The next time I find myself tempted to mock George Lucas over my dislike of Jar Jar Binks, or who shot first, I’m going to remind myself that this is a man worthy of my respect. He cares enough about children to push a lot of his fortune into his own charity and now into educational charities to come. He has transformed my love for his work, and the dollars I’ve spent accordingly, into charitable works. It is pretty eye-opening.

I’ll bet a lot of children went SQUEEEE! over this picture

My friends’ kids love Jar Jar Binks, so in that area, he hit the mark on making a character that their generation can relate to. And maybe that is what a lot of the decisions that we callously mock were all about. Han didn’t shoot first, that wouldn’t make him a very good role model for my friends’ children. It makes me take a look at the first 3 epidsodes with different eyes. Maybe if I watch them with the same child-like wonder I felt when seeing the original movies, rather than my more jaded grown up eyes, I’ll be able to better appreciate them.

I saw so many people with young children express their joy over being able to take their kids to see a new Star Wars trilogy, just like they remember being taken by their parents. And really, that is what it is all about. With eyes toward the future and respect in my heart, I’m super excited for whatever Disney does with our beloved galaxy far far away. And yeah, I am super excited for the goosebumps I know I’ll get when I read the scroll of a new saga on the big screen in 2015.

It is a big wake up call to myself. When we use our words selfishly and without a broad perspective, we may end up regretting them sometime later when we realize how shallow and shortsighted we’ve been. So feel free to kick me in the proverbial butt if you see me talking smack in the future.