"There is much fear in you I sense."

"Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." This nugget of wisdom could have been uttered by Dr. King, the Dali Lama, or Gandhi, but it wasn't. It was Jedi Master Yoda to a young and ambitious Luke Skywalker. If one wonders why we are at war with Iraq and at odds with the rest of the Middle East, one needs only to contemplate the teachings of Master Yoda and the lessons we can learn from Star Wars. After creating panic in the Republic by secretly de-stabilizing the political landscape of the Galaxy, Chancellor Palpatine played on the fear of well intentioned Galactic Senators to vote emergency powers to the soon to be emperor to defend against a fabricated enemy. He misled the Senate into believing that the Droid Army of the Trade Federation was planning to attack the Republic. This led to a bloody war instigated by the Chancellor himself and an opportunistic abuse of power by the leader of the Republic. Anger and hate spread throughout the new Empire and led to unimaginable suffering in the Galaxy. Sound familiar? Playing off of the fear that Americans had of Arab people after 9/11, the Bush administration enticed the Congress to vote for emergency powers (The Patriot Act) to defend the US from its enemies. This act trampled on civil liberties while the President focused the people's anger on a fabricated enemy, Iraq. He misled the Congress into believing Saddam Hussein was planning to use WMD's to attack America. This led to a bloody and unpopular war instigated by the President himself and an opportunistic abuse of power by the leader of our country. Anger and hate for all things Arabic have spread throughout America and have led to unimaginable suffering in the Middle East. Yoda was right. Fear led to anger, to hate, and to suffering in the Star Wars world and in our own. Fear and distrust of the Jedi Order was sparked by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Our fear and distrust of Arabs was sparked by Osama Bin Laden and built upon by President Bush. The leader of the Galactic Republic and our own president turned that fear into misdirected anger and hate and led our Republics into dark times. Only when a true hero, Luke Skywalker stepped forward was Evil defeated in Star Wars. Who will be our hero? Who among us will step forward and bring peace to our world?