Parallels from the Empire

A glimpse at our modern world through the eyes of Rebellion

There are no Star Destroyers hanging in low orbit over our world, but there are worse threats to our existence that we see every day. You would think in modern times that humanity would have learned its lesson from devastation and war, but sadly it has not. We don’t even need to consider an outside threat, when we are destroying our planet ourselves.

But war is not our only enemy; corruption, greed, the lust for power, and wealth have all driven many to the precipice of dark deeds, with unthinkable consequences to the innocent. It parallels everything that we know and have seen the Empire to be.

When we look at the war in Ukraine with Russia, we see many similarities between Vladimir Putin and the Emperor, as well as between the Russian Government and the Empire. As frightening as that may seem, I would argue that Russia is not the only nation that parallels the doctrines of the dark side of the Force.

China, Iran, North Korea, and Turkey are all aligned with the former Soviet Union and have built a modern axis of evil in an attempt to control the balance of power on the planet. Their doctrine is simple: none of them alone can stand against the Democracies of the West, but together they can undermine the foundations of their enemies and strike them when they are not expecting it.

It is eerily reminiscent of the Clone Wars era, in which the star systems of the Separatist Alliance committed treason against the Republic and declared war on its government. Behind it all, the darkest of figures with his own personal agenda for galactic conquest and control.

Caught in the heart of these conflicts are the masses, many of whom are innocent. They are forced into subjection to wicked dictators and their rules, while clawing to survive. Others use the existence of circumstances for their own evil desires, manipulating the systems at play for their personal benefit. They are the scum and villainy of the earth.

We live in as Obi-Wan stated, dark times, and it is in these times in which heroes are born. People who come from ordinary lives, and out of obscurity. Some by birth into chance positions of privilege, and others thrust into the fray by no doing of their own. All the while fate has conspired to bring them to the edge of existence, where they can dare to act, and change the world, or falter in fear, and fail.

The Empire was self-assured of its control and station, with no thought to hubris being it’s Achilles heel. It was the door through which Rebellion succeeded, and only so. Like the Empire, the same holds true for our world. Powers beyond our scope where influence and money control the lives of billions, where our futures are exchanged for the privileged few.

The only option then must be survival. We must survive the next five minutes, so that we can begin the next five minutes thereafter. We must use that time to become smarter, stronger, and wiser than our enemies. We must study them, as they study us, and learn their weaknesses. We must learn to operate outside of the envelope of their control and domination.

At the foundation of our actions we must have hope, for without hope we have nothing, and we must have a plan. That plan must lay the foundation for our survival, and at its core it must have the hope that a future may exist free of tyranny. Someday, somehow, we must reclaim what is rightfully ours, freedom!