by Carey Wedler
January 08, 2015
from
ANTIMEDIA Website
The Imperial Death Star from Star
Wars and the Pentagon have much in common.
It is not difficult to observe the
similarities between the two behemoth structures and what they
represent-especially in recent years. For one, both used to be part
of representative republics and both represent the military wings of
the empires in power.
In 2007,
Alternet reported that the U.S. had 737 bases, 38 of which were
"major," and that,
"…perhaps the optimum number of
major citadels and fortresses for an imperialist aspiring to
dominate the world is somewhere between thirty-five and forty."
The desire of the military's operatives
to exert control over regions all over the world parallels the
desire of the Emperor and Vader to rule the galaxy.
Another similarity is the desire of both
the Death Star's leaders and those at the Pentagon to weed out
dissent. One of the main objectives of the dark side's adherents is
to find the rebels and eliminate them.
Though the Pentagon hasn't quite started
assassinating political dissidents (or entire planets, though
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are an earthly comparison to Adleraan), it
has made its views crystal clear:
protesters are a form of terrorist and anyone deemed
associated with terrorism may be denied his or her rights.
Still another commonality between the
two ministries of war and destruction is the level of
decadence afforded to the galactic and American agencies.
The Death Star was a moon-sized,
laser-clad behemoth for the Dark Side.
The
Pentagon employs
23,000 people in a floor space three times the size of the Empire
state building and spawns doomsday technology. In both societies,
the resources devoted to violence far outweigh those dedicated to
promoting peace or the well-being of humanity (or alienhood).
It is easy to compare the Death Star and
the Pentagon as manifestations of evil that seek power and rule by
force. But there exists at least one stark difference:
In the Washington
Post this week, it was revealed that the Pentagon is
looking for someone to fill its "Yoda" position.
The job ad for "Director of the Office
of Net Assessment" currently reads:
"The Director's primary function is
to develop assessments that compare the standings, trends and
future prospects of U.S. military capability and military
potential with that of other countries."
The job was founded and held by longtime
analyst
Andrew W. Marshall, who recently retired.
Because of his wisdom and knowledge
throughout the years, he came to be known as "Yoda." And therein
lies the difference between the rulers of the Death Star and the
rulers of the Pentagon: at least Darth Vader, the emperor and
their cohorts knew they were
evil.
Vader repeatedly spoke of the powers of
the Dark Side, of the great benefit of crossing over into evil.
In the Empire Strikes Back, he
tempted Luke to join the dark side to rule the galaxy with him:
"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor.
He has foreseen this. It is your destiny, join me and together
we can rule the galaxy as father and son."
He iterated the slavery of being on the
dark side in Return of the Jedi:
"You don't know the power of the
dark side. I must obey my master."
Considering the empire practices what is
called the "dark side" of the force, its members knew exactly what
they signed up for.
But to a clearly significant portion of
employees at the Pentagon, the irony is lost. It has gone over their
heads that working for the world's biggest, arguably most vicious
military, is not working on the side of morality, peace, or freedom.
By calling a man who works for the
Pentagon "Yoda" - a virtuous practitioner of the force - it is clear
that many who work for the Pentagon believe they are working for a
"force" of good.
It's scary. It's scarier that the Pentagon likely
has employees who know of its evil and yet continue to work there.
May all Pentagon employees recognize its
evil, quit their jobs at the American Death Star, and work to
promote the true meaning of the "force" (the same goes for soldiers
of governments around the world).
As the real Yoda said:
"Fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to
suffering."
This is exactly how
violent governments
keep their people and foot soldiers under control and realizing this
is the first step to achieving freedom and peace.
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