Freedom, For the Good of the Order

Get it!  Read it!

This post will have limited quotes from the recently released A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller.  There are just a few words form the book, and they are in no way a spoiler to the story (which I myself haven't even finished yet).  However, if you want to finish the book first, remember to come back to this post immediately afterwards.

If there is anything that strikes your fancy within the Star Wars universe, it does not take much time to find an answer.  You can check out the venerable and precise Wookiepedia, ask your local aficionado with geek cred, or many questions can be answered by a simple man on the street interview due to the saturation of our society by the great mythology.

            This is, I believe, a very good thing.  This gives us the ability to engage all sorts of fans on all possible levels.  Whether you have read the books since 1978 or 1991, or were hooked by the Clone Wars on Netflix in the past several months, the depth of the galaxy has something for everyone.

There is time to catch up by next December.

            Transparency is a good thing in most circumstances.  It is good that there are no secrets retained for an inner circle of better fans than you.  In this way, we can all play in the galactic sandbox and be quite happy.  We are free to engage to whatever degree is desired.

            But a deeper issue arises when secrecy is involved - because, in some cases, keeping secrets belies a deeper negative issue.  Have you ever heard anyone use this sentence: "If you don't know, I'm not even going to tell you,"?  Chances are that person doesn’t know himself, or they are holding something back to maintain some ill-perceived supremacy.  Either way, it is an unhealthy habit.  Just in terms of the franchises we enjoy, wouldn't it be better to have more people interested in the movies and memorabilia so that more are produced?  Seems like simple logic to me.  Quite a few, however, believe that by lording some information or abilities over the less informed they can gain some power.  This is far from the case, and it is dangerous. 

Palps sees you when you're sleeping.

            It is dangerous to feel superior.  It is dangerous to believe that the other person is a lesser being, not worthy of compassion or knowledge.  History will bear this out if we but contemplate all of the atrocities we have seen over the last century.  But let me take a second to mention that not all secrets are bad, as long as they are held in confidence and mutual respect.  When a new mother and father do not share the gender of the unborn, this can be a good thing for their relationship.  When a confessor maintains the secrecy of the things revealed to him, healing can be found.  When my mother didn't tell my dad all of the stupid things I did as a teenager, she was saving my hide (Thanks Mom!).

I know, wrong Sullustan.  Waiting for Zaluna fanart.

            We are seeing in our current day many of these issues of secrecy, security and surveillance arising.  This is due to things like the war on terror or through the struggle to adapt to an increasingly technological world.  While reading through my fresh copy of A New Dawn, there was a bit of excursus concerning the state of surveillance at that time.  An Imperial officer had the following thoughts:

Privacy?  In her younger days, Zaluna had found it a silly concept.  Either thoughts were in your head, or you let them out.  The only distinction between a whisper and an intergalactic broadcast was technical.  A listener with the means to hear had the absolute right to do so.  Really, the obligation to do so - else the act of communicating was a futile one (Miller 41).

This is an example of the Star Wars universe reflecting a debate in society.  From court cases involving net neutrality, browsing speeds and surveillance on end users to concrete situations of interrogation and government spying, our understanding of privacy is being changed.  Some would say privacy is being attacked, though I am not willing go that far yet.  There may be a nefarious force behind it.  A little later, we will get to who I think that nefarious force may be. 

            In an article posted on theguardian.com in October of 2013, a study noted that

Pew!  Pew!  Pew!

…young people post information about themselves online that horrifies their elders. A report in May [2013] by the Pew Internet and the American Life Project found 91% of the 12-to-17-year-olds it surveyed post photos of themselves (up from 79% in the last such survey, in 2006) and 24% post videos. Another 91% are happy posting their real name, 60% their relationship status, 82% their birthday, 71% the town where they live and the school they attend, 53% their email address and 20% their mobile number (compared with 2% in 2006).[1]

This article claimed that our youths are policing themselves, though it seemed nebulous as to where the standards are coming from.  Further, "the Pew report found that only 9% of teens were "very" concerned about third parties like companies or government agencies accessing their personal information – compared with nearly half of their parents."  This shows that the values of the younger generation are being molded by the context in which they are communicating.  At every download and click of a terms and conditions button, they are throwing away free will.  They are resigning themselves to the corporate interests of a large corporation, banking clan or techno union. 

            When talking about intrusion on privacy, we should get can go back to A New Dawn.

Government facing threat or keeping public order?

It had been before the Empire and under the Republic: The Mynocks had been tasked with screening electronic communications and certain monitored public places for "conversations suspected to pose a threat to the live of Republic citizens."  As the Clone Wars dragged on, "the lives of Republic citizens" had evolved into "Republic security" - and under the Empire, that phrase had morphed into "public order (40-41)."

Without even noticing it, trillions of beings were systematically stripped of their liberty.  They didn't notice because it was gradual, as was noted in our last quotation.  At first it was to protect the lives of the citizens.  This was latched on to by the government and was used to protect itself.  And as noted, this ultimately became the hammer that was used to keep the formerly protected citizen in line.  In the end, the Imperial operative believed that "it was smart for law enforcement authorities to use the latest tools to keep tabs on miscreants (41)."  With thunderous applause and chomping at the bit, freedom was given away for the feeling of protection.  As Ben Franklin said, "those who would give up essential Liberty, to

Franklin had a lot to say.  Some of it was good.

purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."  This is what the galaxy received. 

            In the end, I believe there are immense spiritual implications for the things we have discussed above.  The expectation of privacy is about a much deeper issue.  It is about free will.  Free will is the hallmark of what it means to be a human.  Animals have unrestrained free will and show it by their wild tendencies.  The angels in heaven have no free will, as they were created for simple purposes.  But the human being is something altogether special.  Humans were created with free will and the responsibility for those actions.  We have the choice to abuse our neighbors or to work together with them.  We have the authority to use the resources of this world in a responsible way, but, through abuse, the ability to destroy indiscriminately.

            From the Orthodox Christian point of view, we were created with utter freedom in order to train up our immature souls.  As we grow into more mature people, the wide ranging freedom recognizes the responsibility that was given by the Creator. 

Jesus Christ creating the Heavens and Earth

            So the attacks on privacy, and the slow decaying of personal liberty are notes that are clanged by the devil.  They are dissonant to the life with which we have been endowed.  But from the positive point of view, our freedom can never be destroyed.  It may be persecuted for a while, and martyrs may spring up from time to time.  It is exactly because we are built to be people with freedom that we can never lose it.  The greatest gift given us is the ability to achieve our potential as mature souls, and our Lord will make sure that this happens. 

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[1] http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/21/teenagers-careless-about-online-privacy.  Retrieved 9-16-2014.