Darth Vader was Right — And the Jedi Order Had it Coming
A discussion about the perils of moral absolutism, propaganda, and philosophy. And also Star Wars, lots of it.
One of the biggest problems with most Hollywood movies is that they present morality in absolutes.
For example — in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker goes from good guy to maniacal homicidal dark lord in around 20 minutes. It seems that every character in these movies is either a choirboy or potential Charles Manson.
What about the middle ground?
Real life — and real humans —are much more complex than that. In the real world, a seemingly good person can end up doing bad things. And an overall bad guy is also capable of the occasional acts of goodness.
For example, as a democratic leftist, I know that the socialist political regime in Cuba did a lot of bad stuff that should be condemned. But it also did a couple of good things that should be recognized — like providing everyone with universal health care and access to a free university education, something that many capitalist countries often fail at.
It is immature to go through life seeing complex topics through the lens of moral absolutism. A moral absolutist deprives himself of the…
