White House Halloween

In the spirit of the Halloween that just passed I'm going to wear a costume a bit late and play "devil's advocate". That's supposed to be a joke but I figured since it's Monday there's no harm in making a bad joke to illicit some additional moans and groans. But I digress; as I am playing devil's advocate I will choose to look at the Halloween Celebrations through the eyes of the opposition. I won't say who this opposition should be or to what position they are opposed but I will write from the perspective that they generally would to look for reasons to find fault with President Obama and his presidency. If you look at the accompanying photo you'll see that Michelle and Barack Obama are handing out candies to children who came to the White House. In the background you'll also see a couple of costumed characters from the film "Star Wars" which is fertile playing ground for opposition pundits to use against Obama.

What sort of opposition could fictional movie characters pose? Well let the devil's advocacy begin. I think that Obama's inclusion of a Stormtrooper, evil foot soldier to the Galactic Empire is symbolic in the sense that it subconciously represents the aspirations that he has for the freedom that we Americans hold so dear. Perhaps his scope of military intervention isn't limited to Afghanistan or Iraq but the galaxy as a whole. Perhaps it is a subtle hint that he sees himself as Emperor of the universe and that whatever he chooses to do will pass due to his overwhelming power in the Force. (Hey if I'm supposed to write like the pundits from channels whose name rhymes with Sox then I have to go all the way). Rather than having someone from his staff dressed as a freedom loving rebel soldier then that would have painted a different picture but the inclusion of a stormtrooper sends a darker message.

Although she isn't readily visible in this picture, there was a young lady also in attendance who was dressed as Ashoka Tano (the alien Jedi apprenctice to Anakin Skywalker in "The Clone Wars" cartoon series). Now the inclusion of a Jedi (that too an alien Jedi) is evidence that again Obama is seeking to embrace alternate religions and not the mainstream relgions whose principles this nation was founded on. Perhaps the inclusion of Jedi Tano is a subtle message to the masses that the religions that have been propogated across this nation up to this point will no longer be held in as high esteem as the Jedi teachings. It's perhaps further evidence that the principles that so many in this nation hold dear will again be laid to the wayside so that we can embrace the way of the Jedi.

And finally there was Chewbacca. Faithful and furry Chewbacca the Wookie. Now there again is an interesting inclusion in the cast of characters gathered at the White House with the President and his wife. In the lore of Star Wars, Wookies (Chewbacca included) were enslaved by the evil Empire and were forced into labor camps by Imperial agents to construct military sites including the Death Star. Han Solo helped free Chewbacca and others and hence Chewbacca's undying loyalty to Solo throughout the adventures shown in the original movies. Isn't it interesting then to see Obama include Chewbacca, a former slave turned freedom fighter who fights to free the galaxy from the tyranny of the Empire. Is that a message directed at the former administration who many compared to the evil Empire? Perhaps it is?

I know I'm stretching so far in some of this analysis that I should stand at 7 feet 4 inches as opposed to my actual (smaller) stature but this is the type of 'analysis' that many opposition leaders and pundits choose to make. We can't look at this as a simple effort to get kids excited about Halloween by seeing a cornucopia of characters from a popular movie series. Never mind that it's just a movie and it doesn't have to have a deeper meaning. It seems that these days we can look at anything without being extremely cynical. Isn't that what typefied Han Solo very early on? His cynicism that nothing was what it seemed? Do we really need to view things that way? I don't think we do. Maybe the opposition has much more time on their hands but instead of using that time to do similar 'analysis' (and I'm sure someone somewhere is looking at this past Halloween for deeper meaning) and took more time to take meaningful action, then our nation could be in a better place.