How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Darth Vader

I didn't think it was possible to be worse than William Safire, but somehow the New York Times found someone. Today, John Tierney decides to embrace the anti-Bush message in the new Star Wars film.

[Anakin] says he could never betray the Jedi because they're his family, but then the chancellor puts the family question in perspective: "Learn to know the dark side of the Force, Anakin, and you will be able to save your wife from certain death." Anakin promptly recognizes the limits of altruism, just as Adam Smith did in the 18th century.

It goes on like that - the world is too big to bother to care about anyone else these days, and like Darth Vader, we should ignore our impulse to help others and look out for ourselves. What a horrible world view this man has! There are too many problems, too many poor people to look after - government should cut their losses and let social Darwinism take its natural course. I don't want to live in that world. Even if I were one of those who managed to survive in the dog eat dog world that you are espousing, I don't want to hoard my riches and step over the homeless on my way to work. Even if it's a hopeless cause trying to be the "Jedi" so to speak, at least we're doing something instead of giving up and turning to the dark side.