Last month, Disney released the new movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and I was in the audience the first weekend it opened (yes, I am just that geeky.) As I watched the movie I remembered long ago in a town far away (ok, not that far) when I was fifteen and fascinated by the very first Star Wars. Of course I was mesmerized by the special effects, the scenes of ships traveling through space, the droids, the technology, and, of course, the Jedi with their lightsabers.
Over the years and seven Star Wars movies later, the concept of "The Force" is truly something I've considered. If you think of The Force as "energy that surrounds us, that passes through us, that binds us all together - and that can influence our actions," it doesn't seem any more mystical than many religious beliefs. The story of The Force in each of the Star Wars movies is the story of the struggle between the Dark Side and the Light - good and evil. This is a tale told in countless novels, fables, myths, and religious stories.
So where are we today? It seems as if the Dark Side is rising. Mass shootings all around the world. Organized attacks on innocent people. Greed of the most wealthy that is creating more power for fewer people. It is widening the gap between those with resources and those without. We hear more stories about evil everyday on the daily news.
Additionally, and particularly this year, the national political campaigns seem to demonstrate the rise of the Dark Side. I'm not saying that our candidates are evil; but, the Dark Side is fueled by hatred, lies, manipulation, and falsehoods that are used to gain power. Sound familiar? I don't recall any campaign in recent times that targeted a group of people to ban from the country based on their religion. I am stunned by the assertions that all those from particular countries are evil rapists and killers. Such statements are false, fear mongering, and dark.
However, we also hear stories of Light. Recently a little girl from Schenectady, New York survived a fire in an apartment building. Sadly, her father and three siblings were killed. She created a video asking for one thing this holiday season: a few Christmas cards to fill her Christmas Card Tree. With that simple request, she has received hundreds-of-thousands of cards from total strangers. On our college campus, our students, mostly through student clubs, take on numerous projects each year to provide assistance to people in our community, people they don't even know, but want to help. We are at our best when we help a stranger through a difficult time.
We, in higher education, need to teach students to understand other cultures. We need to encourage them to use facts in discussions, not sound bites and hyperbole. We need to teach them to reason through arguments and to empathize with those with whom they do not agree in order to at least understand their position before fighting against it. We need to teach them peace and civility. We must encourage them to always be truthful. We must show them the Light.
We don't need our Jedi robes to be good and follow the Light Side of The Force. Rather, we do need to assure that our population is educated and prepared to recognize and resist the Dark Side.