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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Deset Gled" data-source="post: 7594692" data-attributes="member: 7808">Going a little bit out of order here…First, I need to set one big point straight here.  The Empire and First Order are two completely different organizations from completely different times, as are the Rebellion and the Resistance.  My arguments here are about the Empire and Rebellion.  I am not going to address the First Order or the Resistance.There’s no answer I can give you that will fulfill your expectations here, because you are Begging the Question.  You have labeled the deeds of the Rebellion as acts of war, and are then questioning why I can’t give examples of acts of terrorism.  I can give you plenty of examples, but you have already decided none of them count.  Rather than bicker over examples, then, I will explain my viewpoint another way (and do my very best to keep real world politics out of it).  Say there is a domestic group that opposes the government and wants the government to change.  What do we call them?  If they attempt to use political methods and influence to change the government, I call them political activists.  If they grow large enough, they may become a political party or a faction.  If they attempt to flee from the government, I call them asylum seekers or pilgrims.  If they influence a region to remove themselves from the government, I call them secessionists (which are another group I support in the prequel trilogy, BTW).  If they lead by example and use their resources to aide those that have been wronged by the government, I call them humanitarians.  If they use violence, I call them terrorists.The Rebel Alliance is a domestic group that has devoted all their resources to violent conflict with the standing government.  "Terrorist" is the word I use to describe that.  What word do you use?  Does labeling them something other than “terrorist” change the fact that they are a completely military organization devoted to overthrowing the government with no shown attempts at political activism, secession, pilgrimage, or humanitarianism?I completely disagree with this viewpoint… except for your discussion of the term “theocracy” which is technically correct but it’s the easiest shorthand notation I have to describe a form of government ruled by religion so I will continue to use it until someone proposes a better term.For starters, the Rebels use the phrase “May the Force be with you” more times than you remember.  It’s used by Mon Mothma, General Dodonna, and General Reekan, and is used by Rebel leaders in every one of the original trilogy, as well as by the early Alliance in Rogue One.  It is a mantra repeated by many (including Han) and clearly used in a religious context.Second, the purpose of the Alliance is to overthrow the Empire and return to the government of the Republic.  And the Republic was a theocracy.  The Jedi are the either the official or de facto (it’s not made clear) religion of the state and are heavily intertwined with the government.  The Jedi are a critical branch of the Republic, whose powers included diplomatic and law enforcement roles.  And, most nefariously, the Jedi are allowed to influence the Senate, but the Senate is not allowed to oversee the actions of the Jedi.  But the main point here is that the Jedi are a key part of the Republic.  You cannot fight to restore the Republic without also fighting to restore the Jedi, and all the of the religion that entails.  Consequently, the Rebellion is a group with religious intents.  Individuals in the group may have varying degrees of devotion, but that’s a driving goal of the organization.Also, the Empire is not a theocracy, as shown by General Motti in ANH.  It is lead by a religious person, but there is no evidence of his religion on any level of government.</blockquote>

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