In the last month, I’ve seen a lot of Facebook posts from friends all along the political spectrum, complaining about the seemingly impossible choice they have between Trump and Clinton. There’s the Jim Carrey GIF where he has spears stuck in each leg, not knowing which one to scream in pain about. There are pictures of two unappetizing dishes or two bottles marked poison. And, of course, there are the variations of the meme, “I’d rather (insert witty thing I don’t want to do) than choose between Clinton and Trump.” Yes, some of the libertarians are selling Johnson and some of the progressives are selling Stein or Sanders, but in the main, the traffic reflects the overwhelming sense that people would do anything to avoid voting at this point.
Let’s put aside the importance of local and congressional elections. I’m here instead to add one more variation on the “I’d rather” meme. I’d rather watch Episode I of Star Wars, The Phantom Menace. Moreover, I think you should too, and then you should go vote anyway. That’s because somehow, George Lucas’ fourth most-panned film (after Howard the Duck, 1941, and Willow) has been vindicated 17 years later by the bizarre historical juncture in which we find ourselves. The American Republic seems more fragile than ever, with eerie parallels to the narrative of the failing Galactic Republic penned by Lucas. The hopeful part, though, is that if we can bear to tolerate the sub-optimal execution of the story, we might learn from the tragic mistakes of the protagonists and save our Republic. It appears that Lucas was not just a student of Joseph Campbell and his “Hero with 1000 Faces” (which owes much in turn to Jung’s ideas about archetypes in legends around the world), but he comprehended the potential failures of democratic systems. In a way, this allows the “Heroes with 1000 Faces” to be all of us. Unfortunately, as we will see, we could be the villains of this story just as easily.
One of the loudest complaints from disgruntled fans back in 1999 was that the scope of the conflict in Episode I was too small. After all, this was all supposed to lead to “The Clone Wars” and “The Dark Times,” and fans had over two decades to imagine what could possibly be driving the Republic to ruin. They ran to the cinemas, waited on line, and as the intro text scrolled off screen they watched as two Jedi were sent by the Galactic Chancellor to resolve a disputed trade agreement. This was not meeting expectations at all. How could a trade blockade, even one backed by an invasion later in the film, be on the same scale as the Death Star hovering over the Rebel Base on Yavin or Stormtroopers assaulting the Rebel Base on Hoth? Why would anyone care enough about trade to bring down the Republic?
A decade and a half later, that angry question now seems a quaint reminder of a time when NAFTA was new and other large trade deals were not yet signed. Trade is one of the few issues that can equally upset populist partisans on the Left and Right, although they might focus on different details; for a populist conservative, it might focus more on how trade has enriched foreigners at the expense of Americans, whereas populist progressives might dwell more on the undemocratic nature of corporations and trade mediation courts. Both aspects are baked into the conflict between the tiny world of Naboo and the Trade Federation. Natalie Portman’s young protagonist, the recently elected “Queen” Amidala, is trying to find a way to get out of what she sees as an unfair deal for Naboo, but is blocked at every turn by the byzantine nature of the intersection between Galactic governance and Galactic trade pacts. The people of Naboo can elect new leadership, but this does little to effect change in their economic circumstances; it actually leads to the blockade seen at the opening of the film.
Furthermore, the Trade Federation is dominated by one species, the Nemoidians. Their physiology results in their not being able to articulate Galactic Standard Basic language very well nor having facial expressions that Coruscanti (i.e., the Humans of the Star Wars galaxy) can read easily. They are alien, both to our eyes and to the Coruscanti descendants that live on Naboo. Lucas was actually criticized at the time for what some minority rights advocates felt were racist depictions telegraphed through particular alien species, but these critics could not agree who was being unfairly depicted by one or another alien (e.g., Palestinians and Jews both complained they were being maligned by the Toydarian depiction; South and East Asians alike believed they were the Nemoidians). Another way to see the “toning down” of mannerisms and Standard Basic accents from the Prequels to the Original Trilogy is that under the Empire, code switching and passing become more a matter of survival as restrictions against non-Coruscanti and genocidal policies are codified; the canon cartoon Star Wars Rebels highlights these later Imperial policies in greater detail. In any case, at the start of the Prequels, the cultural mismatch between alien corporatist and human democrat leads to a failure of dialogue:
On the view screen, QUEEN AMIDALA appears in her throne room. Wearing her
elaborate headdress and robes, she sits, surrounded by the GOVERNING
COUNCIL and FOUR HANDMAIDENS, EIRTAE, YANE, RABE, and SACHE.
NUTE : Again you come before me, Your highness. The Federation is
pleased.
AMIDALA : You will not be pleased when you hear what I have to say,
Viceroy...Your trade boycott of our planet has ended.
NUTE smirks at RUNE.
NUTE : I was not aware of such a failure.
AMIDALA : I have word that the Senate is finally voting on this blockade of
yours.
NUTE : I take it you know the outcome. I wonder why they bother to vote.
AMIDALA : Enough of this pretense, Viceroy! I'm aware the Chancellor's
Ambassadors are with you now, and that you have been commanded to reach a
settlement.
NUTE : I know nothing about any Ambassadors...you must be mistaken.
AMIDALA, surprised at his reaction, studies him carefully.
AMIDALA : Beware, Viceroy....the Federation is going too far this time.
NUTE : Your Highness, we would never do anything without the approval of
the Senate. You assume too much.
AMIDALA : We will see.
Amidala takes the position, borne of her own optimistic belief in government as an agent of empowerment for the people, that the Senate must take notice. To her, there is no need for negotiation. Nute Gunray knows that many of the Senators are in the pocket of the Trade Federation or other corporate blocs, and that unfavorable rulings will be slowed or stopped completely. Diplomacy is merely another means of delay, not for compromise. Gunray also happens to know, as do a few other Nemoidians, that the Sith Lord Darth Sidious somehow has influence in the Senate, and they have his permission to escalate the conflict if need be; the Jedi ambassadors have been attacked and are on the run. American corporations might not have the latitude to wage war, outside of battle-zone “security firms” (more on that later), but their ability to repeatedly tip the legislative/judicial scales in their favor in the SuperPAC era has frustrated many individual citizens. Of course, what many developing nations and minority businesspeople in democracies might argue is that the marketplace is a playing field in which talent can be rewarded, without dealing with the biases of the traditionally powerful. And, although we are suspicious of Gunray because he has attacked Jedi ambassadors, Amidala’s suspicions are mainly borne out of not being able to read his expression or deal with his disrespect of voting. Moreover, despite Amidala’s faith in democracy, at the time of this conversation the non-Coruscanti natives of Naboo (i.e., Gungans) have no say in their planetary or galactic representation. Both Amidala and Gunray have some degree of disingenuousness to their argument. The peril of any multicultural and open society is that there is not necessarily a shared understanding of a means for fair consensus, which can lead to resentment if particular ethnic (or philosophical/corporate) cultures appear to gain too much influence within the deliberative forums of government. This is very much where business/trade issues are complicating our own democracy, and our nation’s place in the greater world.
Fair consensus and deliberation can also be squelched when one or more blocs use legislative procedures to grind proceedings to a halt. This can be subtle, because such procedures are often vital to preserving minority rights or the balance of powers in a functioning democracy. However, they can be deliberately over-utilized to protect interests that wish to reduce democratic governance to an absolute minimum. This is also in play in the Star Wars universe, as the Trade Federation prepares to overstep its mandate and invade Naboo, with the mysterious Darth Sidious again pulling the strings:
NUTE and RUNE stand before a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS.
NUTE : The invasion is on schedule, My Lord.
DARTH SIDIOUS : Good. I have the Senate bogged down in procedures. By the time this incident comes up for a vote, they will have no choice but to accept your control of the system.
NUTE : The Queen has great faith the Senate will side with her.
DARTH SIDIOUS : Queen Amidala is young and naive. You will find controlling her will not be difficult. You have done well, Viceroy.
NUTE : Thank you, My Lord.
This has also been our problem in recent years, and citizens know it even when they do not fully comprehend all the details. As a greater percentage of GOP legislators have been dedicated to an almost anarcho-libertarian conception of governmental scope, what conservative activist Grover Norquist terms “small enough to drown in a bathtub,” procedural maneuvers have been used to halt the gears of government. When the Democrats controlled Senate and White House, filibustering took up more and more floor time, to the point where no one required the filibustering Senators to actually stand there and filibuster; business was merely halted. To reduce oversight of taxation, the IRS budget has been near-frozen. To slow the pace of judicial remedy, confirmations have been delayed longer and longer, and now the Supreme Court is paralyzed in an eight Justice conformation that cannot set lasting precedent when there is a 4-4 split. General budgets and their myriad sub-components, vital to departmental operations and payments, have been held hostage on a regular basis to the threat of default. This allows for politicians to decry the uselessness of “excessive regulations,” because what is on the books often takes too long to be enforced, if it is enforced at all. Most citizens and small businesses might run up against the law, and find it takes too long to correct errors of law-enforcement, but large entities and wealthy citizens discover they have wide latitude in this environment. Dysfunction leads to further loss of faith in the government amongst a larger proportion of voters, allowing even greater political success for those who openly obstruct it as a supposed means of protest.
Added into this mix are those who are willing to take up arms against governmental authority. The Trade Federation, at least in The Phantom Menace, is slow to utilize force, even with the support of the shadowy Darth Sidious. They lose track of Queen Amidala, who is liberated by the Jedi ambassadors and heads toward Coruscant to plead her case to the Galactic Senate. Sidious must send out his Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt down and eliminate Amidala.
NUTE and RUNE sit around a conference table with a hologram of DARTH
SIDIOUS.
NUTE : We control all the cities in the North and are searching for any
other settlements...
DARTH SIDIOUS : Destroy all high-ranking officials,
Viceroy...slowly...quietly. And Queen Amidala, has she signed the treaty?
NUTE : She has disappeared, My Lord. One Naboo cruiser got past the blockade.
DARTH SIDIOUS : Viceroy, find her! I want that treaty signed.
NUTE : My Lord, it's impossible to locate the ship. It's out of our range.
DARTH SIDIOUS : ...not for a Sith...
A second SITH LORD appears behind DARTH SIDIOUS.
DARTH SIDIOUS : (Cont'd) ...Viceroy, this is my apprentice. Lord Maul. He
will find your lost ship.
NUTE : Yes, My Lord. The hologram fades off.
NUTE : (Cont'd) This is getting out of hand...now there are two of them.
RUNE : We should not have made this bargain. What will happen when the Jedi become aware of these Sith Lords?
Even the Nemoidians willing to make a pact with Sidious are unnerved by the escalating violence of the situation and the possibility that the Jedi will uncover their dealings with Sith Lords. They were willing to profit from the intimidation and disorder that Sidious introduced into the equation, but they sense they might be losing control of it. Here, too, there are parallels to the last 25 years, with the rise of the modern militia movements. “Sovereign Citizens” and militiamen that do not recognize the legitimacy of the courts or legislatures have continued to gain strength, even during the George W. Bush administration. This has been partially fueled by continued anarcho-libertarian rhetoric in media and from elected officials. In some cases, like the Bundy militias in the Mountain and Pacific West, wealthy donors who support them also fund corporatist PACs. They simultaneously provide a heroic narrative for those who want to see the elected government as an occupier and intimidate those who would otherwise back the government. Lone wolves inspired by them attack the governmental protections of civil and reproductive rights, striking out at clinics and minorities, and then making skeptics of progress more sympathetic to the broader anti-governmental argument when the law pursues these domestic terrorists.
DARTH SIDIOUS and DARTH MAUL look out over the vast city.
DARTH MAUL : Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, Master.
DARTH SIDIOUS : Move against the Jedi first...you will then have no difficulty taking the Queen back to Naboo, where she will sign the treaty.
DARTH MAUL : At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.
DARTH SIDIOUS : You have been well trained, my young apprentice, they will be no match for you. It is too late for them to stop us now. Everything is going as planned. The Republic will soon be in my command.
The hologram of DARTH MAUL fades off as DARTH SIDIOUS looks out over the city.
Up to this point in our history, conservative politicians and businessmen have not wanted to be seen as too closely aligned with their more violent cousins, and their disavowals are probably genuine in all but a handful of cases. Yet more recently there has arguably been a mutual support network of money and memes that ties them together, in a way not seen on the Left since the 1960s. In other G7 nations, the demarcation between center-right and far-right is much starker, and they might even be in diametrical opposition on some issues (e.g., Brexit in the UK). The militiamen themselves, like Darth Maul, are driven by a desire for revenge on the prevailing order that they believed disempowered them. In the Star Wars universe, that order is the Jedi, who nearly wiped out the Sith while opposing their “Might makes Right” philosophy. In our nation, this is the general movement of the culture away from the locus of power being solely in the WASP male with absolute authority over his household and land. Resentment and fear of the other, seen both as threatening and weak simultaneously, fuels their rageful disgust. A politician like Sidious, willing to provoke these men so as to launch them as weapons whilst maintaining deniability for their actions, is incredibly dangerous.
Thus, if we are willing to overlook the abysmal middle act of the film, where we meet Anakin Skywalker (i.e., the future Darth Vader) as a child on the planet Tatooine, we come to the centrally important part of The Phantom Menace. The idealistic Amidala makes it to Coruscant, and is manipulated by the man who is secretly Darth Sidious, Senator Sheev Palpatine. The Chancellor of the Republic, aware his Jedi ambassadors have been violently opposed by the Trade Federation, is sympathetic to Naboo’s cause.
PALPATINE : It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum.
VALORUM : Welcome, Your Highness. It is an honor to finally meet you in person. I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position.
AMIDALA : I am grateful for your concern, Chancellor.
PALPATINE starts to lead QUEEN AMIDALA and her RETINUE off the platform toward a waiting air taxi.
PALPATINE : There is a question of procedure, but I feel confident we can overcome it...
The seeds of doubt are planted as to the effectiveness of governmental remedy. We know that Palpatine, through his dealings with the corporate blocs as Sidious, is to blame for the dysfunction. But Amidala, like many voters, assumes her Senator works on behalf of his people. She would be more than willing to believe that other Senators are the problem. Congresspeople are regularly re-elected despite horribly low approval rating for the body as a whole, and only part of this is due to gerrymandering.
PALPATINE is pacing as CAPTAIN PANAKA enters. EIRTAE and RABE stand to one side.
PALPATINE : ...the Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates who are only looking out for themselves and their home systems. There is no interest in the common good...no civility, only politics...it’s disgusting. I must be frank, Your Majesty, there is little chance the Senate will act on the invasion.
AMIDALA : Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope.
PALPATINE : If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little real power...he is mired down by baseless accusations of corruption. A manufactured scandal surrounds him. The bureaucrats are in charge now.
AMIDALA : What options do we have?
PALPATINE : Our best choice would be to push for the election of a stronger
Supreme Chancellor. One who will take control of the bureaucrats, enforces the laws, and give us justice. You could call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.
AMIDALA : He has been our strongest supporter. Is there any other way?
PALPATINE : Our only other choice would to be to submit a plea to the courts...
AMIDALA : There's no time for that. The courts take even longer to decide things than the Senate. Our people are dying, Senator...more and more each day. We must do something quickly to stop the Federation.
PALPATINE : To be realistic, Your Highness, I'd say we're going to have to accept Federation control for the time being.
AMIDALA : There is something I cannot do.
Here we see how the Left is open to persuasion. Like many social activists, Amidala feels the despair of her constituency keenly. She and her people are desperate for a way forward. All the myriad obstructions put in the way are much less clear than the lack of progress itself. Palpatine can then argue that Valorum must be too weak or not motivated enough to cut through the opposition, and that he might even be hobbled by accusations lodged against him. Few progressives would think they are open to this line of attack in our world, but truthfully, many have trouble seeing that corporate influence over legislators occurs over a spectrum and is not a binary phenomenon. Similarly, the President is attacked from the Left and Right alike for not doing more for minority communities or to fix the wage gap between men and women (or the top 10% of wage earners and everyone else). Like Palpatine, some of these critics wouldn’t even want Obama to take more unilateral action, even if he could, but they introduce the idea so as to portray the office of the Presidency as excessively weak. It isn’t the delays in courts resulting from unfilled judgeships or the slashing of funding for programs and regulation enforcement; it’s the singular fault of the visible leader. Slowly, more and more progressives start to articulate arguments that barge through Constitutional safeguards, like declaring that the President can simply install Supreme Court Justices if no hearings are held or that he can nullify any attempt by Congress to threaten default. Where possible, accusations of corruption are made, and when the facts cannot bear them out, opponents claim that the investigation has been rigged or simply call for additional hearings on the matter. This further slows the operation of government and it makes the executive look even weaker. Sometimes progressives will even entertain the argument that the allegation is toxic, even when they believe it baseless; Amidala appears to do this with Valorum, and we have witnessed this as a problem with Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.
That is where we now sit. A choice is before us. On the one hand, an experienced center-left politician accused of insufficiently bold action, of excessive corporate influence, of vague chronic corruption, of kow-towing to the system’s rules and of relying on expert bureaucrats. On the other, someone arguing for strength and a singular arbitration of legality; he consults simultaneously with the violently disgruntled and the ambitiously corporatist, and yet he states he can provide relief for grievances across the political spectrum by reining in corporations and acts of aggression. More baffling still, the politicians have been friends for years, but one would not know it by the vehemence with which the experienced politician is criticized by the challenger. Perhaps we should rejoin our movie, already in progress:
The Senate chambers are huge. Thousands of SENATORS and their AIDES sit in the circular assembly area. CHANCELLOR VALORUM sits in an elevated area in the center. Hundreds of AIDES and DROIDS hurry about. SENATOR PALPATINE,
QUEEN AMIDALA, EIRTA, RABE, and CAPTAIN PANAKA sit in the Naboo congressional box, which is actually a floating platform. PALPATINE leans over to the QUEEN.
PALPATINE : If the Federation moves to defer the motion...Your Majesty,
I beg of you to ask for a resolution to end this congressional session.
AMIDALA : I wish I had your confidence in this, Senator.
PALPATINE : You must force a new election for Supreme Chancellor...I promise you there are many who will support us...it is our best chance... Your Majesty, our only chance.
AMIDALA : You truly believe Chancellor Valorum will not bring our motion to a vote?
PALAPATINE : He is distracted...he is afraid. He will be of no help.
VALORUM : The Chair recognizes the Senator from the sovereign system of
Naboo.
The Naboo congressional box floats into the center.
PALPATINE : Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate. A tragedy has occurred on our peaceful system of Naboo. We have become caught in a dispute you're all well aware of, which began right here with the taxation of trade routes, and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the
Trade Federation.
A second box rushes into the center of the Senate. It is filled with
Federation trade barons led by LOTT DOD, the Senator for the Federation.
LOTT DOD : This is outrageous! I object to the Senator's statements!
VALORUM : The Chair does not recognize the Senator from the Trade Federation at this time. Please return to your station.
LOTT DOD reluctantly moves back to his place.
PALPATINE : To state our allegations, I present Queen Amidala, the recently elected ruler of Naboo, to speak on our behalf.
QUEEN AMIDALA stands and addresses the assembly. There is some applause.
AMIDALA : Honorable representatives of the Republic, distinguished delegates, and Your Honor Supreme Chancellor Valorum, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by force.
Invaded...against all the laws of the Republic by the Droid Armies of the
Trade...
LOTT DOD : I object! There is no proof. This is incredible. We recommend a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth.
VALORUM : Overruled.
LOTT DOD : Your Honor, you cannot allow us to be condemned without reasonable observation. It's against all the rules of procedure.
A third box representing Malastare moves into the center of the room. AKS
MOE, the Ambassador, addresses the convention.
AKS MOE : The Congress of Malastare concurs with the honorable delegate from the Trade Federation. A commission must be appointed...that is the law.
VALORUM : The point...
VALORUM confers with several of his AIDES and VICE CHAIRMAN MAS AMEDDA.
PALPATINE whispers something to the QUEEN.
PALPATINE : Enter the bureaucrats, the true rulers of the Republic, and on
the payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where Chancellor
Valorum's strength will disappear.
VALORUM : The point is conceded...Section 523A takes precedence here. Queen
Amidala of the Naboo, will you defer your motion to allow a commission to explore the validity of your accusations?
QUEEN AMIDALA is angry but remains composed.
AMIDALA : (angrily) I will not defer...I have come before you to resolve this attack on our sovereignty now. I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee. If this body is not capable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed. I move for a "vote of no confidence"...in Chancellor Valorum's leadership.
VALORUM : What?...No!
This causes a great stir in the assembly. A loud murmur crescendos into a roar of approval and jeers. CHANCELLOR VALORUM is stunned and stands speechless. His Vice Chair, MAS AMEDDA, takes over.
MAS AMEDDA : Order! We shall have order...
Things settle down a little. The Federation box settles next to AMIDALA.
PRINCE BAIL ORGANA moves his box into the arena.
BAIL ORGANA : Alderaan seconds the motion for a vote of no confidence in
Chancellor Valorum.
MAS AMEDDA : The motion has been seconded by Bail Organa of Alderaan.
MAS AMEDDA turns to the confused VALORUM, and whispers something to him.
BAIL ORGANA : There must be no delays. The motion is on the floor and must be voted upon in this session.
LOTT DOD : The Trade Federation moves the motion be sent to the procedures committee for study.
The assembly begins to chant. VALORUM talks to MAS AMEDDA.
ASSEMBLY : Vote now! Vote now! Vote now!
PALPATINE stands next to AMIDALA.
PALPATINE : You see, Your Majesty, the tide is with us...Valorum will be voted out, I assure you, and they will elect in a new Chancellor, a strong
Chancellor, one who will not let our tragedy continue...
MAS AMEDDA : The Supreme Chancellor requests a recess. Tomorrow we will begin the vote.
The Federation delegation is furious. VALORUM turns to PALPATINE.
VALORUM : Palpatine, I thought you were my ally...my friend. You have betrayed me! How could you do this?
How indeed? Because the establishment figure is the easiest target in a crippled system. Senator Organa and the people of the planet Alderaan are pacifists, the last people to support an immediate intervention against another group in the Republic; from this point afterwards, Organa gently opposes everything that Palpatine does. Yet at this moment, nearly every frustrated faction would gladly vote against the establishment because of its paralysis. Even the Trade Federation, whose Senators are furious at the overthrow of the system that was working for them, has other functionaries that are secretly working with Palpatine’s alter-ego Sidious. For every Mitt Romney, there is a Sheldon Adelson and a Chris Christie. Some Republicans might try to mount a counter-coup to stop the anti-establishmentarian, but it will fail. And every insurgent faction is convinced it can win. Bernie Sanders soldiers on beyond the bounds of delegate math. Jill Stein’s Greens are actually polling better than the party ever has, at around 5%. The same is the case with Gary Johnson and Bill Weld leading the Libertarians, and they have two sitting governors backing them as well. This is impressive. It speaks to the independent spirit of the electorate and the lack of a cohesive center that can provide truly big tents. It also allows the protest candidate with the largest share of backers to win the election, even if he would lose handily in a true two-way race; voters who would otherwise find him odious will be partially pacified by the promise of abrupt change, and they will not vote for the establishment candidate simply to deny the odious change agent a victory. Even now, we see Republicans waffling between the Libertarian ticket and their own, depending mainly on how well Clinton is doing that week. Greens and Berners justify the prospect of potentially spoiling the election by saying that even if corporatist-friendly policy gets worse, it would finally be enough to spark revolution the next time around. Everyone wants the rules of the system to change rapidly, but their assumptions as to what would then be possible are predicated on the safety that system’s bounds have traditionally provided. No one assumes their followers or their interests would suddenly be disempowered. They have been convinced the democracy has already completely failed, even though in truth it creaks onward inefficiently but fairly intact.
CAPT. PANAKA : Your Highness, Senator Palpatine has been nominated to succeed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor.
PALPATINE : A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. I promise, Your Majesty, if I am elected, I will bring democracy back to the Republic. I will put an end to corruption. The Trade Federation will lose its influence over the bureaucrats, and our people will be freed.
AMIDALA : Who else can be nominated?
CAPT. PANAKA : Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare.
PALPATINE : I feel confident...our "situation" will create a strong sympathy vote for us... I will be Chancellor, I promise you.
AMIDALA : I fear by the time you have control of the bureaucrats, Senator, there will be nothing left of our cities, our people, our way of life...
PALPATINE : I understand your concern, Your Majesty; unfortunately, the
Federation has possession of our planet. The law is in their favor.
AMIDALA : With the Senate in transition, there is nothing more I can do here...Senator, this is your arena. I feel I must return to mine. I have decided to go back to Naboo. My place is with my people.
PALPATINE : Go back!! But, Your Majesty, be realistic! You would be in danger. They will force you to sign the treaty.
AMIDALA : I will sign no treaty, Senator. My fate will be no different from that of our people. Captain!
CAPT. PANAKA : Yes, Your Highness?
AMIDALA : Ready my ship!
CAPT. PANAKA : Please, Your Majesty, stay here...where it's safe.
AMIDALA : No place is safe, if the Senate doesn't condemn this invasion. It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions as a democracy. If you win the election, Senator, I know you will do everything possible to stop the Federation. I pray you will bring sanity and compassion back to the Senate.
AMIDALA and her RETINUE exit the room. PALPATINE has a self-satisfied smile on his face.
I understand that the reader might doubt that such a clear existential threat to the Republic is currently up for office. After all, he certainly seems less charismatic than Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine, not the sort of figure who could pivot from trade disputes to a grand war that rips the Republic in half. Unfortunately, he does not have to be. The Clone Wars, as it were, have been underway for quite some time. The Global War on Terror has been pitched to us as a fight for our country and culture, as has the Drug War to a lesser extent, which is the role that the Galactic Republic’s “Clone Wars” against the Confederacy of Independent Systems plays in Episodes II and III. The key for the would-be strongman is to focus exclusively on such anti-democratic threats posed by The Other, as a way of either justifying or diverting attention from the slow erosions of democracy within the republic. At the end of The Phantom Menace, when the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn is slain by Darth Maul, Chancellor Palpatine attends the funeral back on Naboo, but he does not assist the Jedi in their search for other Sith within the Republic; this might eventually lead the Jedi back to his schemes in the guise of Darth Sidious. Instead, he slowly focuses the Republic on the aggression by trade blocs led by non-Coruscanti species and their droid armies, and Episode II starts at the brink of a larger war. The GOP nominee need not create wars, just focus on the ones we’ve already decided to fight and divert attention from violent movements that might contain potential supporters. We have heard much rhetoric from him about Latinx immigrants being affiliated with drug cartels and Muslim Americans being affiliated with terrorist organizations, but not a Tweet regarding Thomas Mair assassinating Labour MP Jo Cox nor one airhanger rally focused on the existential danger of militias seizing land and intimidating citizens. Instead, he takes a celebratory victory lap in Scotland congratulating Britons for the Brexit and he sells campaign versions of the Civil War Battle Flag of Northern Virginia (i.e., “The Confederate Flag”) with his name on it. Agents of chaos more closely aligned with the strongman cannot be reined in by him; their grievances only accentuate the burgeoning war against The Other and the dismantling of freedom, openness and multiculturalism.
Perhaps it is necessary to touch on a few elements of Episodes II and III (Attack of The Clones and Revenge of The Sith) of Star Wars to more fully make the point. By the opening of Episode II, hundreds of planets are looking to leave the Republic, almost all of them settled by non-Coruscanti. Some are the home bases of the various corporate blocs in the Republic, but many are simply frustrated with the dysfunction or hypocritical infringement of liberties that have occurred in ten years of Chancellor Palpatine’s leadership. He has taken more singular control of governmental function, ostensibly to cut back on the influence of special interests over bureaucrats and Senators. The leader of the separatists, played by the commandingly sinister Christopher Lee, is former Jedi Count Dooku; Lucasfilm canon states that he left the Jedi Order over a disagreement as to how the Mandalorian people were treated after their latest insurrection against the Republic. Although Dooku’s people and the Mandalorians are descended from Coruscanti stock, they are swarthy; Dooku’s lightsaber handles are also atypically curved, giving them a more Middle Eastern appearance. In 2002, this would have brought very specific ideas to mind for a Western audience, evoking the kind of terrorist-dissidents that led enemy organizations; we still find ourselves up against some of these men that blur the line between cult leader and politician and critic of the Pax Americana.
Dooku is the perfect foil for Palpatine, as they are hypocritical in similar ways. He argues that the Confederacy will allow planets to be liberated from the corporate controlled bureaucrats of the Republic, but then brings the corporate blocs and their systems into the Confederacy. The progressive Amidala can see through the sham, but few others do:
PADMÉ: If what you say is true, you should stay in the Republic and help Chancellor Palpatine put things right.
DOOKU: The Chancellor means well, M'Lady, but he is incompetent. He has promised to cut the bureaucracy, but the bureaucrats are stronger than ever, no? Senator, the Republic cannot be fixed. It is time to start over. The democratic process in the Republic is a sham, a shell game played on the voters. It will not be long before the cult of greed, called the Republic, will lose even the pretext of democracy and freedom.
PADMÉ: I cannot believe that. I will not forsake all I have honoured and worked for and betray the Republic. I know of your treaties with the Trade Federation, the Commerce Guilds, and the others, Count. What is happening here is not government that has been bought out by business... it's business becoming government!
Moreover, the canon cartoon Clone Wars establishes that Dooku continually squelches any attempts by the Confederacy systems to rule themselves or reconstruct a more representative system. The argument against the unifying influence of the Republic is used to justify the re-introduction of old customs like slavery and public execution. The dissident persona is merely a mask for a callous tyrant, further underlined by Lucas by revealing that Dooku is also a secret Sith, Darth Tyranus, who is actually the new apprentice of Sidious/Palpatine after the death of Darth Maul. Dooku’s rule is not supported by an idealistic order like the Jedi that see themselves as servants of the people. The Confederacy maintains internal order and attacks the Republic through unquestioning armies of Techno Union manufactured battle droids, as well as the use of bounty hunter mercenaries. To spread the Jedi defenders of the Republic thin, Dooku also hits the Republic with scattered acts of terrorism. Amidala herself is almost assassinated at the start of Episode II by a terrorist action.
These are the enemies we have elected to focus on since the end of the Cold War. Men who utilize asymmetrical warfare as a means of throwing us off balance, they establish a cover story for their own tyranny that is part mysticism and part social critique. Initially we were only engaged with organized states that “sponsored” them, but now some have attempted to form states of their own and are transitioning to the use of more conventional warfare. Their armies are not droids, but they are “programmed” to have unswerving loyalty to the leader/organization. The promise of material gain brings in some soldiers of a more mercenary mindset, a tactic used by Daesh (aka ISIL) as well as the various drug cartels and drug-trade-funded revolutionaries of the southern hemisphere (e.g., FARC). Neighboring nations and their state-controlled corporations funnel resources and arms vital to the operation of these fighters; these allow for proxy actions in the region without the nations getting involved themselves. In some cases, like Saudi Arabia or Mexico, only some governmental officials assist the extremist organizations, but this too mirrors the varying levels of involvement that individual planets/corporations have in the Star Wars universe Confederacy:
DOOKU: Now is the time, my friends. The moment when you have to decide between the Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
COUNT DOOKU is at the head of the table. JANGO FETT stands behind his chair.
In addition to the original group, there are also THREE OPPOSITION SENATORS, PO NUDO, TESSEK and TOONBUCK TOORA, and a COMMERCE GUILD DIGNITARY, SHU MAI and a MEMBER of the INTERGALACTIC BANK CLAN, SAN HILL.
DOOKU (continuing): A hundred more systems will rally to our cause with your support, gentlemen. And let me remind you of our absolute commitment to capitalism… of the lower taxes, the reduced tariffs, and the eventual abolition of all trade barriers. Signing this treaty will bring you profits beyond your wildest imagination.
(looks at Nute)
Our friends in the Trade Federation have pledged their support. When their droid battalions are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than anything in the galaxy. The Jedi will be overwhelmed. The Republic will agree to any demands we make
MSEL ARGENTE, THE CORPORATE ALLIANCE REPRESENTATIVE, stands.
ARGENTE: I am authorized by the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty.
DOOKU: We are most grateful for your cooperation, Chairman.
SHU MAI, the Commerce Guild Representative, stands.
MAI: The Commerce Guilds do not at this time wish to become openly involved. But we shall support you in secret – and look forward to doing business with you.
There are chuckles around the table. COUNT DOOKU smiles.
DOOKU: That is all we ask.
SAN HILL, the banker, stands.
HILL: The Intergalactic Banking Clan will support you wholeheartedly, but only in a non-exclusive arrangement
One of the other complaints of Star Wars fans about the Prequels was that the Republic could have shut down the Separatists by refusing to trade with them. However, one could very well ask the same thing of our trade policy. Would not an embargo on Saudi oil prevent supporters of Al Qaeda from funding them adequately? Would not a boycott of the Turkish economy put pressure on their government to crack down on petroleum sales by Daesh? If we froze trade with Iran for years, then how did we not halt Hezbollah? The economy of a fictional galaxy or a real globalized world is complex, not easily given to black and white demarcations of “us” and “them” nor to clear paths to prevent the funding of separatist terrorists. Moves that might have any hope of having an impact would likely crash the Republic’s economy as well, particularly since alliances are not necessarily fully in the open. It stymies the attempt to fight through more non-violent means:
QUEEN JAMILLIA: The armies of commerce! Why has nothing been done in the Senate to restrain them?
PADMÉ: I'm afraid that, despite the Chancellor's best efforts, there are still many bureaucrats, judges, and even Senators on the payrolls of the Guilds.
BIBBLE: It's outrageous! After all of those hearings, and the four trials in the Supreme Court, Nute Gunray is still the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Do those money mongers control everything?
JAMILLIA: Remember, Counsellor, the courts were able to reduce the Federation's armies. That's a move in the right direction.
PADMÉ: There are rumours, Your Highness,that the Federation Army was not reduced as they were ordered.
ANAKIN: The Jedi have not been allowed to investigate. It would be to be too dangerous for the economy, we were told.
That said, in past large-scale conflicts, we have done much more to limit the free flow of arms to the other side. Part of the issue is that we are dealing with insurrectionist movements outside our borders, and when we arm local allies, corruption and theft might unwittingly arm our enemies. Another piece is that there are arms manufacturers and nations that will sell openly to any buyers, and we do not wish to complicate our diplomatic or business relationships by more strictly enforcing embargo. But perhaps the most vital element that parallels the Star Wars Prequels is that if weapons of war have limited sales, then some politicians lose campaign contributions and part of their voting base. Now there have always been a faction of Americans that believed that they have the right to wage war on their government as a form of political remedy; we fought a Civil War on the issue. However, the modern authoritarian twist on this anti-authoritarian idea is that only “real” Americans have that right and everyone else are fifth columnists that must be destroyed by any means necessary. Any means necessary, that is, except disarming them, because that would prevent “good guys with guns” from “stopping bad guys with guns.” Arms manufacturers are on the side of conflict, no matter their surface level loyalties, in that it benefits the bottom line; every time an assault weapon is used to terrorize Americans, there is another spike in the sales of military-grade firearms to civilians.
ANAKIN and PADME are standing in the centre of what looks like a courtroom. Seated before them in a tall, boxed-off area is POGGLE THE LESSER, Archduke of Geonosis. He is accompanied by his underling, SUN RIT. Off to one side the Separatist Senators PO NUDU, TESSEK, and TOONBUCK TOORA. Next to them are the Commerce Dignitaries, SHU MAI, NUTE GUNRAY, PASSEL ARGENTE, WAT TAMBOR and SAN HILL of the Intergalactic Bank Clan. Along the wall about a HUNDRED GEONOSIANS wait for a verdict.
SUN RIT: You have been charged and found guilty of Espionage.
POGGLE: Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?
PADMÉ: You are committing an act of war, Archduke. I hope you are prepared for the consequences.
POGGLE laughs. COUNT DOOKU simply smiles.
POGGLE: We build weapons, Senator... that is our business! Of course we're prepared!
As Upton Sinclair once wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” The debate over weapons is like that over any other commodity, in that gets skewed by some political figures depending upon trade organizations to keep themselves in office. So the public is made to believe that hunting rifles and military rifles are interchangeable, that the UN means to confiscate pistols from homes when they debate going after arms traffickers, and that the Second Amendment should be granted to suspected insurgents even when the rest of the Bill of Rights is stripped from them. The amassing of droid legions and bounty hunters, so to speak, cannot be stopped, because the Techno Union (or NRA) and Cloners of Kamino (or private military firms) are important constituencies. If the Republic is under threat of being overpowered then obviously the “Jedi” are insufficient for the defense of the people and new ideas must be considered, perhaps by a “strong” leader with “bold” thoughts.
In Episode II, this new idea is the army of Clonetroopers. The Jedi are a defense force with a code of honor, a commitment to peacekeeping, and an allegiance to the principles of the Republic. The Clonetroopers are clones of a Separatist bounty hunter, a disgruntled Mandalorian named Jango Fett. They are literally modeled on their enemy. Their code is to fight where ordered, and their true allegiance is to the leader as singular embodiment of the Republic. Again, Palpatine had to orchestrate the creation and deployment of these troopers over decades using both his public persona and his secret dealings as Darth Sidious, but in our world the strongman nominee for President comes to a military that has been shifting away from its roots for some time. For decades, Congress has been ceding more and more power to the POTUS as Commander in Chief, such that their power to govern warfare has been diminished and his role as war leader is strengthened; we have been made to feel that the very act of deliberating over war puts us at risk. Palpatine doesn’t win such power until late in Episode II, but it is with much the same argument:
BAIL ORGANA: The Commerce Guilds are preparing for war... there can be no doubt of that.
PALPATINE: Count Dooku must have made a treaty with them.
MACE WINDU: We must stop them soon before they're fully ready.
SENATOR ASK AAK: The debate is over, we need that clone army now!
BAIL ORGANA: Unfortunately, the debate is not over. The Senate will never be able to approve the use of that army before the separatists attack.
Mas Amedda, who had been silent up until now suddenly speaks up.
MAS AMEDDA: This is a crisis! If the Senate votes the Chancellor emergency powers, he could approve the use of the army in a minute.
PALPATINE: Please, please, I don't wish to have emergency powers. That's too extreme a solution. It's akin to a dictatorship. We must rely on the Jedi. Master Yoda, how many are available to go to Geonosis?
MACE WINDU and YODA look at one another.
YODA: Two Hundred ... less or more.
BAIL ORGANA: With all due respect for the Jedi Order, two hundred will be no match for hundreds of thousands of battle droids.
MACE WINDU: Patience. We should wait for Obi-Wan to report back. We don't know that Count Dooku has made a treaty with the Corporate Alliance, it's speculation.
SENATOR ASK AAK: But we must prepare for the worst. I'm going to propose a motion granting emergency powers to the Chancellor at the next session. We must not wait!
PALPATINE: Out of the question, Senator! You and I are too closely aligned. The issue will become partisan and debates will begin. The proposal must come from a neutral source.
MAS AMEDDA: If only Senator Amidala were here.
JAR JAR steps forward from the back of the group.
JAR JAR: Supreme Chancellor... my august colleagues, I would be proud to propose the motion in question. This is a grave situation, and I'm sure Senator Amidala, and the Queen of Naboo would agree.
SENATOR ASK AAK: Thank you, Representative Binks.
Silence. Then PALPATINE sighs deeply.
This scene also brings up the sense that the Jedi are insufficient to the scale of the war at hand, allowing an opening for a separate legion of defenders for the Republic. We’ve already made that decision too, and are increasingly reliant on corporate adjuncts for everything from meal service to construction to maintenance to procurement to ambassadorial security and actual combat operations. Xe (formerly Blackwater) is the most famous example of mercenary military utilized instead of enlisted personnel, but many other private firms have been substituted in as a “force multiplier” throughout the globe over the last 15 years. Simultaneously, we have seen attempts from within government to shield mercenaries and other private contractors from criminal/civil charges when they go about their work. Again, Xe is the most well-known example, although the Iraqi authorities were eventually given some latitude for legal redress for employee actions. But there have also been attempts to excuse private construction firms from injuries they have caused to enlisted personnel because of shoddy work. Economic benefit is given higher priority than national reputation or national interest.
More importantly, when enlisted soldiers are replaced by guns-for-hire, it further reinforces the message that our defenses are outdated and not up to the task. Military careers suddenly become a training-level position to make decent wages as a mercenary, a situation only compounded by the insufficient material and systems support we give active duty personnel and veterans and military families. Even promotions are just a way to get to a level where you can get a command position with a private firm or work as a defense industry consultant. The military code gets subtly eroded, even in the minds of the noblest soldiers. The political system has eroded it more overtly, too, by telling citizens repeatedly that the entire concept of just conduct of war is outdated in our latest struggle. The Geneva Conventions are a relic, the President can authorize rendition and drone execution and torture, and we can declare anything a battle zone. To argue otherwise is weakness, foolishness, or both, because after all, our enemies are heartless and there are “ticking time-bombs” to stop. When a few soldiers do something horrendous, the system declares them “bad apples” and punishes them as individual miscreants. Yet the aping of the worst of our foes has not occurred in a vacuum. It comes from the tacit permission in our modern political culture that we must be as fearful as possible, and that a maximalist rageful response is an appropriate counter to our fear.
The GOP nominee has espoused this Sith-like philosophy more openly. To him, war crimes are retributive acts of terror, and not just a Machiavellian work-around for the “ticking time-bomb.” He uses the word torture proudly. He states that entire families of suspected terrorists should be executed, as this would somehow dissuade more people from joining extremist groups that oppose us. There are no euphemisms used in his language. It takes Palpatine ten years to get from ordering an army of Clonetroopers to aid the Jedi to the point where he can command Darth Vader and proto-Stormtroopers (ARC Troopers) to mow down Jedi preschooler trainees at the Jedi Temple:
PALPATINE: Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic. You understand that, don't you?
ANAKIN: I understand, Master.
PALPATINE: We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless; if they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end. First, I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padme.
ANAKIN: What about the other Jedi spread across the galaxy?
PALPATINE: Their betrayal will be dealt with. After you have killed all the Jedi in the Temple, go to the Mustafar system. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray and the other Separatist leaders. Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy, and we shall have peace.
The GOP candidate already declares children to be future enemies, or at the very least fair targets through which we can strike back at our opponents; he is greeted with cheers for this rhetoric. And it is not just “non-Coruscanti” children, foreign and domestic, in his sights. Like Palpatine, threats of violence are directed at any leaders or groups connected in any way with insurgents, including leaders he continues to deal with as a private citizen. Furthermore, enemies of militarism or his rise to power are not just excluded from being “real” Americans, as they might have been in the recent past, but are also open to attack by supporters as enemies of the state; it matters not if the protest is aggressive or passive, the protestor should be “put on a stretcher.” Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan immediately has to flee the capital on Coruscant after Palpatine consolidates his grip on power, even though Organa has remained loyal to the Republic throughout, because disagreement is now disloyalty. He had been skeptical of the Clone Wars, and Palpatine now declares those Senators must be “dealt with.” This is the definition being acted upon at GOP rallies as our campaign season continues. No one is aiming the Death Star at Vermont, but Bernie Sanders is talked about as some nefarious mastermind behind peaceful counter-protests that somehow imperil the candidate and it is considered “self-defense” for rally attendees to run over or knock out people holding signs.
Even so, the most unsettling consequence of a “Sith” outlook is the rebranding of soldiers who wish to hold onto a code of honor as enemies of the Republic. Just after the scene from Episode III seen above, Palpatine orders the clone army to assassinate their Jedi commanders. In his defense, the Jedi have just tried to arrest him, and failing that, to overthrow him. For those who think there is no way any Commander in Chief could take that path, think about the attitude this candidate has taken toward our volunteer armed forces. He has demeaned POWs as weak and incompetent. He has declared nation-building troops entrusted with reparation funds as personally corrupt and having stolen taxpayer monies. He has used veterans as a fundraising prop, and it still isn’t clear he has given veterans’ charities what he promised them from that event. Given his seemingly low regard for their level of sacrifice on behalf of the nation, it is a good question how he would react if some enlisted personnel refused to carry out his orders because they violated international standards of warfare. It is unlikely he would hunt them down, but he might argue that they were treasonous; after all, they would have violated the chain of command, and he is the unquestioned top of that chain. Honor and obedience would get conflated. What would this do to the nation if our armed forces were directed along such a path?
In the end, it isn’t necessary for a Palpatine-like figure to literally play both sides of every conflict, to be dealing with every target of his xenophobia on the sly. He just has to get enough people to use rage to deal with their fears, and pick targets that are likely to respond in kind. Those opponents that refuse to counter-attack are depicted as weak and pathetic. Those allies that refuse to change their worldview are depicted as untrustworthy. Of course the current GOP candidate is not secretly giving instructions to the head of Daesh or the drug lords, as Palpatine does with Dooku and the Trade Federation. It can be argued that he builds hotels in Mexico, manufactures goods with his name in China, and does real estate deals with Gulf State sheiks, but this is not the same level of direct double-dealing. The key is that the Sith philosophies of might making right and rage countering fear are increasingly being shared by us and our enemies, rather than what makes us different from them. The GOP nominee is only playing on this vulnerability. He also speaks to other nations, praising strongmen we have traditionally opposed and berating allies for exemplifying the values we once brought to them, emphasizing a new way to weight our diplomacy more consistent with the Galactic Empire. This was a long time coming: Google “Star Wars Empire Good Guys” and you will see twenty years of conservative apologia for how the Imperial Order was benevolent from writers as prestigious as William Kristol and Jonathan Last. We did not embrace these alien ideas overnight.
Gradually, we have been buying into the lie of absolute security. We have been unable to deal with the fear that results when that illusion is periodically broken. We keep chasing a level of order that we can never attain, and the pursuit requires the destruction of everything we hold dear. When rage allows us to ignore our fear, we have a temporary sense of victory, until the next time the bubble is burst. This is the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi that Palpatine shapes into becoming Darth Vader. His personal arc in the Prequels is meant to parallel the fall of the Republic, and it also shows how good and noble citizens of a democracy can be sculpted into dedicated authoritarians. Anakin, like any person, just wants to keep the ones he loves safe. His loved one is Senator Amidala, whose idealism mirrors the best of the Old Republic; Anakin is secretly married to her, as Jedi are supposed to be without individual attachments. He keeps having fearful visions of his wife dying. Palpatine has a solution.
ANAKIN sits next to PALPATINE. The Chancellor leans over to him.
PALPATINE: (continuing) Anakin, you know I'm not able to rely on the Jedi Council. If they haven't included you in their plot, they soon will.
ANAKIN: I'm not sure I understand.
PALPATINE: You must sense what I have come to suspect . . . the Jedi Council want control of the Republic . . . they're planning to betray me.
ANAKIN: I don't think . . .
PALPATINE: Anakin, search your feelings. You know, don't you?
ANAKIN: I know they don't trust you . . .
PALPATINE: Or the Senate . . . or the Republic . . . or democracy for that matter.
ANAKIN: I have to admit my trust in them has been shaken.
PALPATINE: Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they?
ANAKIN doesn't say anything. He simply looks down.
PALPATINE: (continuing) They asked you to spy on me, didn't they?
ANAKIN: I don't know ... I don't know what to say.
PALPATINE: Remember back to your early teachings. Anakin. "All those who gain power are afraid to lose it." Even the Jedi.
ANAKIN: The Jedi use their power for good.
PALPATINE: Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be. . .
ANAKIN: … evil.
PALPATINE: … from a Jedi's point of view. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are more powerful.
ANAKIN: The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves.
PALPATINE: And the Jedi don't?
ANAKIN: The Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others.
PALPATINE smiles.
PALPATINE: Or so you've been trained to believe. Why is it, then, that they have asked you to do something you feel is wrong?
ANAKIN: I'm not sure it's wrong.
PALPATINE: Have they asked you to betray the Jedi code? The Constitution? A friendship? Your own values? Think. Consider their motives. Keep your mind clear of assumptions. The fear of losing power is a weakness of both the Jedi and the Sith.
ANAKIN is deep in thought.
PALPATINE: (continuing) Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis "the wise"?
ANAKIN: No.
PALPATINE: I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life ... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.
ANAKIN: He could actually save people from death?
PALPATINE: The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
ANAKIN: What happened to him?
PALPATINE: He became so powerful . . . the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. (smiles) Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.
ANAKIN: Is it possible to learn this power?
PALPATINE: Not from a Jedi.
It’s intriguing that Lucas wrote the same words into Palpatine’s mouth that real-world pundits like Kristol and Last used to critique the first two Prequels: the Sith (Empire) are just trying to pursue security and justice, so their benevolence is proven by their ability to provide these more effectively than the sclerotic Old Republic and Jedi. Whether they slaughter toddlers or (later in Episode IV) blow up whole planets to achieve this aim is considered to be evil only from one “point of view.” The sales pitch to Anakin is that any means, Dark or Light, must be pursued to keep the ones we care about from death. Furthermore, only “supposedly” evil means will ensure that we can prevent death. One might think him a fool for buying this sophistry until one reflects that we’ve been sold the same flawed logic for decades. This conversation makes Anakin dependent on Palpatine for advice, thinking the defeat of Palpatine will result in the death of Amidala. When Palpatine refuses to step down after both Count Dooku and his chief military commander are killed in action, and the Senate and courts do not act, the Jedi decide that there is no way to democratically stop him. Unfortunately, all means of peaceful change are off the table. Anakin, like most of us, is hesitant to back what is effectively a military coup, and he additionally fears that the overthrow of Palpatine will lead to a loss of personal security.
MACE and three Jedi (AGEN KOLAR, KIT FISTO, AND SAESEE TIIN) are preparing to board a Jedi Gunship to PALPATINE'S office. ANAKIN enters the hangar.
ANAKIN: Master Windu, I must talk to you.
MACE WINDU: What is it, Skywalker? We are in a hurry. We have just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We are on our way to make sure the Chancellor returns emergency powers back to the Senate.
ANAKIN: He won't give up his power. I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord.
MACE WINDU: A Sith Lord?
ANAKIN: Yes. The one we have been looking for.
MACE WINDU: How do you know this?
ANAKIN: He knows the ways of the Force. He has been trained to use the dark side.
MACE WINDU: Are you sure?
ANAKIN: Absolutely.
MACE WINDU: Then our worst fears have been realized. We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive.
ANAKIN: Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You will need my help if you are going to arrest him.
MACE WINDU: For your own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgment.
ANAKIN: I must go, Master.
MACE WINDU: No. If what you told me is true, you will have gained my trust, but for now remain here.
ANAKIN: Yes, Master.
MACE WiNDU: Wait for us in the Council Chamber until we return.
ANAKIN: Yes, Master.
ANAKIN watches as the JEDI leave in their ship.
(INTERCUT)
PADME is alone in her apartment, thinking of Anakin. ANAKIN sits alone in the Jedi Council Chamber thinking of PADME.
PALPATINE: (V.O.) You do know, don't you, if the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost.
PADME: I truly, deeply love you. Before I die. I want you to know.
C-3PO: My Lady, are you. . . . Are you all right?
ANAKIN: I can't do this ... I can't let her die.
ANAKIN rushes out of the Council Chamber and to his speeder. The hangar door opens and he lifts off.
The sky is still blue as a Jedi Gunship lands on the Senate Office Building landing platform.
Four Jedi exit the shuttle and enter the Senate Office Building. MACE WINDU, AGEN KOLAR, KIT FISTO, and SAESEE TIIN, like gunfighters out of the Old West, walk through the massive hallway, four across.
The Jedi enter the lobby, raising their arms, and send the Chancellor's aide, DAR WAC, flying against the wall, along with two Republic Guards. They storm into the Chancellor's office.
MACE arrives with three Jedi to arrest PALPATINE.
PALPATINE: Master Windu. I take it General Grievous has been destroyed then. I must say you're here sooner than expected.
MACE WINDU: In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor.
MACE WINDU and the other JEDI ignite their lightsabers.
PALPATINE: Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?
MACE: The Senate will decide your fate.
PALPATINE: (burst of anger) I am the Senate!
MACE: Not yet!
PALPATINE stands, a light saber appears out of his cloak sleeve, and he spins toward the JEDI.
PALPATINE: It's treason, then.
A close shot of PALPATINE as the fight begins. Close shots of Jedi getting cut down by PALPATINE. PALPATINE and MACE continue to fight.
Jedi Master MACE WINDU and the Sith Lord fight their way down the hallway and into the main office area. PALPATINE is able to use the Force to slam MACE against the wall, but he recovers before the Chancellor can cut him down.
ANAKIN lands his speeder, jumps out, and runs down a long corridor toward the Chancellor's office.
In the heat of battle, MACE cuts the window behind the Chancellor's desk, and it crashes away. MACE is forced out onto the ledge, which is twenty stories up. They fight over the precipice. ANAKIN arrives to see PALPATINE and MACE fighting.
They stop as MACE forces PALPATINE to drop his sword. PALPATINE and MACE start yelling at each other.
MACE WINDU: You are under arrest, My Lord.
PALPATINE: Anakin! I told you it would come to this. I was right. The Jedi are taking over.
MACE WlNDU: You old fool. The oppression of the Sith will never return. Your plot to regain control of the Republic is over . . . you have lost . . .
PALPATINE: No! No! You will die!
PALPATINE raises his hands, and lightning bolts shoot out. They are blocked by MACE's lightsaber. PALPATINE is pushed back against the windowsill.
PALPATINE: He is a traitor, Anakin.
MACE WlNDU: He's the traitor. Stop him!
PALPATINE: Come to your senses, boy. The Jedi are in revolt. They will betray you, just as they betrayed me.
MACE WlNDU: (Grunts with the strain)
PALPATINE: You are not one of them, Anakin. Don't let him kill me.
MACE WlNDU: (Continues to strain)
PALPATINE: I am your pathway to power. I have the power to save the one you love. You must choose. You must stop him.
MACE WlNDU: Don't listen to him, Anakin.
PALPATINE: Help me! Don't let him kill me. I can't hold on any longer. (Cries out in pain)
MACE pushes PALPATINE out to the edge of the ledge. As the Jedi moves closer, the bolts from Palpatine's hands begin to arch back on him. The Chancellor's face begins to twist and distort. His eyes become yellow as he struggles to intensify his powers.
PALPATINE: I can't ... I give up. Help me. I am weak ... I am too weak. Don't kill me. I give up. I'm dying. I can't hold on any longer.
MACE WlNDU: You Sith disease. I am going to end this once and for all.
ANAKIN: You can't kill him, Master. He must stand trial.
MACE WlNDU: He has too much control of the Senate and the Courts. He is too dangerous to be kept alive.
PALPATINE: I'm too weak. Don't kill me. Please.
ANAKIN: It is not the Jedi way . . .
MACE raises his sword to kill the CHANCELLOR.
ANAKIN: (continuing) He must live . . .
PALPATINE: Please don't, please don't . . .
ANAKIN: I need him . . .
PALPATINE: Please don't . . .
ANAKIN: NO!!!
Just as MACE is about to slash PALPATINE, ANAKIN steps in and cuts off the Jedi's hand holding the lightsaber.
As MACE stares at ANAKIN in shock, PALPATINE springs to life.
The full force of Palpatine's powerful Bolts blasts MACE. He attempts to deflect them with his one good hand, but the force is too great. As blue rays engulf his body, he is flung out the window and falls twenty stories to his death. No more screams. No more moans. PALPATINE lowers his arm.
PALPATINE: Power! Unlimited power!
His face has changed into a horrible mask of evil. ANAKIN looks on in horror. PALPATINE cackles.
ANAKIN: What have I done?
ANAKIN sits.
PALPATINE: You are fulfilling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force.
ANAKIN: I will do whatever you ask.
PALPATINE: Good.
ANAKIN: Just help me save Padme's life. I can't live without her. I won't let her die. I want the power to stop death.
PALPATINE: To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret.
ANAKIN kneels before PALPATINE.
ANAKIN: I pledge myself to your teachings. To the ways of the Sith.
PALPATINE: Good. Good. The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth . . . Vader.
ANAKIN: Thank you, my Master.
PALPATINE: Rise, Darth Vader.
Palpatine moves over to his desk.
The Republic, and Anakin as well, had already gone too far down the path toward Empire. The horrible choices were between Jedi Junta and Sith Emperor. It is an interesting thought experiment as to whether Mace Windu would have been the Emperor had Anakin saved him instead of Palpatine, although this fan would like to think that Yoda would have found a way for the Jedi to cede power back to the Senate quickly. But the die was cast before the showdown in Palpatine’s office, as Anakin (and many of the Senators and citizens of the Republic) could not let go of the fear that people would be exposed to danger without a strongman at the helm. When we reject radical acceptance and believe that we have total choice over our fates (and those of our family members), we are open to being convinced to go along with tyranny. Yet, the wisdom to know the difference between what we can change and what we cannot is not merely a noble platitude. It is the only means to the truest safety we can manage. Sooner or later, citizens who go along with authoritarianism commit dark acts or are responsible for the acts done in their name by others. Eventually, blowback finds the very people they mean to protect. In the end, the Republic Anakin was sworn to defend is undone with his active assistance. When Amidala confronts him, he loses the entire reason for his actions.
The sleek NABOO SKIFF lands on the Mustafar landing platform near Anakin's GREEN STARFIGHTER. ANAKIN runs up to the SKIFF as the ramp lowers. PADME runs to him.
ANAKIN: Padme, I saw your ship . . .
They embrace.
PADME: Oh, Anakin!
ANAKIN: It's all right. You're safe now. What are you doing out here?
PADME: I was so worried about you. Obi-Wan told me terrible things.
ANAKIN: What things?
PADME: He said you have turned to the dark side . . . that you killed younglings.
ANAKIN: Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me.
PADME: He cares about us.
ANAKIN: Us??!
PADME: He knows . . . He wants to help you.
ANAKIN: Is Obi-Wan going to protect you? He can't ... he can't help you. He's not strong enough.
PADME: Anakin, all I want is your love.
ANAKIN: Love won't save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that.
PADME: At what cost? You are a good person. Don't do this.
ANAKIN: I won't lose you the way I lost my mother! I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I've done it for you. To protect you.
PADME: Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can.
ANAKIN: Don't you see, we don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be.
PADME: I don't believe what I'm hearing . . . Obi-Wan was right. You've changed.
ANAKIN: I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me.
PADME: I don't know you anymore. Anakin, you're breaking my heart. I'll never stop loving you, but you are going down a path I
can't follow.
ANAKIN: Because of Obi-Wan?
PADME: Because of what you've done . . . what you plan to do. Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you.
ANAKIN: (seeing Obi-Wan) Liar!
PADME turns around and sees OBI-WAN standing in the doorway of the Naboo Cruiser.
PADME: No!
ANAKIN: You're with him. You've betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!
PADME: NO! Anakin. I swear ... I ...
ANAKIN reaches out, and PADME grabs her throat as she starts to choke.
OBI-WAN: Let her go, Anakin.
ANAKIN: What have you and she been up to?
OBI-WAN: Let her go!
ANAKIN releases his grip on the unconscious PADME and she crumples to the ground.
Amidala dies a little later in the movie, not solely from her injuries from Anakin’s Force powers, but because she has become broken hearted and hopeless at seeing her husband lose his way. It is doubtful that Palpatine would have saved Amidala even if he had the power to do so, as she had been part of the same dissident faction as Bail Organa. The security state makes it more dangerous for our children and spouses, not less so; its violence spreads throughout the society, branding the innocent as traitors and creating a few new real enemies along the way. Its paranoid stance is self-fulfilling. We have seen this model fail in so many of our foes in the last 100 years. Why would we ever choose this path to ruin? The good news is that we are not yet so far gone to turn back. We can still deflate the strongman through a free and fair election, and do not yet have a “Jedi” revolt as our only alternative. It is true that our institutions have not done enough in recent decades to help many of our neighbors, and I would never argue that these are insignificant shortcomings of our system. As a society, we have allowed corporate power to grow, tacitly stood by as disenfranchised groups took up arms, and relied too much on fear and greed to make important decisions. Nevertheless, more short-term thinking that seeks rapid simple solutions will complete the process we have begun. The GOP nominated a figure nowhere nearly as clever as Palpatine. We can stop him, and face the hard truth that this is only the first step of many years of extremely hard work in the public arena to undo real problems with our Republic. Or we can support the strongman, opting to believe his lies that his opponents are more corrupt and weaker than he, because the opposition can’t offer us a false guarantee of safety. We are Anakin Skywalker on the windowsill. Only we can save the Republic. Or we can live our lives as Vader, dependent on the machinery of the Imperial state as it destroys everything we love. May the Force Be With Us, Always.
