http://www.libertythink.com/2003_03_29_archives.html#200064664
As George Lucas said in Time Magazine:
"All democracies turn into dictatorships—but not by coup. The people give
their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or
Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea
... What kinds of things push people and institutions into this direction?
...That's the issue that I've been exploring: How did the Republic turn
into the Empire? That's paralleled with: How did Anakin turn into Darth
Vader? How does a good person go bad, and how does a democracy become a
dictatorship? It isn't that the Empire conquered the Republic, it's that
the Empire is the Republic."
"Lucas' comments clarify the connection between the Anakin trilogy and the
Luke trilogy: that the Empire was created out of the corruption of the
Republic, and that somebody had to fight it.
"One day Princess Leia and her friends woke up and said, 'This isn't the
Republic anymore, it's the Empire. We are the bad guys. Well, we don't
agree with this. This democracy is a sham, it's all wrong.'"
The none-too-subtle staged terrorist attack against Senator Padme Amidala's
ship to usher in an era of "security" and ultimately the take-over by the
Dark Side did not go unnoticed. I didn't miss the similarities to the
problem-reaction-solution system that has been utilized by world leaders as
far back as the history books go. The kids who's parents paid $8 admission
charge for them to see Episode 2 didn't seem to miss the point. Even the
children got it.
Ask your average American why they think Hitler became supreme commander of
Germany. Did he just "pull the wool over their eyes"? Was everybody
"brainwashed"? or did his stormtroopers burn the Reichstag building down,
blame it on terrorists, and tell the people: "I cannot protect you, unless
you give me full control."
