Perhaps one of the biggest reasons the “Star Wars” franchise is so well-celebrated is its character depth. In the latest installment, “The Force Awakens,” the two protagonists meet Han Solo and ask themselves whether he is a “war hero” or a “smuggler.” It’s a chuckle-inducing conversation. We remember the quasi-duality of Han Solo in the original trilogy. He was a renegade, a drinker, a gamblin’ man and a cheat. Solo, while certainly a pretty face, had all the charisma and romantic prowess of a drunken fraternity brother. His irresponsibility, lack of foresight and self-important cavalier attitude expressed arrogance and a blatant disregard for other people’s lives. Said plainly: Han Solo was kind of a d-----. More “smuggler” than “war hero,” without a doubt.
Keep that in mind as we move to another amazing piece of “Star Wars” history. In “Revenge of the Sith,” Padme Amidala sits at a hearing where the Galactic Senate decides to shift power into Emperor Palpatine’s hands. As the Republic fades away, the camera zooms in on her watery eyes. “So this is how democracy ends,” she whispers. “With thunderous applause.”
Lately, a lot of morally ambiguous characters are getting themselves some of that democracy-hating thunderous applause. With The New York Times officially ending the question of Donald Trump’s tax returns, we can finally rest easy in knowing all of our predictions were right. The Don, in fact, has worked around tax law enough that in 1995, he declared a loss so large he would not have to pay federal income taxes for the next 18 years.
Now, why is this morally ambiguous? Well, the answer is because it was well within the bounds of the law. According to the article, after he gruesomely mismanaged several different business endeavors, he filed a $916 million loss to nullify any equivalent taxable income in an 18-year period. As we learn when we are children, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Unsurprisingly, Trump has yet to release his tax returns, a practice most candidates have engaged in since the ’70s. This is probably because he’s been taking advantage of this loophole. Regardless, many Trump supporters are unbelievably suspect to this narrative. So many people are behind him while he advocates for stop-and-frisk, “law and order” and the blatant suspension of due process, the most fundamental legal right. Basically, there is thunderous applause behind him while he stands and advocates the dismantling of our Constitution, the backbone of our democracy. Of all the lies Trump has said, of all the horrible, degrading, demeaning things he’s uttered, there’s one thing on which this editorial board agrees with him: When he said he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and (he) wouldn’t lose voters,” he’s right. There is no political move so dirty, no level of business malpractice, no insult so degrading, that would deter his base from voting for him.
When Anakin Skywalker switches his allegiance over from the Jedi Order to the Dark Side, this is how he viewed Emperor Palpatine. Someone who could save him from the perceived chaos he felt he was going to meet. Palpatine offered him a way to save himself and those he loved from the grips of otherwise harsh truths. That he would #MAGA — Make Anakin Great Again. But Palpatine was really motivated by greed, a lust for power and Anakin’s boyish charm (it’s actually weird, George Lucas).
There’s a lot we can learn from “Star Wars” and the paradoxical story line, which seems vague enough to apply across the board but detailed enough to make us feel and recognize things happening around us. We are surrounded by shadowy political figures who validate the personal fears of our future. Remember, fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
