Power and Control
I have written tens of thousands of words on what Jedi do, who Jedi are, and what Jedi strive to be. This essay is a little different. This essay contrasts something that Jedi should oppose. Star Wars gives us powerful mythical motifs in the Jedi based on selflessness and compassion with a mission of peace and justice. But a hero is only as good as the villains they oppose. In Star Wars mythology this is the Sith, who are motivated by selfishness and greed all in the search for power and control.
But we live in the real world and not a story with simple morality created to be understood by children. As much as we want to be. We cannot simply always be heroes of the story, and real-world villains rarely are cartoonishly evil as Palpatine. But there are people in this real world that are indeed motivated by self-interest and the accumulation of things be it material wealth or political power. In some people, avarice has no boundaries, and for others, they will not be satisfied until dissent from their worldview is extinguished.
Authoritarianism is spreading worldwide, and with that oppression of the marginalized is increasing in many communities. While I believe that the arc of history is long and it bends towards justice, right now there is a strong reactionary movement, and some of the hard-won gains for equity and civil rights are being eroded and actively dismantled.
Last year for the first time in United States history, the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right instead of expanding them. In Overturning the right to safe legal abortion the Supreme Court of the United States made millions of people less safe. And now conservative state governments are exercising their new power to control their citizens. Doctors are now consulting with lawyers in some states before administering life-saving care because of the control of politicians into the private lives of pregnant people. People are suffering and dying because of a desire by a minority to control the lives and decisions of others. They are taking the control and autonomy of people who can become pregnant and exercising their authoritarian power over their lives and healthcare decision.
The animus towards the LGBTQIA+ community is growing at an alarming rate, especially at the most vulnerable members of the queer community, transgender people. Anti-transgender legislation is being proposed in legislatures across the United States ranging from denying gender-affirming medical care, to even outlawing wearing clothing not appropriate for your gender assigned at birth. The real purpose behind this is to make it impossible for transgender and other queer people to exist. It is nothing short of the early steps in a queer genocide, orchestrated by the right wing, with the complicity of corporations and tepid resistance by those on the opposite side of the aisle who themselves are looking after their own power as forces are exercising power over queer individuals controlling if they even have the right to exist and live their lives without fear of persecution or prosecution.
The limiting of rights and freedoms today becomes the limiting of dissent later. It is an old playbook of conservatives to disenfranchise voters that oppose them. The Voting Rights Act was designed to address the inequity visited upon minority voters but was gutted by the Supreme Court justifying it that with the election of Barack Obama, we live in a “post-racial” society. This justification ignored the racist pushback to this event, and conservative-run states wasted no time in making it harder for people to vote. Many parts of the United States that are seen as conservative are in fact full of disenfranchised voters and gerrymandered districts to keep conservatives in power and oppress marginalized people. If not for those wanting power and control, the political makeup of representative democracy would reflect the actual will of the people instead of the minoritarian rule we have today.
There is a Charlie Chaplin quote that I believe is apropos: “You need Power, only when you want to do something harmful otherwise Love is enough to get everything done.”
Make no mistake, the forces that seek Power and Control do so to do harm, and they are doing harm right now that must be opposed. But as Jedi we do not meet oppressive power with harmful power in return. Our response must be grounded in justice and compassion. This is not to say we are passive. Justice demands that these systems of control and oppression be dismantled with any and all tools at our disposal and compassion dictates that we lessen suffering where we can.
Everyone has a different skill set in this fight, and it will take a multi-pronged diverse resistance to see justice and equity realized. There are many ways to fight, and we must work together with other activists to see the change and transformation that justice and compassion demand. We all must be activists where we are and according to our abilities. Some of us will be on the front lines, and others in support roles, and some of us will be online. All activism is valid, and all are needed. We should not be divisive about the right way to protest and effect change. Diversity is strength and a diversity of approach will be stronger than a monolithic effort.
These are dark times. Honestly, it probably will get worse before it gets better. But it must get better. Marginalized people are fighting for their survival and their right to exist. Maybe right now you feel you are not affected by these issues due to your privilege. Perhaps you are free to have a Walt Disney World vacation because the fascist, oppressive laws in Florida don’t apply to you, but there is a travel advisory for all queer and people of color to avoid the State because it is not safe. Here is the thing no one is safe while these structures are in place. Your privilege may protect you now but there will come a time when it will not if this injustice is not opposed. If you feel it does not affect you it is time to show true allyship instead of the performative kind.
The best time to act was yesterday. The next best time to act is today. Things are not going to get more favorable for action for you than right now. The more we wait, the more ground we lose that we will have to fight to regain. Every moment the oppressive forces are gaining more power and exerting more control. This is not a “someday it might happen here” situation. It is happening here and now. We are in the thick of it. We must form a shield wall around the most vulnerable and push back against this today. It is a Jedi’s duty to defend peace and justice and to work towards a more just and equitable world. There cannot be peace without justice and there cannot be justice without liberation. We either see this equitable and just world together or we don’t see it at all. Let’s get to work.
