Sometime in very early human culture -- as early, some speculate, as 40,000 years after the first of us appeared on our forgotten homeworld -- it occured to someone in office that religion was starting more wars than it was stopping. Despite the vast majority of religions in our galaxy preaching peace and harmony as a standard ethos, the more our "gods" tell us to stop killing each other, the more we kill each other.

Many human societies since then have supported this little change of heart, purging religion from it's place in government. Probably for the best; while the people suffered, the clerics of these religions grew rich and powerful while representing their own will as the bidding of some supreme figurehead crafted to inspire fear. And, of course, every society since the beginning of time has thought they were the chosen people. For an all-knowing figure, God is pretty damn indicisive.

Thus, a natural superiority complex becomes inbred with the religion, prompting the enslavement, murder, slaughter, and abuse of other races. Between that and misunderstandings brought about by religous differences, religion is responsible for more deaths than Emperor Fearsons has personalities.

Yet, it seems as if, with the conception of the Jedi, this mighty step towards a just society has been dismissed as sheer stupidity.

Simply because the Jedi can move things with their mind, we have lost sight of what they are; a religious movement. Fanatics. People who call on the mystical power of the Force, a presence so omnipotent it is far beyond the comprehension of "us normal folks", to determine the correct course of action not just for themselves, but for everyone.

That's how we end up with Organa Solo and Gash Jiren running the Republic.

I mean, no offense to the Jedi, but I don't believe that just because the Force can help you pull some neat parlor tricks that it knows what's best for me. I have a problem with my fate being decided by a bunch of people driven by something I don't even believe offers the power to do anything more than kill.

And yet, because they can walk out of shadows and move fast, those two have the politicians of the Republic wrapped around their little fingers. Suddenly, fleets are being tossed about at the whims of "the Force", and despite the presence of the senate, Jiren and Solo have everyone so convinced that they are the envoys of this omnipresent Force that what they say, goes.

Sorry, but you'll have to back the cultmobile out of the minds of my elected officials -- that's handicapped parking.

So, essentially, what we have is a dictatorship that has been disguised as a semi-democracy driven by the religious beliefs at least 50% of the population of the Republic do not share. All because Organa Solo's magic tricks have elevated her from ruling the mind of Johnny at his sixth birthday to ruling the minds of the senate on what, speaking in terms of intellect, should be their sixth birthday parties.

At least the Empire was honest about it. They made no pretenses about the Force guiding Emperor Palpatine's decisions -- despite the fact that he was a Sith -- but freely admitted that aliens were inferior because they damn well said so, and because they had a bigger fleet, anyone who thought otherwise could take a perilous journey up shit's creek.

Religion has no place motivating politics. I want no part in the Jedi or Rogue Jedi agenda -- but my government seems to be spending all of my tax dollars and military defense to further it.

Funny, that.

-Viryn Quell,
Freelance Author

Viryn..... you rock :)

Just a public service announcement from your local non-related Skywalker :b

but freely admitted that aliens were inferior because they damn well said so, and because they had a bigger fleet, anyone who thought otherwise could take a perilous journey up @#%$'s creek.

LMAO, dude, you are the greatest