Spoilers through “Escape Velocity” (4.4)
Over its run, Battlestar Galactica has explored many points of governance and the difficult choices faced by a democracy, especially during times of crises. From our Bill of Rights, just off the top of my head, they’ve tackled the right to a public trial, freedom of the press, eminent domain, and redress of grievances.
With its most recent episode, “Escape Velocity,” the series addressed specifically the freedoms of religion and assembly. Through it all, the story lines have come down pro- Bill of Rights. This may seem like a “duh” decision, but I don’t think so.
In our country, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about these guarantees. I don’t think everyone accepts that these rights protect precisely what the majority may prefer that they didn’t.
If humanity always agreed, there would be no need for laws. If people only said things like, “Puppies are cute,” we wouldn’t need the First Amendment. The reason we need the Bill of Rights is for the specific purpose of protecting that which is dangerous, that which is threatening, and that which is unpopular.
Flag burnings. Ku Klux Klan rallies. Pedophiles. Topics and people such as these are regularly threatened with the suspension of their Constitutional rights. But it is precisely topics and people like these that we cannot leave unprotected if we, as a people, are to be serious about the tenants through which we govern ourselves.
When a threat, however, is immediate, when the danger is annihilation, the issue gets muddier. Here, I think the show is cheating a bit. For a lot of season four, the Cylon and the Colonial fleets have been mostly separated. The possibility of extinction is more removed now than it has been in past seasons. In this relative time of peace, intra-group conflicts are being explored.
Would the problem of Baltar and his new religion have a different feel in more critical times? Absolutely. But Lee’s actions have also been fairly consistent. In just the third episode of the series, “Bastille Day,” Lee left a dangerous, charismatic leader in charge of a group of outsiders. And he forced a constitutional point (elections) against the wishes of his father and the president.
Even in times of crises, opposition voices still need to challenge power for the simple act of the challenge itself. Zarek is making the case that the Roslin/Adama alliance is dangerous, not because they are bad, but because they are establishing a hegemony. And the storytelling voice of the show brought on the opposition. As the Chief challenged Adama on Galactica, Lee challenged Roslin on Colonial One. Adama said to stay the course, to do your job. Chief said Why? Roslin said that Baltar needs to be neutralized. Lee said And who else?
Roslin is right that Lee doesn’t understand all the consequences of his idealism. And that lack of understanding is preventing Lee from being a truly great leader. Roslin is wiling to give up herself, to give up her soul, for the good of her people. In a democracy, it is for the people to learn, as I think Lee will, about the consequences that come from following a constitutional morality and to tell their leaders—Your sacrifice is not necessary. We are willing to shoulder the undesirable burdens that come with the making of “right” decisions. And that we still want you to make them.
Tags: Governance, TV by M
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