May the 4th (or Force) Be with You…As We Navigate to Our New Normal
By Jacques Couret
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… we used to shake hands, gather in large groups and have meals together without worry. We went out without masks and latex gloves. It was a more civilized age before the dark times – before the coronavirus.
It’s May the 4th during our long COVID-19 shutdown and lock-in. For the uninitiated, May the 4th – a corny play on the famous “May the Force be with you” heard so many times in the beloved Star Wars movie franchise – is the international day geeks like me celebrate all things Jedi and Sith.
But on May 4, 2020, we might as well be in a galaxy far, far away. The pandemic has made things feel as if we landed on some alien world where all inhabitants live in fear of an invisible enemy, a “Phantom Menace” of sorts, and have grown leery of physical contact with others. We’ve also grown frustrated and angry as we seem powerless to eradicate the virus or save our economies. To quote the eternally anxious protocol droid C-3PO: “We’re doomed!”
There’s been a great disturbance in the Force, and we are scared. But as Jedi Master Yoda reminds us: "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
During difficult times in my life, I have often turned to Star Wars for entertainment and escape. It never lets me down, particularly “The Empire Strikes Back.” For billions around the world, the saga just has a special way of gripping the imagination, pulling you into a world where anything seems possible and the stresses of real life just melt away. And for Gen Xers like me, Star Wars provides a powerful way to transport back to our childhoods, our simpler and more civilized times. Watching Star Wars movies for the millionth time as an adult is like visiting dear old friends. It’s comforting for the mind and soul.
Star Wars has been a near-constant companion and calling card. And as I have aged, its meaning and importance has evolved along with me. As a youngster, it was about lightsabers and blasters, good and evil, and cool spaceships and aliens. As an adolescent, it became a bit more about the individual characters, a father and a son on opposing sides of the same coin, and the nature of the Force. As an adult, it has also become about spiritual dogma, the arrogance of power, the fragility of democracy, the ugliness of politics and the tragic mistakes well-intentioned people can make. And, of course, the lightsabers!
But always, Star Wars is the hero’s tale. It’s a story of regular, often downtrodden people inspired by hope to overcome the odds, accomplish amazing things, fulfill their destinies and create order and civility out of chaos and war.
Hope is the constant thread that weaves together the 11 (and counting) Star Wars films and cartoon series. At the end of “Rogue One,” Princess Leia reminds us the captured Death Star plans offer the galaxy “hope.” The first Star Wars movie is called “A New Hope.” In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Luke loses part of his arm, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and Leia is left holding her battered rebellion barely together by only a thread of hope.
I’ll watch Star Wars tonight to mark May the 4th. Which movie, I haven’t yet decided. But I do know it will take my mind off the things here in my galaxy that stress me. It will mostly make me forget about the hardships COVID-19 has placed upon us all and remind me there is always hope. There will be casualties, there will be tough times, there will be a temptation to believe all is lost — but the good guys always win in the end because they never give into anger, hate and fear. They have hope. And lightsabers!
As you continue to work from home, homeschool your kids and hope for the best, may the Force be with you!
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Jacques Couret is editorial manager of All Told and works out of Allison+Partners’ Atlanta office, where he boasts the company’s best collection of Star Wars desk toys.
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