I‘ve been called dorkofascist for pointing out that the complaints we hear in the Star Wars films about the Galactic Republic aren’t particularly beyond the pale: Namely that the Republic had grown too big and sclerotic to be governable and responsive to the needs of individual planets. Now here’s a hippie Vermonster talking about why Vermont should secede from the United States: “The argument for secession is that the U.S. has become an empire that is essentially ungovernable–it’s too big, it’s too corrupt and it no longer serves the needs of its citizens.” Sounds like someone is channeling the “evil” Count Dooku, Senator Palpatine’s insidious Dark Side apprentice. In Attack of the Clones we are told of Dooku, a former Jedi, that
In the end, I think he left because he lost faith in the Republic. He believed that politics were corrupt, and he felt the Jedi betrayed themselves by serving the politicians. He always had very high expectations of government. He disappeared for nine or ten years, then he just showed up recently as the head of the separatist movement.
Later in the movie, Dooku argues about secession with Senator Amidala, saying:
I don’t wish to make you to join our cause against your will, Senator, but you are a rational, honest representative of your people and I assume you want to do what’s in their best interest. Aren’t you fed up with the corruption, the bureaucrats, the hypocrisy of it all?… Aren’t you? Be honest, Senator… The Chancellor means well, M’Lady but he is incompetent. He has promised to cut the bureaucracy, but the bureaucrats are stronger than ever, no? Senator, the Republic cannot be fixed. It is time to start over. The democratic process in the Republic is a sham, a shell game played on the voters. It will not be long before the cult of greed, called the Republic, will lose even the pretext of democracy and freedom.
It’s a little hard to tell the fictional fascists from the real hippies.
