In the film, Anakin states something to the effect that the difference between a Sith and a Jedi is that the Sith are emotional and turn inward and are selfish in the Force, while Jedi are ruled by logic turn outward and are selfless.  Being selfish and emotional are the literal hallmarks of contemporary liberalism.  It’s all about how you feel, doing what you feel is right.  There are no moral absolutes.  At one point Obi tells Anakin that Palpatine is evil, and Anakin responds that he believes the Jedi are evil.  Obi believes in absolute moral evil, whereas Anakin takes the liberal position that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

At one point, Palpatine tells Anakin that, in order to be truly great, one must understand both sides of the Force.  This was presented to Anakin very much in the vein of Sun-Tzu:  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” However, Palpatine told that to Anakin because he knew the corrupting influence of the Dark Side would consume him.  This, to me, smacks of the old left-wing shibboleth that the only reason people go to war is because of a lack of understanding between them.  If we all understood each other better, and respected and tolerated each other, then the world would be at peace.  However, this assumes the righteousness of the idea of moral relativism.  As we see in the film, this moral relativism leads to the ultimate downfall of not only Anakin but the entire Republic itself.

Then there’s another angle.  The Jedi know something is up for virtually the whole movie.  They can sense the danger, yet they wait for absolute proof of Palpatine’s intentions before they act.  By then, of course, it is too late.  They all know Palpatine is a bad guy, but their adherence to their ideals eventually becomes their downfall.  Palpatine knows this and uses it against them, in much the same way that prior to 9/11 al Qaeda used to recruit terrorists by stating that the United States had shown it would not fight back.  By refusing to confront the threat of the Sith when it first manifests itself and is relatively weak they allow it to grow into a force that even the Jedi cannot overcome.

The Senate, to me, is much more representative of the United Nations than anything we find today in America.  Comprised of representatives from every system, with diverse peoples, populations, languages, and values, the Senate is more concerned with preserving the status quo than anything else.  There is no system of checks and balances in the Senate, which is exactly why Palpatine is able to use and manipulate it for his diabolical ends.  Conversely, we live in a country where Bush, the alleged kindred spirit to Palpatine, cannot even get his judicial nominations passed because the minority in the US Senate is using parliamentary tricks to prevent a vote, and Bush’s ideas for reforming Social Security are stalled because of a successful campaign by the opposition.  Some all-powerful tyrant we’ve got there.  If there’s a point to be made comparing Palpatine to Bush I’ll be damned if I can find it.  The reason the US system works is precisely because the founders set it up so that no one branch could grab too much power from the others.  The reason the United Nations does not, and will never, work is precisely because it is an unelected, limp, flaccid, corrupt body with no checks and balances whatsoever.  It relies on the good intentions of its members, and whenever you have diverse, competing interests, relying on the goodwill of your fellow man is heading down the path to disaster.

After the war against the separatists appears to be over, Padme remarks to Obi that since victory has been achieved, it is time for Palpatine to return his emergency power to the Senate and let diplomacy resume.  This, of course, is exactly what the left will call for the second Osama bin Laden is finally caught.  But, of course, diplomacy only works when both sides have a common goal and a desire to amicably work out their differences.  As any thinking person will admit, the radical Islamofascist groups have absolutely no desire to ever peacefully coexist with either the West or with Israel.  Their intentions are victory or death in its pursuits. So merely achieving victory in one aspect of the battle does not, in any sense, mean victory in the larger war.  Padme refused to believe that there was a war larger than the war against the separatists, much like the Western left refuses to recognize the threat to world peace that the existence of radicalized fascist Islam represents.  This is the larger war we are engaged in.

The final point I want to make is about sentimentality.  Obi Wan initially states that he cannot kill Anakin, because the latter was like a brother to him.  However, after seeing a holographic recording of Anakin slaughtering the Jedi younglings, Obi is forced to reconcile with the fact that Anakin must die.  After the spectacular lightsaber battle in the volcano planet takes place, and Anakin had his limbs sliced off and is sliding towards certain death in the lava, Obi feels a tinge of sentimentality; he can’t finish him off, and leaves Anakin to burn to death. As we know, however, Anakin does not burn to death, and becomes the Darth Vader we all know and love.  The lesson here?  When you have a chance to finish off your enemy and remove the threat he represents, take it.  Because not doing so will spell your ultimate destruction.

Update: It’s worth noting here that I don’t believe that there is a contemporary political subtext to Star Wars.  I think that anyone can, if they choose, divine just about anything they want from the film.  This post was simply meant to show that there are numerous lessons that one can take from the films, not to attempt to guess that Lucas’ “secret” message.  That’s something left-wing journalists, America-hating Eurowimps, and bleeding-heart leftist intellectuals engage in.