If the Galactic Empire is So Terrible Why Do People Join?

[@westrim]

People always forget that Luke's first choice for a ticket off of Tatooine was the Imperial Academy, and Han Solo had been a student there. That's 2/3 of the main trio, ready and willing to be Imperials until other events knocked them off that course.

[@samuelstephen8147]

Leia also served in the Imperial Senate.

[@alnotz]

How many of us have served in armed forces? Me included. How many of us left for various good or bad reasons? We all thought it's an adventure, at first...

[@abrashio]

Hell a good portion of the Rebels were people who defected from the Empire after they realized that there was something sinister underlying it.

[@davenewlin1112]

You say true.

[@wowliker642]

The Solo movie made it so that Han joined the Imperial Army.

[@nasis18]

I served in the military. lots of people I served with signed up for a steady paycheck or the other benefits. Many came from impoverished areas or had a rough upbringing. I can see many doing the same by joining the Empire. They're not evil, just looking for financial stability.

[@1ajgtwm]

Exactly man

[@jedi_minion_bartender1434]

I also thought I would look pretty good in Marine Corps Dress Blues

[@John-ir4id]

And that makes it okay? The cognitive dissonance of people, man... If morals can be bought off, are they really morals worth holding onto?

[@1ajgtwm]

@John-ir4id aye dummy, nobody said it's okay but not everyone who join the military gives a flying fxck about patriotism, love of country, and whatever bs propaganda in the military industry. Some joined for a steady check, only do a 3 to 4 year contract, and them enjoy the free college, housing loan, and other benefits earned. Some get lucky and don't have to go to war and some gotta go. Not a hard concept to fathom my boy

[@NorthernNorthdude91749]

@@John-ir4id Yes, it does make it ok. People are not evil by association.

[@CyberSonic-V3.0]

Cause not everyone in the Empire was evil. We got people who likely just wanted to get off their backwater planets along with people who were there for the Clone Wars and don’t want to see the galaxy engulfed in such chaos again. There’s a variety of situations that can’t be dismissed simply because the Empire as a whole was pretty evil.

[@lukedalton]

sure as many in the German, soviet, Japanese and Italian army in WW2 were just people that want to their job and return home to their families or see a military career as the big way out from poverty; nevertheless they willingly joined a system that by design brought out the worse of everyone and committed some of the worse war crime and human right abuse happened in history. It's more or less like the civilian near the extermination camp, they know bad thing happened but they prefer ignoring and don't make any question as they don't wanted the answer....that make them innocent or guilty ?

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

I think it was less the empire was good locally it's more that it paid better then the industries it crushed like look at Luke and Han both wanted to join the empire because it did them good but because it paid them well and let them see the galaxy... Which is fitting as that is a good percentige of members of the US milltary and government... people who wanted a good well paying job. Which to anti war people like Goegre Lucus belive bad because they believe it takes advantage of minorities and the poor.

[@FastTquick]

Gilad Pelleon is a big example of this.

[@zeratul____1228]

Honestly you can see that need for structure and order as part of Palpatines plan. After sending the galaxy into chaos he would offer a solution for peace to be restored, meanwhile installing himself as the defacto lead of the galaxy. The people would sign up to prevent future conflicts. Pretty genious to be honest.

[@DMSProduktions]

@@lukedalton Worst, want.

[@BlapwardKrunkle]

“The pace of oppression outpaces our ability to understand it, And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine. It’s easier to hide behind 40 atrocities than a single incident.” -Nemik, Andor

[@GenerationTech]

Ah the warrior poet that we never knew we needed

[@BlapwardKrunkle]

@@GenerationTech a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

[@falconwind00]

Isn’t that sort of a paraphrasing of Stalin’s “the death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic”?

[@soffren]

​@@falconwind00it's a similar idea, but not exactly

[@midgetydeath]

And if anyone asked him what atrocities he’d pull a blank or complain about how they’re too eager to brutally enforce law. The law the _elected government creates._

[@Misfits822]

I've always thought that the evil of the empire was hidden from the wider galaxy. Yes, many people could see they were oppressive but basically no one new about Palp being a space wizard and all that jazz

[@mtsen771]

Of course it was. Even Vader implies this in his dialogue with Krennic "There is no Death Star. The Senate has been informed that Jedha has been destroyed in a mining disaster"

[@mattstakeontheancients7594]

This was always my thought. Most people except the very highest in the empire know of Vader or the emperor being evil space wizards. Also if your impoverished you don’t care who is in charge as long as you can get out of it. And if you have wealth but the government stays out of your business do you really care who is in charge.

[@ganymedehedgehog371]

I don’t think most people would care he was a sith if their lives improved. Sith means nothing to someone not knowledgeable and invested in the Jedi. I don’t care what my president is if my life improves.

[@Reoh0z]

"Oh you hear stories sometimes, but nobody believes them."

[@ericp1139]

That's how it works in our world.

[@Cyberpsychos_Dirge]

Don’t forget Janek “Tank” Sunber in Legends, one of Luke’s childhood friends. The whole arc with him and Luke is amazing and really humanizes the Empire and shows why people join and stay

[@cageymanager8824]

Then luke shows sunber that Luke is in fact no longer his childhood friend but a high profile terrorist by blowing up portions of a base he’s on and stealing prisoners

[@alexisborden3191]

The Empire is ostensibly a fascist galactic government, sure there are people who have perhaps foolish or uninformed reasons for participating in it. But that doesn't change its horrendous practices of slavery, imperialism, resource theft among other such crimes.

[@cageymanager8824]

@@alexisborden3191 as the acting government it has the right to acquire resources where it sees fit especially on its war economy, any and all important industries will be nationalised so it’s theirs to use and do with what they see fit. Ignoring the fact the wookies could be considered just animals meaning it was animal labour not slaver

[@alexisborden3191]

@@cageymanager8824 Wookies are definitely sentient, and its definitely slavery. "We're at war" is both a lie, and a bad excuse to rob every planet it can of its resources.

[@pyotrbagration2438]

​@@cageymanager8824 That last sentence gives me ideas. Thanks. 😊

[@strambino1]

The empire offers financial stability to those who join. Storm troopers Gotta make a living too. Palpatine made sure that the military was the most reliable employer on most worlds, especially outside of the core region.

[@JediTev]

Maybe they could teach them to hit a target, maybe.......

[@strambino1]

@@JediTev 😂😂😂

[@TheUncivilizedNation]

@@JediTev that was actually a fault of Grand Moff Tarkin’s for cutting corners. Palpatine didn’t have an issue with making new Clones and keeping the old ones

[@JediTev]

@TheUncivilizedNation he didn't stop it either. Neither did Vader for that matter.

[@Lonovavir]

Plenty of soldiers from the Civil War to World War 2 (and before) volunteered for steady paychecks because of recessions or depressions. Many soldiers aren't in combat units as well.

[@andrewakrause]

Have you seen the Galactic Empire's tuition reimbursement plan? Or how about the fact that they pay you and provide your meals and housing? I mean, a 17 year old kid from some podunk moisture farming community can join up, and after he gets out of the academy, he'll be making enough imperial credits to afford the payment on an XP-38 Landspeeder. Maybe he makes NCO, and can get a V-40!

[@docwulff907]

Personally, spending credits on a fancy speeder isn't a good investment. I suggest that instead of spending credits frivolously, new graduates invest in the Banking Clan and Imperial businesses.

[@michaelmacleod6517]

@@docwulff907 Right? If he bought that speeder right out Im sure the imperial auditors would come knocking on his doorstep.

[@tylerromero1]

With a low low APR of 23 percent lol

[@ShuRugal]

@@docwulff907 Even better, new graduates should invest in the Imperial Military Thrift Savings Plan - deposits come out of your pay before tax and expense deductions, so you save even more for your retirement from the Imperial Armed Forces.

[@TribbleArtCreations]

But most real enlisted folks go and buy a flashy "speeder", so I'm sure it's pretty much the same in the Star Wars universe.

[@TheWarmachine375]

"The Empire improves every system it touches. Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside. Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos." - The Client from The Mandalorian Season 1

[@scoutman66]

This is said a few minutes before he got shot down by the soldiers of said empire by the way.

[@tickticktickBOOOOM]

@@scoutman66 If guys like him and Thrawn had run the Empire instead of Tarkin and Gideon it'd have not just have put down the Rebellion, it'd have ruled the galaxy indefinitely. Vong wouldn't have stood a chance.

[@scoutman66]

@@tickticktickBOOOOM Infighting between officers and high officials is indeed what made the Empire incapable of operating as efficiently as it could.

[@Hello-bi1pm]

Can't Jon Favreau be even bothered to give the guy a name?

[@jaegercat6702]

Which he said in front of Cara Dune, an Alderanian

[@LustyLichKing]

The utility of having internal opposition to contend with is massively underestimated by most people. Authoritarian regimes often fall into decadence and complacency at the top because rulers end up surrounded by yes men who never even provide enough doubt for the dictator to think harder about his ideas. Thank you for pointing this out.

[@AstinCrow]

Not to mention usually a problematic trait that arises is how authoritarian regimes often act as an occupational force rather than a proper government. This results in further conflicts as beliefs and ideology are mandated and enforced, often including cultural, racial, and religious values. That's why nations like Nazi Germany, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union had internal issues dealing with the many minorities in their own borders. Couple the near constant antagonization to the top people being essentially blinded by incompetence and boot licking and you get a recipe for disaster.

[@jirkazalabak1514]

@@AstinCrow Actually, Nazi Germany was remarkably flexible with regards to ideology, at least until 1944. Until the assassination attempt on Hitler, it was quite common for people who weren´t Nazis to rise to very high positions of power, simply by being competent. Compared to the USSR at the same time, Nazi Germany was relatively meritocratic. By the end of the war however, the upper echelons of power were filled with nobody but fanatics.

[@jfb173jb]

​@@AstinCrow uh you forgot Cambodia. That's another nation that went through insane horrors.

[@Thalanox]

@@jirkazalabak1514 There's a lot I need to read about that period of history. What was fed to me when I was too young to have developed critical thinking skills seems to have a lot of holes in it.

[@AstinCrow]

@@jirkazalabak1514 No they weren't? Hitler banned all other political parties as soon as he installed himself as dictator once he could. Being a party member was made a requirement in order to open new businesses and heavy restrictions were placed on existing ones pretty early in. Even though Albert Speer reformed the arms industry midway through the war, that was just to increase productivity rather than actually promote businesses. If businesses didn't meet the expectations of the party, usually adhering to skewed and semantical requirements and regulations, the party would immediately take control and supplant their own leadership. Hell, the first person to be fired and kicked out from the Junkers flight company was Professor Junkers himself. Most who were put in positions of power were either friends of Hitler, such as Speer and Himmler, or got there through politicking and connections, such as Goering. Those that were not part of the party typically had to have already been in their positions once the Nazis came to power or were brought in under the nepotism of those already on high. You do need to specify which assassination attempt you are referring to, as Hitler had a plethora of those even from the very beginning, though I assume you mean Operation Valkyrie, the most infamous. Even though many regard Hitler as overreacting, making Rommel kill himself even though he wasn't involved, the entire reason why Wehrmacht command even considered the operation was because of the WSS that got blatant favoritism and were supplanting the military more and more. The Nazi Regime was already unstable by the time that happened, it was never a successful government in the first place once you look past the Hoi4 map painting they did.

[@chrisperez7039]

I think an important thing to note is that a lot of imperial citizens and former slaves probably joined the imperial military because they were living in poverty, and working for the empire in anyway would provide them economic and social mobility. This is quite similar to the US recruiting strategy for new recruits in impoverished areas and their high schools

[@CrazyJabberwock]

And many recruiting officers genuinely think offering them this way out is helping them out.

[@daralic2255]

To be fair their poverty was ironically caused by the Empire during the Republic era. So it’s kinda like signing up to work for a landlord for shelter after your house was burned. Surprise, surprise, that landlord was an arsonist that burned people house down so they could ‘offer’ a better living situation to people.

[@ericp1139]

George Lucas modeled the Empire after the US. This video glossed over that fact when he was talking about the Vietnam War inspiration.

[@robertjensen1438]

villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged.

[@robertjensen1438]

Captain Picard of the tardis said that to admiral Addama. Stargate was such a good show.

[@Mundos5199]

I’ve been thinking about this ever since Jedi survivor released. In the game we often come across guys just chilling, having normal conversations. 90% of the time when I’m slaughtering stormtroopers I’m thinking “these are just people, there not all bad just doing their job.”

[@Mortvent]

I forget what book it was... but the quote sticks : There are few truly evil people in the universe, but they have a lot of hired help.

[@GenerationTech]

That’s a good quote

[@RiskyDramaUploads]

Reminds me of a scene from the first Jason Cosmo novel. Our hero is slaughtering guards, and then they get him to stop and tell him that he's a hero made invincible by his weapons and armor and they are just regular guys doing their job, so can he please stop killing them and just get whatever it is he wants?

[@preciousotoakhia9789]

​@@Mortventwhat about bode tho since empire are people apparently

[@Mortvent]

@@preciousotoakhia9789 Well you have to remember many imperials were the same as the citizens. They simply don't care enough to be good or evil. Most people go through life in a shade of grey. Doing some good, some bad... but mostly just getting by as best they can. Much like a mirror of society today, a whole lot of talk about things... but in the end doing nothing.

[@ultragodzillafan]

Am I the only one who would like to see Alan do a playthrough of Empire At War? I think it'd be interesting to see how what a version of the Imperial military run by Alan would be like, such as how he'd spend their resources, what types of fleets he'd favor, and how he'd organize infantry/tank combat.

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

He should do it.

[@GenerationTechShorts]

I'm terrible at rts because i hate taking casualties.

[@adrianowen476]

​@@GenerationTechShorts I have the same problem, can't bring myself to sacrifice units for the greater good.

[@Gopheria]

Such a good game, I sacrifice so many Imperial Star destroyers to take down a single rebel super star destroyer commanded by a hero. Worth the sacrifice.

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

@@Gopheria wait, the Rebels don't have that unit.

[@onliwankannoli]

So in an alternate reality where Luke applies to the academy, I’m guessing just as soon as an application comes in with the name “Skywalker,” it immediately is forwarded to the Emperor. Palpatine would surely keep this from Vader, taking Luke into his tutelage, making sure he changes his last name. In my telling of the story, Vader finds out about this new apprentice and tries to turn him against the Emperor, unsuccessfully, but plants a seed of doubt in Luke’s mind. In the finale I imagine sort of a Mexican standoff between the three of them (with kind of a John Williams/Ennio Morricone fusion soundtrack). You’ll have to wait until my negotiations with the publishers are settled to hear the thrilling conclusion of this story. (One thing that always bothered me was why Luke kept the name “Skywalker.” Dead giveaway there. Owen & Beru could have given him their last name, but I guess Luke Lars doesn’t quite sound as heroic as Luke Skywalker.)

[@shanehudson3995]

Luke only identified himself as Luke Skywalker after talking to Obi-Wan. Since Owen Lars was his father's brother, he was probably Luke Lars until that point.

[@onliwankannoli]

@@shanehudson3995 Hmm, interesting. I couldn’t remember if he’d been referred to as Luke Skywalker by anyone before then or not. I suppose a real-world explanation might just be that George Lucas hadn’t thought that far ahead in 1977.

[@OhNoNotAgain42]

I would have much rather watched your film than “Rise of Skywalker”.

[@shanehudson3995]

@@onliwankannoli He probably didn't, but it fits.

[@Matthewwithers33]

Remember he wasn’t told the truth about what his dad did or the significance of the name so he never saw fit to change his name, and Owen and beru assumed their lie to him was believed enough and so they never figured he’d need to change his name

[@shadowslayer9988]

We NEED a show based on the point of view from a storm trooper that shows the good the empire did and how they managed to reign in control of the various criminal organizations, pirates, and warlords.

[@timbirdie8180]

Like the Republic did...

[@jessdomin4464]

Long live the Empire!

[@ericp1139]

Mando Season 1 came close in the stormtrooper outpost with Bill Burr. Too bad the imperials turned back into baddies right away.

[@orthy853]

We need a “Life of an imperial stormtrooper” series. Someone who sees the last few clones, the conscription, the volunteers, the fleets, the fall… it’d be amazing to have the entire lifespan. Kinda a collection of short stories

[@rob7564]

When my kid was in 7th grade I got him a video game that had two factions and allowed you to choose either side. I said you chose to be fight for the good guys or the bad guys. He said technically he wouldn’t choose to fight for you bad guys so I asked him why. He said no one thinks they are the bad guys and if they did they would switch sides. He opened my eyes that day.

[@BlapwardKrunkle]

“Are we the baddies?”

[@rob7564]

@@BlapwardKrunkle if you are not asking yourself that question it increases the probability that what you are fighting for is less than beneficial.

[@ohwowitsthatguy9154]

The only thing your son is slightly wrong about is the very rare but dangerous person who embraces the idea that they are, in fact, the bad guy. Darth Vader? Absolutely one of those people till the last possible moment.

[@existence9994]

@@ohwowitsthatguy9154 I am the one that causes you to itch in an awkward spot in the middle of a conversation. I am the one that broke the tip of your pencil just so that it's just not sharp enough for you to feel comfortable writing with it. It was I that warmed your pillow before you went to sleep, so that you would have to flip the pillow over because you were mildly uncomfortable.

[@ohwowitsthatguy9154]

@@existence9994 …IT WAS ME BARRY-

[@Infinityxero]

I kinda want to see a mini series where the soldiers of The Empire are the glue that holds a town or city together. One day The Rebels attack and wipe out the soldiers and tell everyone they're "free" not knowing that The Empire was the one keeping the bandits and undesirables out of town, they were the ones providing security and jobs. Now that town is angry at The Rebels and left to fend for itself to rebuild and survive.

[@mtsen771]

This is really the case in the New Republic era. We can see that even in the Mandalorian, when New Republic refused to intervene in Nevarro, that many outer rim planets are exposed to pirates and other treats with no one to protect them. Pretty sure many planets and people are pro-imperial and gladly accepted the First Order when they arrived to conquer them after the period of New Republic incompetence.

[@timbirdie8180]

this is silly tho. Do the rebels execute every imperial and leave the town to thier own fate. Also if the town can survive on their own and not immediately die out they could fight for the empire.... Alan does a good job at explaining nuance but it is not just both sides are wrong, or The evil guys are actually good. Evil people can still have common sense and protect the town they exploit. Why wouldn't the rebels do the same. Why would they mass execute every imperial when many were conscripted.

[@timbirdie8180]

@@mtsen771 The dif is Navarro was a whole planet that still had imperial remmants who did nothing. The New Republic had the forces to do something but thru incompetence. I don't know we people want to see the empire portrayed as the necessary evil and the "rebels" as complete incompetent Buffons. Mando already did a great job showing the cracks, I don't understand. We need a nuanced take on nuance.

[@leahsander5490]

I kinda want to see a mini series where the soldiers of the German Reich are the glue that holds a town or city together. One day the Allies attack and wipe out the soldiers and tell everyone they're "free" not knowing that the Reich was the one keeping the bandits and undesirables out of town, they were the ones providing security and jobs. Now that town is angry at the Allies and left to fend for itself to rebuild and survive. Yeah, sounds like a compelling story, we really need to talk more about how fascist, racist dictatorships protect us against the undesirables.

[@midgetydeath]

There are some very good fan series following stormtroopers.

[@Darthdesmond]

Thanks! For all the content. Thanks for being a sane voice in a time it gets harder and harder to find. ps, been using groundnews for while. Love it.

[@GenerationTech]

Thanks Desmond good to hear 👍🏼

[@ground_news]

Thanks for the support Desmond!

[@Darthdesmond]

@@ground_news Anytime! Honestly the best news app.

[@Ozonehh]

I made a rude comment on this channel a few years back and just want to say I was definitely in a bad headspace at that time. This channel is great. The production, organization, writing, etc. definitely one of the best starwars KZbinrs around. Thanks for the content!

[@shaydowsith348]

In the SWTOR old republic, the Stories for Empire characters are better written, the clothing is more varied and so I tend to play more imperial side than republic side. That said, my RL values are more in tune with the Rebellion. (for instance one thing the Empire has which is over the top evil is slavery)

[@mycelia_ow]

​@Homer that's subjective, honestly.

[@helwrecht1637]

The republic also has slavery

[@maestrofeli4259]

​@@helwrecht1637 not legal slavery The empire actively uses slavery

[@W0DAN88]

Point for the empire. the Republics forbid it but still made use of it. rather take the honest shit government.

[@mewtwo389]

Lmao talking shit to harkun and his pet is gold

[@Kubinda12345]

I agree that Palpatine was in the top from when he was senator and chancellor. When he became emperor there was no one to counter/balance what he wanted and he went completely nuts.

[@larkmacgregor3143]

It's not like he became a Sith later in life - all of the overthrow of the Republic was carefully planned for a very long time, especially the instigation of the Clone Wars and the destruction of the Jedi. He was in control of it all. Now you might argue that after he used force lightning on Mace Windu, the conjuring of which deformed his face and body, might have had effects on his mind, but he was still an evil entity from at least his apprenticeship with Darth Plageous.

[@Commandobreezy]

Shiev killed his whole family. Safe to say he’s always been evil

[@jirkazalabak1514]

@@larkmacgregor3143 He was a sociopath since childhood, but that is not the point. People are at their best when they have to face difficult challenges and find ways to accomplish them. Even after establishing the Empire, Palpatine still had a lot of internal opposition to deal with, albeit without any real teeth anymore. After disbanding the Senate however, there was no credible political opposition to him left. Sure, there were the Rebels, but they were a military threat, not really a political one, so he felt more than comfortable leaving them to his military for deal with.

[@FlymanMS]

Because, to quote a famous character, “Empire is kinda cool so maybe you can join and stuff”

[@LuiDaHomie]

"Empire's pretty chill bro"

[@wdas3063]

Just like the nazis

[@TheWarmachine375]

When you join the Empire and become a Stormtrooper, you get 20/20 vision improvement for aiming successfully.

[@jameslewis2635]

Did they get those implants on special from a store based in China? Because something about their aim seems a bit off...

[@jotheunissen9274]

Love that skit Stormtroopers who can shoot plot armor are a true menace

[@DucNguyen-bd5ir]

It's like you haven't heard the recon or back story that the reason the storm trooper shoot so poorly after leaving academy or boot camp is because the rebels infiltrated the weapons production facility and adjusted the sensors and sights on the blasters to be just off. The weapons in boot camps are older and constantly being maintained by the trainers and techs. While in the field the troopers themselves maintain their weapons. That's why the more elite troopers and clone troopers don't have the same aiming issues as normal storm troopers.

[@clit_niblr0375]

@@DucNguyen-bd5ir - Except the Empire got their butts handed to them by a bunch of primitive teddy bears using bows and arrows if you go by RotJ. I cannot take the Empire seriously after that no matter what the B.S. excuse, or defense or argument anyone wants to present. The troopers have laser guns (that they can't hit anything with), armor (which doesn't seem to work against sticks and stones), tanks and starfighters which don't seem to fare very well against stone age tech. Just to name a few. The Empire is essentially too stupid to exist.

[@DucNguyen-bd5ir]

@@clit_niblr0375 I never stated that the Empire didn't get their buts kicked. By the way Ewok might look like Teddy Bears but they are more akin to less civilized mini Wookies. But I was stating the recon and backstory as to why everyone considered them exceptional marksmen and accurate shot, Obiwan said so in A New Hope, but we never got to actually see it on screen. Since we can't use "plot armor" if we think this is realistic, the retcon was industrial espionage.

[@adeadphish7931]

This is one thing I love that Disney leaned into with the new Canon EU. While the original movies are very black and white, legends really made it clear the Star Wars galaxy is more nuanced in stuff like the thrawn books and Tie Fighter and the new stuff has not only kept that in mind but also pivoted into it in the books and comics

[@Centaur255]

Super glad that Ground News is sponsoring the channel! Love using their resource, and it's a great sponsor for this channel, :) Hope a lot of people take advantage of the offer!

[@tyrionas]

Thank you Alan for your always interesting commentary on the new starwars content. I know you don't like everything but you always find some interesting points and genuine good quality of modern starwars instead of just bashing it like all the other Starwars youtubers out there. Unfortunately way too many people on KZbin have noticed that Outrage generates views and that is all they talk about, how outrageous disney starwars is, they will makes 30min long videos complaining about details and talking shit about disney excutives. Yes there are issues with the new starwars content and the people managing those projects. but there is also a lot of good things and a lot of love poured into those shows by the creators. Thank you for showing us that.

[@michaelsargeant5923]

Thank you and your team for all the hard work . From your friends across the pond 🇬🇧

[@dualmoldedb3088]

I really hope we get a show where we follow imperial troopers and their view in the galaxy. Nothing with lightsabers or the force. But that will probably never happen

[@darthxerox15]

Republic Commando Sequel game but with Imperial Commandos let's go

[@lukedalton]

Honestly i don't know how much fun or healthy is playing the nazi

[@darthxerox15]

@Homer right?? It's not like we have to approve of video game pixels actions and internalize them xD

[@darthxerox15]

Also pls bring back Sev 💯

[@jazermano]

I was thinking something similar in fomat to MASH but with the imperial army or something.

[@STB-jh7od]

As a 15 year US Army veteran, I joined for few reasons. I grew up in small-town in upper plains, (yeah I related alot with Luke) so getting out was 1 reason. $ for college was 2nd, and proving oneself was 3rd.

[@jimmysmith2249]

The difference between good and evil: The good try to minimize the damage they cause, and they condemn their allies who cause unneeded damage; the evil do neither. Military ethics taught me valuable lessons about reality; no matter what we do in a conflict, innocent people will get hurt. The ethical thing to do is to minimize that harm, and help those who you do harm if/when it happens. Conflict itself must also be undertaken for ethical reasons, and unneeded conflict must be avoided. Reality and the real world are complicated and hard.

[@codyreed717]

Indeed, the Empire and the resistance often time cause horrifying damage to civilian populations and wholly unnecessary suffering like those cannibal teddy bears, the resistance was gathering up storm troopers, and then feeding them to the Bears

[@at0micwaste]

Following a creator who not only makes great star wars content but also genuinely cares about politics and having an informed audience has been quite the pleasure. Love all the videos!

[@Euphoryaaa]

Unfortunately, the recent Star Wars trilogy could’ve explored this with Finn but wasted his potential.

[@MrTwistedLizard]

To some people the Empire were big damn hero’s. Might need a fact check but I do believe in some cases the Empire would invade world being held by crime barons and warlords and ironically freed the enslaved populations. These folks would join the Empire without a second thought. Secondly there’s the case that not all rebels are created equal, such as the story of the trooper who as a kid used to be a moisture farmer when the local rebel cell attempted a theft of some of the equipment, during the resulting fire fight with the troopers father his mother and sister were killed in the crossfire. He joined up as soon as he was old enough to

[@Squiddy-go1du]

“With the empire I get paid, fed and I have a roof over my head. That’s more than the republic ever did for me.” -some douchebag elite squad trooper.

[@Lonovavir]

I've read first person accounts of German and Soviet WW 2 veterans to that effect. They only cared about what benefitted them and their family. The rest of the world? That's not my problem.

[@raininglogic]

Alan, I don’t know that you’ll ever get to see it but videos like this one give us hope for a future that is brighter and less nihilistic than what big media shows us. It’s a future where differences aren’t just acceptable, but are to be celebrated. I know it has for me at least.

[@CyberZayne]

I really didn't expect this video to be so deep. And you make a strong point about the Empire and today's politics.

[@lsthero5863]

As an history student there is a phrase the teachers Don’t stop repeating: “An empire needs to offer something in order to survive” A regime that only takes and offer nothing in return won’t survive for long, as the longest living ones gave a lot while taking also a lot. The romans for example. Their empire was one of the longest living, really ending on year 1453, while the nazis and italian fascists would have fallen in few years even if they won the war, unless they went Franco’s way, and even still, they would have been pretty fragile regimes in constant crisis.

[@russellharrell2747]

Most folks would have been unaware of any atrocities carried out by the Empire thanks to imperial control of the Holonet and the remoteness of the incidents, usually in the outer rim. Luke actually hated the empire but thought he couldn’t do anything about it or his situation other than joining the Academy, which funneled many cadets into the Imperial armed forces at that point. If your planet wasn’t being plundered for resources like Lothal then the Empire probably didn’t seem too different from the Old Republic.

[@Thalanox]

Wow. It seems that having near total control of the mass media allows evil groups to get away with a lot of stuff that they shouldn't get away with, and lets them manipulate the mindset of huge numbers of people at once to make them believe absurdities. It sure is lucky that we don't have anything like that going on in the real world, isn't it?

[@winters6642]

Alan has one of the finest communications skills ive seen in a human being. He's actually incredibly gifted in explaining political hysteria and truly lets you understand what political views you as an individual should take. He dose not impose his ideas but actually shows you all sides and then he explains all sides equally. With this you can truly begin to comprehend yourself and what is is you believe. We need more people like Alan.

[@firefritter]

I love how you can actually articulate and relate the star wars franchise to today's events. Keep it up!! Love you like a brother

[@justmike3018]

I think The Mandalorian has done a decent job so far of portraying that "other side of the Empire" to explain why people believe in it or would join, even 5 years after it fell. We even still had Separatists as portrayed by Christopher Lloyd.

[@anderzhito7]

los separatistas eran "malvados"

[@cane6074]

Not only that, the separatists are are experiencing a resurgence, a new government called the New Separatists Union was forming around 5 ABY, showing that the Empires repressive nature kept the movement alive and it collapse and the resulting power vacuum led to opening for it to form and are contesting New Republic authority.

[@justmike3018]

@@cane6074 Interesting. What books or comics cover this?

[@cane6074]

@@justmike3018 Aftermath: Empire's End and Alphabet Squadron: Victory's Price.

[@stormspotter67]

I love the fact that the separatists came into play.

[@Wanderer21766]

Palpatine was an unfit Emperor, if Thrawn or someone like Thrawn took the throne there’d be less incompetence and better rule. Palpatine is a alchemist and great sorcerer of the dark side, and one of the best manipulators if not THE best, but he is a terrible leader.

[@SchultzDorinda]

Even Vqder would be better than Palpatine. The Guy didn't suffer fools incompetence. He also disliked people who got to positions of Power because of privileges. With someone as Vader, there wouldn't be as much corruption and more people like Piett. Vader didn't kill indiscriminately, if you prove yourself you can make mistake and stay alive. But yeah Thrawn wod most likely be the best, as Anakin/Vader is better suited to be on the front. Also let's point ou that only an idiot like Palpatine would trust Tarkin with the Death Star. Also, Thrawn and Vader were smart enough to know that project Stardust was stupid and a waste of ressources. And Thrawn TIE Defender project was a far better idea.

[@bluegum6438]

There's a reason why everyone portrays Palps as this laissez-faire, "yeah whatever just get it done" type of useless boss in parodies. He isn't interested in actually doing his job as galactic emperor, he just wants to do weird Frankenstein experiments and shoot lightning out of his fingies.

[@AphelionYt]

The whole part about being left, right, centrist or extremist, you described exactly what I feel but into words and in an eloquent manner, great video Allan and thank you!

[@orokusaki1243]

There's far more people in the middle than at either end. They wanna "sway" the votes by rocking the boats.

[@matheuss886]

10:04 that bit reminded me of a quote by Upton Sinclair (1878-1968). "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

[@cane6074]

I always viewed the galactic empire's New order ideology as Thomas Hobbes in a galaxy far far away. His belief that human beings are predisposed towards evil, human beings will become corrupted and decadent and from that chaos and discord will arise, embodied by the decline Old Republic and the resulting clone wars. To forestall from such things like this, Thomas Hobbes proposed the concept of Leviathan, a government that has the power and the ability to maintain order, make the citizens cooperate for the greater good, and protect society from threats from without and within. His idea of society was one order and stability are Paramount it must be maintained at all costs. The leadership ensured this is, in the form of a platonic philosopher-king,(palpatine of course!) Possessing wisdom and intelligence and ability, would rule with all power necessary to ensure this. It's no surprise considering the aftermath of the clone wars and the disenchantment with the old Republic, many people would attracted to the empire's ideology or at least be supportive of its rule. Of course, imperial ideology is a sham. Because despite it's claims, it contradicts itself because it's corrupt and decadent nature is far worse than that the old Republic and palpatine's rule is unjust to such an extent that provokes resentment from its subjects that it results in the conflict and chaos his regime existed to prevent. And not only that he was responsible for all the death and destruction that led to the fall of the new Republic and intentionally so as a means of getting power.

[@chimaerabr]

Perfect analysis. The Leviathan would only work if (and that's a big if) the ruler/ emperor was trully an altruist, an admirable figure, which Palpatine clearly was not. Furthermore, such leader would eventually need to be replaced, and that would most likely result in a not-as-good successor.

[@zimriel]

@@chimaerabr How many LGBTQIA+ Pride marches are allowed on Coruscant? Palpatine might be more admirable than Biden.

[@Rj-im2mu]

This feels like the most authentic video you've ever made.

[@imkeerock]

A lot of wisdom being imparted in this episode. I wish more people could hear what you’re saying. Great job!

[@steelresilience]

Definitely signing up for Ground news. I like a more balanced digest of news.

[@braxxian]

Andor has easily been the best at showing the Empire as a functioning system filled with real people not just some cartoonish army of “bad guys”. But then Andor has been the best overall Disney Star Wars product by far.

[@xiiir838]

Nah, Andor still make them cartoonish in that final fight

[@RocketSurgn_]

@@xiiir838That episode is _exactly_ how real, not cartoon, governments (especially but not only dictatorships) sometimes react to public dissent when it starts to feel out of control to the wrong officials.

[@TheRewasder97]

Dialogue is the only way to a unified and functioning society, thanks for going all the way to spread the light! May the Force be with you, always.

[@FernandoMartinez-pv1id]

Ground News is a good sponsor to seek out.

[@theliato3809]

Disney of late missed that the majority of people in galaxy initially would have been ok with the empire since it built back up various institutions of the republic to legimtaize itself. Wasn’t until the Death Star when many people really turned agaisnt them.

[@YoungClarke]

I kinda feel like Filoni was against the approach Zahn was taking in regard to humanizing the empire and making sympathetic imperials. He seemed to reverse course in character direction with Thrawn, setting him up as a cut and dry villain. Though to be fair, it was on a animated show that is targeted primarily towards kids, so maybe trying to do something more complex just wasn’t feasible.

[@merafirewing6591]

It still is feasible if it's rated for late teens and young adults.

[@scottb3034]

That's because Filoni is an amateur and has all the sophistication of a sledgehammer with his fanfiction (which is the best I would classify his television shows). And it does extend to his live-action more adult oriented works in the universe. That philosophy is why he created the harebrained chip subplot to keep the clones heroic do-gooders in the vein of the Jedi and not the complex, conflicted but duplicitous anti-villains they actually were.

[@merafirewing6591]

@@scottb3034 Crosshair was the closest thing we got to anti-villain.

[@scottb3034]

@@merafirewing6591 Yeah, in the Filoni-verse somewhat. There were many more in the films and EU outside of them though. Count Dooku played off as an anti-villain in Episode II and the clones were anti-villains in Episode III and in some of the books, etc. But Filoni worked to erase as many of those things as possible before Disney did it for them.

[@merafirewing6591]

@@scottb3034 I hope that someone would replace him and just incorporate EU stuff back into the Clone Wars.

[@uncletaylorify]

There was a theory that the Empire was so evil in the original trilogy was that all the anger and fear felt by trillions flowed into the Darkside filling Palpatine with energy.

[@bottasheimfe5750]

I think if Palpatine didn't allow infighting amongst his subordinates and focused more on competence instead of loyalty and fostered more goodwill from the Galaxy at large, the Empire probably wouldn't have collapsed into rebellion the way it did. If he just kept his Sith philosophies separate from his Political Philosophies, he'd probably do just fine. Hell he wouldn't even really have to be less psychopathic, just be aware of the fact that happy people don't need to get their teeth kicked in by enforcers and that the Tarkin Doctrine was absolutely fucking useless to ensuring stability. He could still do all the evil, fucked up shit he wants behind the closed doors of the Imperial Palace. if he wanted to sacrifice babies (I don't know what Sith Rituals actually involve) there are literally trillions of them on Coruscant, too many to keep track of, so not enough people will really care about a few million missing infants. all he had to fucking do to ensure his rule lasted was kick Tarkin to the fucking curb.

[@scottb3034]

i think you are oversimplifying. The Rebels were going to exist regardless of Tarkin being around or not, especially now that Disney continuity established he wasn't the driving force of the Death Star. They were doomed from the start when Geonosians developed the blueprints for that battle station.

[@felps_4500]

​@@scottb3034 Wait a minute, I know we like to sh-t on Disney in everyway possible at any time, but ""the Geonosians made the Death Star blueprints"" plot is from way before they got involved with Star Wars

[@scottb3034]

@@felps_4500 Yes, I know. I am not saying that's Disney's fault. I am saying the fact the Death Star was designed back then made a rebellion inevitable. I was merely saying Disney changed Tarkin's role in it so his participation ultimately doesn't matter in creating and sustaining the rebellion. It was two separate thoughts/points. Sorry.

[@felps_4500]

@@scottb3034 Ah, I see, my bad then But about your other point, saying Tarkin's part on it ""doesn't matter"" is kind of a stretch, he still gave the order to blow up Alderaan, also Tarkin was kind of an a-hole so it was gonna bite him in the ass later anyway Also while I agree that a rebellion would be inevitable, I don't think the DS is the only culprit for it (it definitely made more people join it after Alderaan), there's also the fact that the "New Order" sucked for basically anyone that wasn't human, also the people that wanted the Republic back, and CIS refuges/simpatizers

[@robertnovakovic1519]

6:00 reminds of one quote that i heard in Legend of the Galactic heroes ,,there are few wars between good and evil, most are between one good and another good,, Fleet Admiral Yang Wen-li

[@ILLEGOmaniac]

Pellaeon (c/o Timothy Zahn) gave us the original 'Good Imperial' perspective: Society is like a garden and government, the gardener. If the gardener does too little the garden gets choked by weeds, hence an active hand is needed to keep the flowerbeds orderly and beautiful. Like many authoritarians, the negatives are the price to be paid for order. Leia didn't find the metaphor convincing. But in Legends, the New Republic was hardly great at keeping order. In one story arc after another, systems and species were erupting into ethnic conflict. From that perspective, the Empire might be considered an attractive alternative. And indeed the Republic collapses into infighting, while the galaxy welcomes back former-Imperial rulers like Daala and the Fels. The OT and Legends also, however, had the counterpoint: the Rebellion was full of Imperial defectors. Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, Crix Madine, Tycho Celcu - the Rebellion regularly recruited from former Imperials who had seen the error of their ways.

[@jonathanvargasmachucavera1840]

First time I hear about Ground News thanks to today's sponsor and I'm already a fan of this news app! Thank you very much for the recommendation and for the excellent video! 💯

[@Golden-Monarch-One]

Because Stormtrooper Armor. Nobody knows who they are on the inside.

[@TheLiamster]

The Empire are my favourite faction in Star Wars so I would join it in a heartbeat

[@raveshaw6161]

Long Live the Empire!

[@eamonfitzmartin998]

Empire did nothing wrong

[@Izthefaithful]

And the Jedi are a cult and the empire was helping rid the galaxy of them

[@doomfan8603]

The bigfoot men had it coming

[@luanjose1034]

​@@Izthefaithfulcapture this: You are living happily in naboo, beautifiul place, you wanna join the naboo guard in the future, asyour family says its an decent job and you have good grades, are happy the most smart in your class. Until some 47 year old with capes and his 20 year old apprentice comes in naboo and proceed to find you, sticks some blood sucky thing they takes you away from your family and now your entire life is being forced to become an space wizard.

[@owenobrien1351]

This is the answer i give my mom when she doesn't understand star wars, "practically everyone is a moron"

[@shanibee71]

Before I clicked on this vid, when I read the title my mind immediately went to what one of the Project War Mantle replacement troopers in The Bad Batch-The Replacements ep said: "With the Empire I get paid, I get fed, and have a roof over my head. That's more than the Republic ever did for me".

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

After the destruction of Alderaan, Darth Vader uploaded an apology video to HoloTube and the Empire was forgiven.

[@hawk66100]

Like the CEO of BP did after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 😂

[@russellharrell2747]

At that point the senate had been dissolved, they didn’t care about what the various systems thought of the empire as long as they had a healthy fear of being made an object lesson.

[@Charlie94781]

Bail Organa definitely turned a blind eye towards rebel bio weapon plants on Alderaan

[@russellharrell2747]

@@Charlie94781 imperial propaganda

[@foxallan]

Before I hit play. I'm going to take a guess. The galaxy was tired of all the death and destruction of the Clone Wars. Empire promised better times, it was born out of the Republic giving it a sense of legitimacy, it could offer everyone a job (supporting the Emperor's goal of conquest) and most importantly many subjects of the Empire were kept in the dark of the real tyranny. Brutally enforcing the Emperor's will is something saved for the Outer Rim. The Core worlds required a more delicate touch.

[@dannydacheedo1592]

Are you psychic?

[@bluegum6438]

@@dannydacheedo1592 No, this has happened in real history several times, is happening today, and it will happen again in the future, it's just how human psychology works.

[@johnhutton8927]

I keep thinking about the Empire. It seems to me that Fear drove so much of the Emperor's decisions. Fear of threats. Fear of insurrection. There was always Fear.

[@user-Jay178]

I love all the different points of view in star wars and that it's not just black and white. Love your content.

[@raveshaw6161]

@Homer and that is a narrow point of view, which alan literally warned about in this Video. Every Side , Faction or Government has their reasons to do things, and you can't understand a Faction without knowing for what they actually stand for and why people join them. There are always 2 Sides of the Story even with Jedi and Sith, the Sith were genocided by the Jedi in a widespread purge and only after this incident the Sith actually fought Wars of Extinction when they Returned as the Second Sith Empire from Emperor Vitiate. Even the most "Black" Faction on first glance, maybe has reasons why they are, what they are.

[@raveshaw6161]

@Homer So that justifies literal genocide?

[@raveshaw6161]

@Homer They did, they didn't even only kill the members of the Sith Order they killed the Pureblood SPECIES, and they tried again when Revan escaped his imprisonment and wanted to construct a droid army that killed everyone with even AN INCH of Sith Pureblood genes in them. There literally is a line in TOR Where a Sith Lord actually spoke to a Jedi "The Jedis Obsession with my Peoples extermination must end" The Jedi were as fucked up as the Sith at that point even worse, because the Sith attacked the Republic out of fear because The Jedi were a Ghost Story and the Last people who discovered the Sith Empire were the Rakata who tried to Enslave them. So Yeah can you Blame the Sith for wanting Revenge? I can't.

[@samueldimmock694]

@Homer To the first comment (ignoring the reductionist arguments about that one fictional event), sometimes things are black and white, and sometimes they aren't. The key is figuring out which is which. Actions are often black and white, people often aren't (though they sometimes are), and organizations almost never are, as far as I can tell.

[@NicholasUmstead]

Let’s be honest, we all wanted to join the Empire as kids because the stormtroopers wore cool armor.

[@nijadbahnam9859]

I see Star wars universe as stuck between two extreme . In one side , a brutal autocratic system that want to impose order and submission at all cost . In the other , an incompetant republic system that can't etablish peace and order . Both cases have shown staggering amount of corruption and ineptitude . Since in modern Star war era , both the empire and the republic failed twice .

[@Tehz1359]

I'd say there's a third one, the anarchistic type planets like tatooine, where criminal organizations are the closest thing resembling a government.

[@bluegum6438]

A single galactic government is just impossible logistics wise. How exactly do you achieve force projection over a galaxy? Even just trying to locate each other to have a battle would be a headache. The enemy is in sensor range, t minus thirty days till arrival. Who's up for Go Fish?

[@nijadbahnam9859]

@bluegum6438 The Republic was supposed to be more like a confederation or United Nations . But even at its prime or even the empire, only controlled a 3rd of the galaxy . Half the galaxy is a no-go zone .

[@bluegum6438]

@@nijadbahnam9859 I'd say even a quarter of a galaxy is a pretty big ask considering one planet is way too much to manage, but I'm just poking fun

[@FlymanMS]

Alan is in his Obi Wan the hermit stage of beard development.

[@GenerationTech]

My beard trimmer actually broke 😂 getting so much shit from the wife

[@FlymanMS]

@@GenerationTech that's a perfect opportunity for Manscaped sponsorship!

[@merafirewing6591]

​@@GenerationTech grow it out even more.

[@TheJediCaptain]

A Skywalker from Tattooine joining the Imperial Academy would likely draw lots of attention.

[@COACHWARBLE]

Imagine Vader seeing Luke’s name on a pilot roster along with Tatoine

[@violetlight1548]

"I encounter civilians like you all the time. You believe the Empire is continually plotting to do harm. Let me tell you, your view of the Empire is far too dramatic. The Empire is a government. It keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, year after year, on thousands of worlds, people live their lives under Imperial rule without seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a TIE fighter scream overhead." -- Grand Admiral Thrawn. I do appreciate that in Legends and increasingly so in Disney canon, both sides are shown as more shades of grey. It's far more realistic. It reminds me of a story my Nana told me. She was a teenager when the Blitz hit the UK, and one day in her village, they found a German paratrooper stuck in a tree. My great-grandmother held the other villagers back -- many of whom had lost sons, fathers and husbands in the war. She had lost her own son, my Nana's beloved brother. My great-grandmother wouldn't let that young soldier come to harm though. She said "he's somebody's lad", and kept him safe until the police arrived. She saw an enemy soldier, and saw a boy not unlike her own -- saw his humanity.

[@mattthemouse1]

An analogous situation was Franco’s Spain in the 30’s and 40’s: people embraced the fascism because it brought safety, stability and peace after a prolonged and very bloody civil war.

[@marco117sw]

Did u know the Empire SAVED Cloud City from being destroyed by the Rebel Alliance? Bet nobody talks about that.

[@WildWolfGod]

Looking at a lot of the EU and Canon stuff and watching videos, I love people pointing out things like this. It's interesting that in the lore, kind of like how a number of individuals joined the Empire for reasons they believed it was right, the Republic did a lot of horrible stuff in their long history that lead to the formation of the CIS as well as had plenty of political corruption and prejudice between many species on every level. I mean in the EU (I know it's not relevant now with Canon), the Republic became a Humanocentrist crusader state for a thousand years that wiped out entire species and made planets uninhabitable because they thought Aliens were unclean and humans were the supreme.

[@Just_Another_John]

Alan, I think this is your best ever video Well done Sir I wish more people would listen to the bit at the end, about the extreme bubble, a lot of people need to hear that at the moment

[@Typhoon_John]

Quick note, at around 10:20 you say that things don't change much on Coruscant, but really, they don't change much for the upper class. Jedi Survivor just came out a week ago, and showed how there was a crackdown, as well as shortages that affected the lower classes of Coruscant (literally in the notes, although admittedly, these notes are written from Cal's point of view).

[@amtnt13]

Growing up is moving from seeing black and white to the dynamic, confusing grayscale of the world

[@grumpygrant4537]

Don’t lecture me generation tech , I see through the lies of the Jedi

[@MJC-yo5kj]

The current Thrawn Trilogy of books and the Tarkin book do a really good job at showing the normal people within the empire and the people rebelling against it.

[@liampender2359]

Hello Generation Tech, could you possibly, if it would be worth your time and if their is enough source material on the topic, a video of the imperial army post Endor. As in most of the widespread canon like Star Wars Battlefront 2 Campaign and The Mandalorian we have only seen the storm troopers not any imperial army units. And the imperial army made up the bulk of the imperial ground military, so what happened to all these people? Thank you.

[@GenerationTechShorts]

yes i've actually been thinking about this for a while now. Might be a good subject for a video

[@Dankdalorde]

AH NO WAY GROUND NEWS - the only ad I’ve genuinely liked. All my favorite political KZbinrs advertise this - glad to see you’re also on board

[@indianajones4321]

I think Clone Wars veterans were conscripted into the Imperial Army to serve on Mimban, but I could be wrong

[@daniels7907]

The Republic was a perfect example of a libertarian state. It was demilitarized, and had virtually no direct presence on most member worlds. This is why, in TPM, there was not so much as a Republic branch office staffed by a droid on Naboo. The Republic's main functions were to maintain standardized interstellar trade rules and certain key infrastructure like the HoloNet. This is why the Separatist leadership consisted of the heads of megacorporations that were powerful enough in their own right to challenge the government. Your typical (nominal) citizen of the Republic actually saw very little of it. Their local system governments had far more direct power over their lives. Which could be good in some systems, but oppressive in others. This would lead many people who wanted some kind of order in society to decide that the Republic didn't really do anything that benefitted most citizens and was just a glorified debate club.

[@ajf5823]

I’m reading the Thrawn books and while Thrawn is ruthless and calculating, he’s not evil. What’s interesting is that the characters in the books that serve in the Imperial Navy under Thrawn and work for the Empire are depicted as anything but evil. They are regular people who serve with dignity and dedication. They look upon themselves as warriors defending their way of life and many detest the politics and corruption but feel they are achieving a greater good. It’s not black and white but many shades of gray. My son is currently in the Navy and l support him but l don’t love the idea of him being a cog in a machine that pursues unnecessary military ventures that use the troops as fodder to achieve the goals of the military industrial complex that runs this country. Why did he join? For the money, a free education and a career path. That would be true of those who serve willingly in the Galactic Empire.

[@Ryecrash617]

I've been using Ground News for a few months already. I'm glad to hear you reached out to them.

[@everettjohnson9374]

Because the Empire are the protagonists, the rebels are the antagonists. The Empire brought peace to the galaxy, everyone had jobs, no one ever suffered and Palps was a humanitarian.

[@sirelfinjedi]

Yes! Ground News is an amazing tool! Thanks for spreading the word!

[@youvebeenmungaid1470]

you put a lot of thought into these videos, Alan but anyways the guy in the video who says if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear reminded me of a lot of Americans after the patriot act was passed in the states

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

We have CW veterans who saw most aliens as evil, we had people affected by Saw and Luthen ploys, we have people whose job was that and then the rest.

[@brickconnect]

Logistically, the Empire is based on our current US Military Infrastructure. That’s why it is my favorite faction!

[@Ben-Ken]

The US military is bloated but I'd say the empire is more like the North Koreans.

[@Commander23c]

@@Ben-Ken Not really when you analyze it.

[@Maddieisabaddie-et4py]

@@Ben-Ken not even close

[@BlapwardKrunkle]

I didn’t like the rebels until Andor, now that I can understand and relate to the political implications of the Empires in universe oppression of the masses, I would definitely pipe bomb the shit outta the Empire

[@Ben-Ken]

@@Commander23c so you're saying the empire is more like the US than North Korea? How? The birth Koreans spending their resources on two death stars and giving most of the resources to the military inner circle is very North Korean. Enslaving a whole planet of Wookies to build them is also more like North Korea. The US is corrupt but not on that level since the civil war. Maybe when the American middle class is truly gone I would agree.

[@AlfredoPuente8]

Iden Versio is a horrible example, she became a rebel after the tutorial.

[@enurii]

In the UK people were detained for protesting the coronation over the weekend, I had always been indifferent to the monarchy but now I am completely opposed to it

[@hawk66100]

Often times when governments try to contain/discipline people for a problem they end up making the problem worse than if they would’ve just let it alone.

[@vexintersect1312]

Such an enlightened centrist that my eyes are bleeding... stand for the republic, for democracy! Any extremist who abandons or condems democracy should be whole heartedly condemned.

[@AdultThirdCultureKid1971]

Alan, you should watch a segment from Mehdi Hasan's show because he brought up the show "Andor". In it, he addresses the parallels between Star Wars and real life.

[@crazyjakeclan7007]

I'm unsure if it was intended but your opening monologue on the ease of eroding the trust of the public parallels very well with a lot of people post pandemic here in Australia and it put into words how I've been feeling. Thanks and great video as always Allen!

[@kylebolt1951]

The Imperail Empire improved everything it touched, security,prosperity, leadership. From a certian point of view.

[@hawk66100]

And from other points of view maybe a child saw their parents get mercilessly gunned down by stormtroopers so grows up with the mentality of f*ck the empire so joins Saw Guererra or the rebellion as soon as they are able.

[@kylebolt1951]

@@hawk66100 lol

[@noahtylerpritchett2682]

It's the Galactic or Coruscanti empire. Imperial empire is redundant.

[@kylebolt1951]

@Noah Tyler Pritchett (adjective 1) (noun 2). Makes sense to me.. better, special, supperior/ Control of large large area ruled by a single individual. sure, I guess if your knowledge was lacking on terms,words,and definitions. Then yes, I could see how it could be perceived as redundant. I was more or less uneleganlty referencing an old quote/biased empire sympathy. Ps. The curosanti empire sounds terrible, and I can see why that term is never used. None should you speak/type it agian. Twice is already more than enough.

[@Cykeys]

I really think you'd love a show like Legend of the Galactic Heroes when it comes to discussing politics and human nature.