The Phantom Menace

At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.

Darth Maul. Hunter of Jedi, weapon of the Sith.

Of course he was the coolest bad guy since Darth Vader, with his double lightsaber and kick ass moves. But there's more to him than that and I only recently realized that.

This Zabrak, taken as a child to become a Sith, was Sidious' most powerful tool. An instrument against the Jedi, and for the creation of a Sith empire. The first public face of the Sith in thousands of years.

A scary face it was, with the ancient markings of the Sith. A scary skill as well.

This Maul, this dark warrior, was trained since childhood in the ways of the Sith. The moves, the emotions, the lore and the philosophies of the dark cult that has always been the archenemies of the Jedi.

He knew the world, the galaxy, only through the ideals of these dark Force users. Everything that happened, he interpreted through those eyes. The Jedi were bad, the Sith good. No greys.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

Yes, either you were one of the chosen people to serve or rule, or you were one of the tyrants that had ended their rule, more than a thousand years ago, in bloodshed. Either you were the rebel freedom fighter, or the oppressing, corrupted power-that-be.

Either you were the Rebel Alliance or the Empire.

Odd that Star Wars gives us these parallel stories, but tells us that one is good and right, and the other bad and evil.

If you're not with me, then you're my enemy.

A quote from the even better-known Sith, Darth Vader.

If you're not with us, then you're against us.

Whose quote is this, again? Ah yes, US president George W. Bush.

Rather than trying to convince you, the reader, that George Lucas was saying Bush is evil, my point is more subtle.

Empires rise, empires fall, new empires will replace them. Good leader will be corrupted. Evil leaders will turn back to the light. Good leaders will be brought down by dishonesty and corrupted leaders will rise like stars - and the other way around.

Forever in motion, the world is.

Do not cling to your beliefs too hard. Don't be like Darth Maul, who saw everything through the eyes of a Sith. These ideals we have, might not be true after so many years.

Be forever critical. But be forever open-minded, as well.

Today's Sith might just be tomorrow's Jedi. Don't let today's Jedi be tomorrow's Empire.