|
 The
Force is Asleep
If you’re bleary-eyed and tired, you’re probably one of those geeky
thousands who ruined a perfectly good night’s sleep by watching
the final episode of Star Wars while the rest of us were snoring.
See below a mini-debate by two local fans on George Lucas’
comments on just who is the “dark side” in today’s world.
On the Edge of the
Abyss
The filibuster debate continues in the U.S. Senate with a vote expected
next week. In his e-mail column, National Journal political analyst
Charlie Cook says both Republicans and Democrats have too
much to lose to allow the Senate to be shut down. He thinks the
contenders will push the showdown right to the brink, and then pull
back from the abyss with a compromise.
However, Sen. Orrin Hatch, appearing
on the Sean Hannity radio and TV shows Wednesday afternoon
and evening, didn’t seem to be in a compromising mood. Anything
short of all seven Bush nominees getting an up or down vote on the
Senate floor is unacceptable, he said. Here’s a good New York
Times story
on the fight.
Don’t Hold Breath
for Senate Opening
Utah has a long queue of capable Republicans hoping to take a shot
some day at higher office. They might have to wait a very long time
for a U.S Senate opportunity. It is commonly acknowledged that Sen.
Orrin Hatch will run until death intervenes. Assuming he wins next
year, his seat won't be open until 2012, anyway.
Now I hear from people close to Sen. Bob
Bennett, who was just re-elected last year, that he's enjoying
himself so much and is gaining so much clout that he will probably
run for a fourth term in 2010, assuming good health. (And he has
nice genes. His father, Wallace Bennett, died at age 95.)
With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist retiring next year,
Bennett has a chance to move up in leadership and/or chair a key
committee.
Words to Live By
"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might
win by fearing to attempt." -- William Shakespeare, Measure
for Measure, Act 1
"Really great men have a curious feeling
that the greatness is not in them, but through them. Therefore,
they are humble." -- John Ruskin
"The exercise of power requires an especially
sharp and sensitive conscience." -- Neal A. Maxwell
The Dark Side of George
Lucas
While it all may be a publicity stunt to fill the theaters, some
people are upset about comments made by George Lucas at the
Cannes Film Festival about the Dark Side being comparable to America’s
invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. So is President Bush
becoming the dictator of the Evil Empire (America)?
Here is some coverage by the Associated
Press, USA
Today, the San
Francisco Chronicle and a Web
log.
Two local Star Wars fans submitted comments
to Utah Policy Daily:
Brian Hills: USA Today says people
are making a lot of comparisons between Episode III and the Iraq
War, but Lucas said that he wrote the story even before the war
so it can't be a correct assumption that Lucas made the movie about
the war. It would be just as easy to make comparisons from the Star
Wars saga that would support Bush by comparing him with Yoda and
Mace Windu. It is a fact that Lucas did say that there are definite
parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars. But this country is
not becoming a dictatorship. LBJ/ Nixon or Bush aren't about becoming
dictators. They had the courage to fight for a cause they believed
in, right or wrong.
In my opinion, I think the crazy liberals
like those noted in the San Francisco Chronicle are trying
to find any excuse to criticize Bush and create noise for their
cause. This is ridiculous and ignorant! They are still so flaming
pissed off that they lost the election that they are stooping to
new lows to try and take the fame and publicity that comes out of
Star Wars to make a statement for their views. If Lucas wrote the
movie before the Iraq War, it can't possibly be about it! Even if
he is against the war, it is irrelevant.
If the liberal flamers watched Episode II
you can see Yoda (the head of the Jedi council/ the preservers of
the peace) making the decision to send both the Jedi and the clone
armies to Geonosis (a foreign world/country) to stop the separatist
leaders like Dookoo and Lord Sidius from creating an army to fight
against and destroy the Republic. Plus Dooku and the separatists
had the plans to assassinate a Senator and take control of the Senate
themselves- and Yoda and Mace Windu (Bush) were fighting against
this. They had the courage and the decision-making ability to do
something about the problem, and stand up for an issue and do what
they believed in. So it would be just as easy to make this comparison
in favor of Bush for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to destroy
separatist terrorists who seek to take away the liberty and freedom
of people all over the globe. Most of these liberals hadn’t even
seen the movie before trying to make some noise for their cause.
We will also see in Episode III that the Jedi council has the courage
to send Obi Wan Kanobi (our armies) to take out General Grevious
(Osama) because he is threatening the peace of their people and
government. Go figure. My advice? Just watch the movie and shut
up.
Paul Hollingshead: Through your point
of view, you are positioning yourself to defend Lucas. I don't think
this is a good idea. Lucas is no idiot. He knows what he is doing
and he knows how the media works (He has used the media as a pawn
for the past 30 years to publicize his products and make his fortune).
To insinuate that it is the writers who are solely responsible for
propagating the comparison of America to Lucas' Evil Empire gives
them far too much credit. Lucas made the comments; he was not duped
into putting his foot in his mouth. He was careful not to specifically
call out Bush so as to not alienate half of his fan base (people
like you). Lucas knew that his fans would be loyal enough to write
it off as liberal writers looking for a chance to take a shot at
the current administration (which you did).
The truth is that though we may choose to
interpret Star Wars' battle of good vs. evil as America being the
good and Communism/Osama/Saddam being the evil, Lucas, the film
series' proprietary author, intends it to mean the opposite. He
believes that America is on a path toward Fascism, which shows just
how out of touch with reality he is. However, we, the masses, have
no interest in keeping Lucas grounded in reality because his departure
from it leads to epic and entertaining films.
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