The Bangus Ultimatum

(Reprinted from The Man-Blog)

If there should be any reason why I like the Star Wars prequels, it’s probably because of the parallel “political” aspects of its storyline. As compelling as the tale of Anakin’s fall to the dark side may be, there is something especially tragic when an entire galaxy-spanning civilization slips from democracy to tyranny. It is a seduction all the more sweeter, and a loss far more devastating.

The lowdown (based on the movies, novels, and comic-books) I snarfed from a Wikipedia article:

Traditionally, the Chancellor could only serve two four-year terms, but Palpatine stayed in office much longer, due to the prolonged Separatist Crisis.

The crisis occurred when several of the Republic’s member Star Systems and organizations united in order to separate from the Republic. This unified organization became known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tensions between the Republic and the Separatists eventually escalated into all-out war, and the conflicts that would later be known as the “Clone Wars” began (chronicled in Attack of the Clones).

The Senate granted Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the Separatist Confederacy in a motion introduced by Representative Jar Jar Binks. Palpatine’s first move, widely supported at the time, was to create a vast army of clone warriors to serve as the Republic’s fighting force against the Confederacy.

In the ensuing years, the Senate increasingly ceded its power to Palpatine, who became the war’s political Commander-in-Chief. Such actions were justified in the name of security, and eventually Palpatine did not need the approval of the Senate for many of his actions. Since the chancellor held a vast majority of supporters in Senate, this was considered a perfectly reasonable way to increase the wartime government’s efficiency.

…
At the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Palpatine addressed the Senate. First he related the story of the unsuccessful “assassination attempt” by the Jedi, and declared the Order to be enemies of the Republic. Then he announced that the Galactic Republic would become a Galactic Empire so strong as to never be threatened by outside forces again. The Chancellor, who by this time had been grotesquely disfigured (he claimed this was from the Jedi assassination attempt), proclaimed himself to be the first Emperor of the galaxy. Deluded by Palpatine’s charisma and skill (and perhaps also by his considerable Dark Side power), the majority of the Senate cheered him on loudly in approval, which provoked one of Senator Padmé Amidala’s most memorable lines: “So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause.” After so many millennia, the Galactic Republic had ceased to exist.

At the center of it all, of course, is Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine, the consummate politician, carefully pulling the right strings and playing both sides, all the while maintaining a veneer of integrity and compassion. Besides being such a devious sonofabitch, however, he had another advantage: War changed the galaxy’s socio-political environment (just as it had, according to the novels, darkened The Force itself.) People (and their representatives in the Senate) became more and more willing to surrender their rights in exchange for security (or the illussion thereof). All power eventually became concentrated in The Emperor, who Cannot Be Wrong, and can’t be held accountable to anyone. Of course, most of us know where that arrangement led to: homicidal maniacs blowing up a planet to smithereens without so much as a half-assed inquiry.

That is why I feel very very very very VERY concerned at all this talk of term extensions and more government power. Limited terms and limited powers ensure ultimate accountability to the people, that the feedback process that makes democracy fresh and viable remains operative. The promise of more prosperity, security (and stronger republics) in exchange for longer stays in office (and more expansive powers) is truly alluring, an easy way, but a slippery slope to the Dark Side. The true burden of a free people is vigilance, and we must never be remiss on our duties.