In the original Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes 4-6), we see Luke Skywalker & Pals blow up a couple of Death Stars, redeem Darth Vader, and defeat the Empire. Happy Ending!
Except… it wasn’t. There was no “ending.” Just more of the same train wreck, as it turns out.
They woke up the next morning and realized, dang, we still have a Galaxy to run and a Republic to hold together.
Which they only managed to do with very mixed results. Within a generation the New Republic is falling apart, and the First Order (Empire 2.0) is about to take over. By the time Episode 9 is over, Luke, Leia, and Han Solo are dead, and the Forces of Darkness are still alive and well. And we haven’t even mentioned Admiral Thrawn’s evil plans yet.
All this, of course, is what our ancestors have known for thousands of years: “sic transit gloria mundi”– i.e. so passes the glory of the world. In other words, all glory is fleeting. All victory is temporary.
The lesson here for all of us is simple enough: sure, celebrate your wins, just don’t let them define you.
P.S. Funnily enough, Disney, the current owner of the Star Wars franchise, has been doing a lot of “defining oneself by past glories” lately. They’ve recently been cranking out remakes of old classics like nobody’s business, with often disastrous results.
Sorry, Disney, but if The People’s Republic of China is not “too big to fail,” you certainly aren’t immune, either.
A little humility goes a long way.
