To understand the sickness of America, you have to understand the story of Rey from the Star Wars sequels. Rey is the story of America

America in the 20th century defeated Nazism, Communism, and to a large degree racism. It even did a good number on that old dog Global Poverty. Evil empires fell one after another

If you think Star Wars is too vapid for a political analogy, my friends, I have bad news. The narratives we are telling ourselves are no better.

With triumph comes at first euphoria. But then? Without an enemy to fight, the soldier is haunted by emptiness. What is Han Solo supposed to do next? Start a bakery?

The solution of the Star Wars sequels is the most illogical one. Against all odds, the evil empire that was crushed and defeated miraculously revives and returns to terrifying power! Our plucky and attractive young rebels must rebel again!

We must imagine the eternal rebel, always the underdog and always the victor.

Never does the Rebellion take on the mantle of responsibility and acknowledge the power it has seized. Inevitably, its policies would do some harm and someone would accuse it of being an Evil Empire. The cognitive dissonance would be unbearable. Quick, to the narrative canons!

And thus, in the 21st century, America became Rey Nation.

To find villains to fight, the American left adopted ideologies to make themselves more psychology vulnerable to harm. If aggressions could not be found, then a war on “microaggressions” would have to do.

It worked! White Supremacists and Nazis were suddenly everywhere! There was even some kind of buffoonish Hitlerish figure. The world was once again populated with evil. The First Order has risen again!

But somehow these new villains are less fulfilling than the old. Reymerica finds herself dominating her new opponents by simple reflex. Couldn’t they put up a little more of a fight?

At least subconsciously, the Good Guys must notice as they are chasing every app off the Internet that isn’t moderated by the SPLC, that there is no danger of the SPLC itself being censored. This Hitler is hollow, he swings a plastic sword

And so in the 21st century, the greatest danger to America is her neurotic clinging to a forever rebellion, an eternal adolescent. Will she find the capacity to grow up and acknowledge her great responsibility? Or will she continue this pantomime?

Disclosure: I’ve only seen the first of the sequels. It was awful. I couldn’t put myself through any more