Some may have seen this, but the author raises some interesting parallels between the new Star Wars movie coming out this week and contemporary times. Even George Lucas, who is quoted in the article, notes the darkside connections. Indeed it is interesting that many countries, some of them democracies, have peacefully, although under real, imagined or manufactured threats, turned into dictatorships with the support of the people.
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20050515/111618582000.html