This week we watched the Star Wars trilogy as a family – first time for Emma and Max. Return of the Jedi was today. A couple of comments that followed up from the discussion of Satyagraha.

Tucking into bed, Max, 7: “Remember when Luke made C3P0 fly, and then C3p0 said, ‘I didn’t know I could do that,’ and then Luke said, ‘I didn’t either,’ Luke was making C3P0 good.  Like you said you can make people good or make them bad, and Luke made him good.”

vaderMe:  “And what about Darth Vader – Luke even made him good, right?  He knew there was good inside Darth and that’s what he focused on.”

Max:  “It’s like there is a big circle of red and one little bit of blue, and Luke made the blue get bigger and bigger until there wasn’t room for all the red.”

Yes, it’s fiction, but what a powerful example of Satyagraha — Luke was faced with this choice (over an over) to hide or to engage, and a clear difference of how to engage: through anger or through love.

Emma had a similar reflection earlier today and asked Patty about the difference between Luke and the Emperor.  After they talked a bit,  Emma’s conclusion: “Luke was trying to make peace with his fight and the Emperor wanted to destroy through fighting.  So it matters what you want.”

Joshua Freedman
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