Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32)/ Episode V: Empire Strikes Back
Patience
When the rain stopped and Noah sent out the dove to find dry land, they were not able to just disembark. It took time for the water to start to recede after the rain had stopped. Then Noah had to wait for the waters to keep receding before the ark settled atop a mountain. And from there he continued to wait while the waters kept receding. He finally was able to send out a raven to search for dry land but to no success. He sent a dove to do the same with similar results. He waited again before sending a dove a second time before it returned with an olive branch, and he waited once more before sending out a third dove that never returned. Only then did Noah and the other inhabitants of the ark finally disembark and finally stand on dry land themselves. Patience was the key. Being cramped up on a wooden boat filled with smelly and also cramped up animals could not have been pleasant, but Noah persisted in his waiting nonetheless until he was certain there would be a dry world to return to once the ark’s doors were opened.
When Luke arrives on Dagobah to find the last remaining know Jedi master Yoda, he is first met by a whimsical, old creature. Yoda acts nothing like the wise and pithy teacher we know him to be in the first moments of meeting Luke. He is testing a very particular virtue in the hopeful padawan: patience. In fact, the way Yoda is acting is retrospectively reminiscent of the way a particular gungan we discussed last week acts. Jar Jar Binks could be considered having been one of the most tragic creatures in the entire galaxy. Already plagued by clumsiness and a graceless yet loving means of interacting with others, Jar Jar sealed his fate in Episode II when he gave the rousing speech that encouraged the vote for the Emergency Powers Act, which gave Supreme Chancellor Palpatine the absolute authority he held during the Clone Wars and ultimately that allowed his rapid ascension to emperor. Deeply flawed and widely seen as a great scourge in the fiction and to its fans, Yoda emulated this juvenile soul as he ate Luke's food and stumbled through his belongings uninvited. Of course, viewers of the film originally had no means of making this connection, but fortunately, we today have the context with which to make more connections and delve deeper than ever before.
Luke's test is whether or not he can find himself capable of acting with patience towards even the lowest of the galaxy's creatures, and it should be our test too. We need to take the time to step back and examine our judgements. We may sit back and find that Jar Jar, or anybody in our lives, are truly vile and that they are deserving of our negative sentiment. We might also step back though, and find that our judgments were misguided or unfounded. We have no reason to believe Jar Jar acted with malice at any point in his life, only foolishness. Foolishness should be forgivable. Patience is an asset that allows all of us to cast aside haste and to make judgements based far more on facts than on emotions.
Noah’s patience is simple but excruciating. If Noah can muster the strength to endure staying on his ark, we can all have the patience to wait before making judgements on other people. This extends so far beyond just the case of Jar Jar and the toxicity of senseless hatred for him amongst Star Wars fans. Too often in our lives do we snap to conclusions about things upon our first interactions. There is an assumption in political science called Rational Actor Model that operates with the conclusion that every human acts in what they believe is their own best interest. The two operative terms here are “they believe,” and “best self interest.” What this means is that no matter how somebody acts, it is because they think it is the best of all possible, perceivable options for themselves. A decision that somebody makes that you cannot possibly fathom how it is in that person’s best self-interest must be under this model. Even seemingly self-less acts fall under that model in that the they believe the satisfaction or future opportunities created by that selfless act outweighs the gain of some more selfish act. Assuming this model is true, which while maybe a dismal view of the world, is far from inconceivable, the onus is on us to put ourselves in a space where we can cease our initial judgements in order to make true evaluations of why people are acting in the way they are acting. If we can better come to understand why people make the actions they do, we may continue to entirely disagree with them, but through our patience and understanding, we may find ourselves more able to respect that individual regardless of their decisions and engage in more meaningful conversations about these differences in opinion.
Be like Noah. Do not wait for the dove that returns. Wait for the dove that never does. Be patient towards Jar Jar. He is one of the most tragically flawed characters in all of film history, and for this he deserves our love, not hatred. The way we regard others not only affects us, but it affects them. May we have the patience to be loving as often as we can and reserve disdain and negativity for when we can determine it is truly deserved.
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