Shortly after the destruction of the Galactic Empire’s DS-1 Orbital Battle Station,
the starfighter pilots most responsible for the Rebel victory were honored by
the assembled members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. In the hall
of the Great Temple on Yavin 4, they were presented medals by the last Princess of
Alderaan to the bright and steady ring of trumpets. And this single moment,
more than any other, I believe has come to define the Rebellion. The Alliance were the good guys,
a sea of smiling faces celebrating their heroic victory over an evil Empire.
If I were in a position of authority within the New Republic, this is exactly the narrative I
would want to encourage, and this is the image I would want most associated with
the Rebel Alliance. Something inspiring, though boring. These are the good guys,
and we don’t need to dig deeper than that. But this right here, this is not the Rebellion,
or at least not all of it. This is the public facade, the propaganda. It’s intended to make
more appealing, a group that, while possessing the most noble of causes,
could be just as cruel and brutal as the Empire they sought to overthrow.
And this is something I always suspected. Not that the Empire was actually in the
right the entire time and the Rebellion was nothing more than a just bunch of terrorists,
not at all. Rather, that the Rebellion was an armed insurgency against the galactic government,
and no matter how justified they were in doing so, this kind of conflict is impossible without a
degree of moral complexity. And that image of the ceremony on Yavin 4, just doesn’t reflect that.
So what was the Rebellion really? Well, it might still be a bit too
early to give a complete answer, but, I think the Rebellion was three broad
groups. And conveniently we have three key figures who represent each one.
The first group is what I’ll call the idealists, and best embodied by Mon Mothma. These are the
people who opposed the Empire based on their solely moral convictions. They saw democracy,
the rule of law, the equal application of justice and the rights of sentient species as inalienable.
The Empire was a tyrannical regime and for this reason above all, needed to be opposed. If they
were personally harmed by the Empire, it was in response to their anti-Imperial activities,
and not the cause of them. The idealists were most likely to have been politically
active during the rise of the Empire and first attempted to bring about change
and reform through legal avenues. To them, armed rebellion was always the last resort.
The value of this group should be obvious. They brought to the Rebellion a unifying vision,
a rival ideology to challenge that of the Empire’s. The Galactic Civil War was very much
an ideological conflict as much as a military one and the Rebellion absolutely needed philosophers
and political theorists who could convey the necessity of revolution. The idealists, especially
those like Mon Mothma who came from positions of political authority within the Empire, also
brought to the Rebellion a level of legitimacy. One of those most challenging aspects of any armed
insurgency is the need to present themselves as a viable alternative to the reigning government,
and not just a group of armed thugs. The idealists were critical in this regard.
The next group is one I’m labeling the radicals, represented by people like Saw Gerrera. When
compared to the idealists, they are essentially the exact opposite. To them, the Rebellion is more
about hurting the Empire than it is restoring the Republic. Their opposition to the Imperial
regime does not derive from political theory, but personal experience. What that experience was,
might vary considerably. Maybe the Empire decimated their world, or just made their
business impossible to operate. Whatever it was, the war they fought was a deeply personal one.
They viewed internal reform as an impossibility and armed conflict as the only possible course.
They were willing to use every tool to fight the Empire, and could rationalize every consequence.
Now this is a group that clearly has no place in any galactic government. I suspect that as soon as
the Rebellion triumphed and the New Republic was established, radicals in the model of Saw Gerrera
were immediately purged from the history of the Rebellion. Their activities were likely classified
or otherwise suppressed, and any surviving members quietly sidelined from the new administration. I’m
sure many of them even expected to be treated this way. But while the Idealists might be reluctant
to admit this publicly, the radicals were every bit as necessary for the Rebellion to succeed.
Armed insurgencies are not a clean business. It is impossible to overthrow a government while
conforming perfectly to high-minded principles. It requires people willing to lie, steal, kill,
maim, and even torture. The radicals fulfill this role. They have severed every link with
the social order and civilized galaxy so they might bring about its destruction.
The last group is probably the most complex and is represented by figures like Luthen
Rael. These are the pragmatists. I see them as an intermediary between the idealists and radicals,
blending the characteristics of both. They are deeply committed to the political ideals
of the Rebellion, but are completely willing to use whatever methods necessary to achieve them.
It is inevitable that at some point a choice will need to be made between doing what is
morally right, and doing what is necessary for success. Idealists would likely gravitate
towards the former, radicals to the latter. But it's the pragmatists who look at each
situation individually and objectively. A rebellion dominated by idealists might find
it difficult to translate their ideals into purposeful action, or be too naive and timid
to survive. The supremacy of the radicals can lead to senseless cruelty, losing the support
of the people they’re supposed to be liberating. The pragmatists are a necessary balancing force.
Of course, people are not easily or clearly sorted into groups like these.
Mon Mothma certainly possesses a spirit of radicalism just as Saw can be an idealist,
and both are capable of being pragmatic. And Rebel agents like Cassian Andor possess all
three qualities with different philosophies dominating his actions as his understanding of
his role within the Rebellion grows and changes. But I think this speaks to my point. The Rebellion
was a complex entity made up of complex people. It was a beacon of liberty, heroically fighting
the forces of oppression and tyranny. But it was also a vulnerable insurgency, one that needed
to take harsh and brutal measures, sometimes against its own supporters, in order to survive.
It was not merely the “good guys” as that ceremony on Yavin might suggest,
nor was it a collection of murderers killing their own informants in a
dirty ally. It was a bit of both. And that’s what makes it interesting.