A Hero’s Journey, or Religious Radicalization

S o this is some thoughts that were inspired from reading a few articles that made the cycles on Hacker News and I am sure other places. The start of the rabbit hole was here. Basically it argues that indeed Luke Skywalker was recruited by religious radicals through deception and indoctrinated into their cult to bring about the demise of the current government, or more simply put a Jedi jihadist. Very interesting read that makes some valid points, at least in terms of what we define as terrorists today. Of course there isn’t too much difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter, it all depends on who wins when it comes to history; however there is enough intriguing topics here that I would like to discuss them somewhat. Looking at the context of Luke as an extremist ideological religious zealot and comparing it to the traditional idea of him being the definition of a hero and savior, what to we come up with? What does it say about us as a culture today compared to us as a culture back in the 70's? I think it says quite a bit, and that neither are necessarily wrong.

There is no question, Luke Skywalker is one of the shining examples of a remember of the Hero’s Quest, especially when applying it to the filter of someone like Joseph Campbell. I mean he goes through everything that is needed to emerge as the champion of the cause, His upbringing is practically the polar opposite of where he ends up (at least to the point we know of, the end of Return of the Jedi), he goes through the trials and loss. He goes away for a period of time(Learning from Yoda), and comes back with a clear doctrine and purpose. Campbell’s whole thing is that every hero has to follow a path, or rather for every hero story there is out there, specific things happen in each story. Hero for the most part is interchangeable with savior or champion in these scenarios. This formula can apply to everyone from Julius Caesar, to Buddha, to Jesus. Certain things happen in their life (apocryphal or not) that all correlates with each other, and at the end of things they emerge as a leader with a plan, drive and ambition to achieve those things. I think everyone should at least read The Hero With a Thousand Faces , it is if nothing else an amazing character study of some of our culture’s biggest stars, real or otherwise.

Here is the cover of the book… Who is that down there in the bottom right?

So on one side you could throw Luke into a group of established leaders that change the course of human history with their amazing leadership, ideas, and overall determination to bring light to their beliefs. On the other side…… it is basically the same thing, with the exception of one being viewed as being done through fear. Julius Caesar is nothing if he wasn’t ruthless, and during his time spent away from the culture of his day, he was conquering and spreading fear throughout a lot of places, and when he came back he decided to dictate how things should go. A lot of his motivation was not wanting to go to jail and ego. However due to what he begat in Rome, the conspiracy of his death and one play, we all know who he was, even if it is just in some broad strokes. Caesar for the most part gets to be revered as a great leader, person and someone who brought a massive change to the world. Rarely do I see him in negative light in the general public, even though he might not have been the purest of people on this list.

I do think Luke was recruited to an extremist and radical cause, I do not think Luke was just another suicide bomber. I think he was a person who was forged into a leader and a person the needed traits to come and bring about a change that the world was ready to accept, for good or bad. So yes he is what the news cycles would be talking about as the greatest threat to western society, however his naivety that was quickly lost coupled with just enough purity and belief in a balance propels him beyond a typical rebel of current culture and adds him to the echelon of the cult of personality and someone who would change the world around them through sheer willpower and (F)force…

It is a good story, the forces of light destroys the unjust and oppressive darkness. A young man transitions into a man, and one whose takes on the weight of the world.. no…. galaxy on his shoulders to something both amazing and impossible. David and Goliath or something. That good can come from anywhere, a farmboy, a princess, or a low life smuggler. It shows that even the most vile of people still have compassion. I know it uplifts me and gives me hope that even little ole me can make a change so incredible that it could effect the entire galaxy…. well at least the world. It helps me forget, however briefly, about the inequalities of our society.

S imply put there is a thin line about what is righteous and what is not to each society, and most of it comes down to what people are willing to sacrifice lives for. Yeah the Empire destroyed a planet, whose leader was actively rebelling against its government, whose planet probably was a stronghold of the alliance. However the rebels shortly thereafter nuked a ship the size of at least a moon, a densely populated moon. Both sides were attacking military installations that had to have had civilians on both. The death star couldn’t have operated at that size and scale without some non military personnel, so no one’s hand is clean. I find it interesting to think about how easily someone can compare one of clearest definitions of what a Hero should be to a Terrorist with radical religious ties.

So what does that say about the U.S. today vs. the U.S. of the 70’s? Were we super radicals back then hell bent on the government’s destruction? Not really, however they were a group of people that were working through and still processing and reacting to the civil unrest of the 60’s and attempting to make more social change in a multitudes of ways, albeit in a much more peaceful manner than the rebels in a galaxy far far away. Today we are as polarized as a shared culture could be, with the media convincing us that we are even more different than we thought, slowly driving a wedge into our collective conscious until some point in the (near?)future that division will be so deep that something will give. At that point we will most likely need a Hero to come in and once again right the ship that the Hero always has done throughout history.