The reasons listed by the administration for not building the Death Star are weak and demand more investigation, as the decision of whether or not to build a Death Star is in fact the number one issue facing America today. The Administration wrote on WhiteHouse.gov:
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:The first point is indeed a valid point- the national debt has exploded already under President Obama, and the additional cost of building a death star is quite high, although not as high as the administration projects (Lehigh University says it would cost $852,000,000,000,000,000).
- The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
- The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
- Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
On the other hand, what is the point of it all anyway if we don't get a Death Star in the end? I mean, all that government spending every year, year after year, and we're not even trying to build a Death Star? It almost makes the government pointless and just simply a wealth-redistribution scheme. Let me point out that the petition did not say that the people wanted a Death Star built- only that the government should begin to secure funding and begin construction on it- sort of a Death Star downpayment, as it were, and the administration wouldn't even do that. Every great thing that is done has to begin somewhere at sometime, and it is the time here and now to begin work on the Death Star, and instead our backward looking administration denied it. Outrage!
The White House's second point demonstrates the limited vision of our administration- Death Stars are not just for blowing up planets but serve many other purposes as well. Although this list is not exhaustive, let it be said here that Death Stars can be luxury cruiseliners, generational ark space ships, five star hotels, detention facilities, command and control centers, massive fitness centers, administrative offices, a military base, mobile construction facilities, and many more functions. To say that it's just to be used for 'blowing up planets' is to overlook all of its other functions.
And let me point out that, contrary to the propaganda that those Rebels published, the entire point of the Death Star was not to 'blow up planes' but to serve as a deterrent so that planets wouldn't have to be blow up. I mean, the atomic weapon was not built to actually kill others but instead as a deterrent against war, and the Death Star serves the same purpose. The vision of the Empire was a large group of regional potentates, each with access to a sizable army and star destroyers, who would run their own local affairs and fight crime and provide for the people, who were then kept in line themselves by the Death Star which would ensure that the galaxy didn't just descend into local warlords running things (which is exactly what happened when the Empire collapsed after the Second Death Star was destroyed). The Death Star was a deterrent, and it is outrageous to simplify it's purpose as 'to destroy planets'.
Lastly, I think that the administration is overlooking that although both Death Stars were in fact destroyed by single starships, one of those starships was piloted by a known genetically-enhanced Force user and the other starship destroyed a Death Star that was only PARTIALLY built. Neither of these facts should be overlooked.
The first Death Star obviously had its faults- the fact that it was able to be destroyed by a one man starship was a major engineering flaw that I hope someone lost their job over. But a responsible government does not abandon an entire weapons system just because the first model has one flaw in it. Many times throughout history man has designed a weapon and had it break on his first try, and this is not a signal to give up but rather a learning experience on what not to do. Now that we know that the Death Star is vulnerable to one man starship attacks, we can fix it in the future, and I believe that Death Star Two did correct for this error and had it been fully completed it would not have been so easily destroyed. One can only speculate of course, because the Rebels used poor Ewoks as blaster-fodder and were able to destroy the shield generator protecting all the hard-working construction workers building the facility and then destroy the whole darn thing.
And I still think we're being too hard on the first Death Star- faced with a coordinated attack by trained pilots, it was able to fight them all off and it was only with an exact hit that it would be brought down- the sort of one-in-a-billion shot flaw that I don't think weapons designers should abandon entire projects over. It could only be taken down in the end by a magic-wielding Force user, who supported the monarchists (Princess Leia) and drug-traders (Han Solo) and crime lords (Lando) and their plan to simply destroy the existing government and create disorder in the galaxy. The Death Star was able to withstand an attack by average humans, and next time the designers will have to also design one that can withstand an attack by humans souped up on midi-chlorians too.
The truth of the matter is that this announcement by the President's administration once again shows once again that they continue to buy the case that the Empire was bad, but as the years have gone by it is becoming more apparent that in reality the Jedi Order is the Bad Guy.
Of course this administration would side with a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial and quasi-executive genetically enhanced group of elites like the Jedi Order which is intent on overthrowing a regime whose stated goals are order and peace in the galaxy. It is time that we stop looking backwards for guidance on what sort of projects to build, and instead of looking to ancient orders of sword-wielding robed monks we look to the technologically advanced society that utilizes robots and lasers and yes, even Death Stars.
The public demands it. The reasons for denial are outrageous. Mr. President, build that Death Star!
