It’s true. All of it.
How the heck could you forget all that?
How could the galaxy forget the Rebel Alliance taking out not one, but two Death Stars? How could they forget that the Jedi returned and destroyed the Emperor? After only thirty years, how could they think that they were just stories? How could legends fade into… into myths?
It doesn’t make any sense.
But then again, Star Wars does this kind of thing often enough.
For a thousand years, Jedi were the guardians of peace in the galaxy. And then, just nineteen years after the Jedi purge seen in Episode III, Luke has to ask, “The Force?”
So after thirty years? I suppose some sort of galactic amnesia is to be expected, if they forget the existence of that “ancient order” so quickly.
So in The Force Awakens, Rey has to say, “There were stories about what happened.”
But not everyone has forgotten. There are still eye witnesses. Han smiles. “It’s true. All of it.”
Do you hear him savor those words? Watch the trailer. He says the line at about the 1:12 mark.
He’s not afraid to tell her. He’s not shy about saying, “Yes. There was a Jedi who fought darkness. Yes, there was great evil, but good overcame it. Yes, darkness is real, but so is the light. I have seen both, and I have seen light triumph.”
Oh, it’s amazing how quickly one generation can forget. That’s all it takes: One generation. One generation ignoring what has come before, and the wealth of the past is lost. Jedi? What’s that? Just something old asthmatic guys in black armor subscribe to. The Force? Superstition.
Can you imagine if Luke’s aunt and uncle had told him about the Force? That knowledge wouldn’t have been lost, even if they weren’t Force sensitive themselves. But they didn’t. One generation, and the knowledge was all but lost.
But what’s Rey’s excuse? She grew up in a graveyard of Imperial and Rebellion ships. She saw the ruins of the battles.
She thought they were just stories.
How could she? Well, we humans are so good at forgetting the past, especially when we weren’t eyewitnesses to it. There’s a reason we need those reminders of what happened. Imagine if there was an annual “Battle of Yavin” day on Jakku, where Rey was raised. Maybe it would be celebrated with lots of fireworks. How about Yodamas? I suppose Life Day, too, if you want to really dig deep into the lore.
But I wonder, if those were ever celebrated, if they’d get twisted. Can you imagine “Battle of Yavin” day becoming more about fireworks than about the heroic sacrifices of the Rebel pilots? Or if Yodamas was more about painting yourself green than about standing on one hand and lifting rocks with your special gift? Or if Life Day was more about wearing the best red robes instead of celebrating family?
We forget so, so quickly.
Rey didn’t know. She thought they were just stories.
But then she meets Han. He tells her: “It’s true. All of it.”
And a connection is made: From older to younger.
It’s too bad we don’t have any holidays to remind us of great heroic acts of the past. I mean, can you imagine, an entire holiday dedicated to the God who became human? Maybe an entire holiday dedicated to his birth? Too bad all we have is Christmas. I’m too busy with my tree, thank you very much, and my kids have alltheprograms to go to.
It’d be great if we had an entire holiday, maybe even a week, dedicated to the hero that battled death itself. I’m way too busy at Easter, though. Gotta hide those eggs. Or if we had eyewitness accounts of what happened, like Rey had when she talked to Han? That’d be so cool!
Sigh.
I guess we’re only a generation away from forgetting.
Sure wish someone was around to tell me, “It’s true. All of it.”
Luke Italiano
Luke Italiano is a pastor in Florence, KY. He has a beautiful bride and four children. He's a self-confessed geek. He also loves a story well-told.
