When I watched Star Wars for the first time, I saw a clear message... Jedi - Good Guys, Empire - Bad Guys. From the movies, we see that there is a struggle against the Empire, a Galactic Civil War. The reason? To achieve freedom from oppression and domination.

But as I look more and more at the opinions of others, I find that some actually justify the Empire. What I see as black and white, others see as gray.

Some argue that the Empire was not an evil organization, but one of order... a necessary fixture in an otherwise out-of-control galaxy. They argue that the Empire was made up of hard working people looking to provide for their family while serving the needs of others. Some call the Death Star a government building that was destroyed by terrorists.

Now, people are free to interpret the Star Wars saga as they wish, but is the above interpretations realistic? Can one honestly say that the Empire was needed?

They seem to forget what the Empire replaced... peace and order. Sure, there was war and unrest right before the institution of the Empire, but it was an orchestration of a con man... a game that was rigged. Palpatine controlled both sides of the board. And when he was finished with his game, he murdered the main pieces on that board... Jedi and Separatist alike.

Those who defend the Empire often use the Clone Wars as an example of uncontrolled conflict under the watch of the Republic. But they seem to forget the thousand years of peace before that. Some do recall that fact, but don't care.

Which brings us to a main reason why some support the Empire... they hate the Jedi. They don't care what the Empire entails, as long as the "arrogant" Jedi were dead. I just don't get that sentiment. But, I will go into more detail about "Jedi vs. Sith" in a future blog in an effort to stick to the main point here.

My questions about this subject are...

Are the subjects of the Empire really helping the citizens of the Republic?
Was the Death Star really just a building that housed government officials?
Was the murder of the Jedi and Separatists justified?
Does the Saga make room for shades of gray?
Can the Alliance rightly be labeled as a terrorist organization?
Was the destruction of Alderaan a necessary act against terrorists?

I know how I would answer these questions. How would you answer them?

More opinions can be found here...
Bring back the Empire!! [TDE]
The Empire are actually the good guys! [TDE]
Which side do you like better? Rebel Alliance or The Empire [TDE]