means.  i mean, you may only have one person in charge and making decisions, but that person is just as much a narcissistic dumbass as everyone else being governed.

so dictatorships usually end up pretty horrific.  just think if you and you alone were in charge of a few million people or more.  be honest with yourself and realize it would not be the shining city on the hill.  it might not be north korea, but some amount of people will be oppressed, and probably severely so.

but it sure does keep people in line.  how in the hell do you think iraq stayed together before we invaded the second time and took out saddam's government?  saddam was brutal and ruled harshly.  but the country held together under his rule, certainly fragile but not the mess it is today.  today they have democracy, woohoo!  and a fucking mess that will only get straightened out when some form of dictatorship takes back over (should happen any time now).  same with afghanistan.

"whoa, dude, are you saying the good ol' usa should be a dictatorship?"  i'm just saying that a lot of our problems would be solved.  not saying everyone would like it.  but you would get rid of a shit-ton of debate and argument, wasted time and energy.  just pick one way to do it and everyone fucking get on board or deal with consequences.

but since we are all just big heaping piles of shit, you're never going to get the "right" dude in charge and dictating.  some neanderthal will take control by force and rule heavy.

but if that is your dude, if he thinks like you and you are the same color and worship your god in the same way, etc., then life could be good in a dictatorship.  perspective is everything.

PADMÉ: That sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me.

ANAKIN: Well, if it works...