Join me at ThisIsTheWay.substack.com for the next chapter of Star Wars + politics and whatever else. Beltway Banthas has been one of the great joys of my life, and it's time to let it go. I believe even better things will come. I hope you'll come along with me. 

Twitter: @Stephen_kent89

The Force will be with you, always. 

Have you ever felt anger, hatred or contempt toward someone? What about a total stranger? If you hadn’t, you might not be a human being. Just something to consider. This episode of Beltway Banthas: This Is The Way, is a reflection on loving your enemies. Not such an easy thing to do, and we don’t have all the answers, but you can start with addressing your Pride. Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace has a wonderful message on pride, humility, power, and contempt. Queen Padme Amidala Naberrie offers a masterclass in humility and healing the wounds of contempt on her planet, by making peace with the Gungans’ leader, Boss Nass.

Email the show: BeltwayBanthas@Gmail.com 

Subscribe to the newsletter at thisistheway.substack.com 

and pick up my book, How The Force Can Fix The World: Lessons on life, liberty and happiness from a galaxy far, far away TODAY

What's going on with Beltway Banthas?! Why is Stephen Kent speaking so softly and what is this lovely background music?! Beltway Banthas is in a new season of it's life called 'This Is The Way,' a run of episodes focused on taking Star Wars wisdom and turning it out onto real life. Today Stephen answers a listener feedback email and has a call to action for everyone tuning in. 

This is also the first episode of Beltway Banthas with a sponsored message for Anchor, a podcasting platform by Spotify. You'll hear that midway through. We use Anchor the production of this podcast and can't recommend it enough. 

www.anchor.fm --- go there TODAY and sign up to start podcasting with all the tools you need housed in one app. It's so easy. 

And if you're with us in the new leg of the journey at Beltway Banthas, go to thisistheway.substack.com and subscribe to the newsletter. Join the community. Let's make the world a better place with Star Wars as our guide. 

This is the Way

Introducing THIS IS THE WAY, a new series from Beltway Banthas focused on putting the virtues and lessons on living from Star Wars into action. Today's episode is a reflection on Preparedness, or being prepared. There are a lot of things in the world you can worry about, lose sleep over or feel anxiety over, but what you do with those feelings is a choice. News is a fine example. Why do we watch the news? If it is merely to be informed, well you're taking on an awful lot of weight for such an unclear purpose. What you do with information, the actions you take based on knowledge, that's a game changer in how you can live. 

Remember why Yoda brushed off the idea of training Luke Skywalker? "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing." From Yoda to Obi Wan to Qui-Gon, there are numerous subtle moments in Star Wars aimed at focus, attention, duty and preparedness. Perhaps from IRL history, consider the words of Seneca..."Everyone faces up more bravely to a thing for which he has long prepared himself, sufferings, even, being withstood if they have been trained for in advance. Those who are unprepared, on the other hand, are panic-stricken by the most insignificant happenings."

As Russia wages an unjust and ugly war against its neighbor, Ukraine, those of us on the sidelines have a choice to make with how we interact with this fact. I would never ask you to jettison empathy and care, but I would ask you to remember to care for yourself so that you can best serve others. This podcast will lay out why and how. 

THIS IS THE WAY is going to be appearing in the Beltway Banthas feed regularly to fulfill this podcast's promise of weaving together IRL politics and Star Wars. These reflections are inspired by passages from my book, How The Force Can Fix The World. 

You can follow me on Twitter @Stephen_Kent89 and subscribe to the This Is The Way newsletter, https://thisistheway.substack.com to read these reflections and other stories on living from your favorite pop culture tales. 

Have you ever spoken in anger or put your foot in your mouth? It's sort of the way of the world these days, in case you haven't noticed or been online much. Today's podcast is an honest reflection on an experience I had with my own anger, understanding its source and a lesson on empathy. The Greek stoic Zeno once said, “Better to trip with the feet than the tongue.” This is true in so many ways. 

If you read How The Force Can Fix The World, you'll recall Chapter 2 on Empathy and the importance of being present when engaging with others. One should then in theory, be extra present when engaging with the world...which is what Twitter is. The words we choose matter more than the viewpoint they're meant to communicate. 

Tweets mentioned in the podcast

https://twitter.com/Stephen_Kent89/status/1472745173532790790

https://twitter.com/TriadOfTheForce/status/1472767880584384512

Email me at BeltwayBanthas@gmail.com

Subscribe to newsletter at www.politicizeme.substack.com

We live in a frightening time. Star Wars is steadfast in reminds us that Fear is the start of a road toward darkness. Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, and Hate leads to Suffering. So says Yoda to a young Anakin Skywalker who admitted he missed his Mother. Understandably so, he was 9 years old and away from her and home for the first time in his life when he stood in the Jedi Council chamber on Coruscant. Surrounded by beady eyes and suspicion. What are you really afraid of? This is a meditation on FEAR, and you need to know your fear. name your fear and spend time reflecting on what it is that lies beneath the thing keeping you up at night. 

This is excerpted from the new book by Stephen Kent, How The Force Can Fix The World. Out on TUESDAY November 9th. 

Buy it here! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y8LNNG8?tag=hacboogrosit-20

Why were the Jedi so obsessed with the prophecy of balance being brought to the Force? And why did they clearly fail so badly? It's because balance is easier said than done, and their moral commitments were out of step with the principle of what balance really is. This episode is an explainer on how Rey and Kylo Ren eventually brought balance to the Force, and why the Jedi and Sith both fail when it comes to having a healthy relationship with the emotion of LOVE. 

This reflection is a new line of episodes leading up to the release of How The Force Can Fix The World, the new book from host Stephen Kent.

Get the Hard Cover book or Audible edition here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y8LNNG8?tag=hacboogrosit-20

Meditation #2: Balance

Produced by Riley Blanton

Narrated by Stephen Kent

Do we have free will and the power to choose our own destiny? Star Wars is clear eyed about both the power and reality of choice, but also the gravity of choices that were made FOR us. How have you had choices in your life limited by circumstance for the actions of others? We've all been there. But you can do something about it. In this Beltway Banthas miniseries, Stephen Kent offers a reflection on how to find and preserve your free will to shape the life you want to have. This reflection is a new line of episodes leading up to the release of How The Force Can Fix The World, the new book from host Stephen Kent. 

Get the Hard Cover book or Audible edition here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y8LNNG8?tag=hacboogrosit-20

Meditation #1: Choice

Produced by Riley Blanton

Narrated by Stephen Kent

Star Wars, like any worthwhile piece of art, will always reflect the tensions of trials of the time in which it was created. This was the case for the original trilogy in a post-Vietnam America, and it was for the prequels during the Bush years and the War on Terror. Star Wars clicked with the mood of the times, because the mood impacted the films while they were made. The Disney Star Wars sequels are no different. Tom Luongo joins Beltway Banthas to talk about the ways in which the culture wars of American politics today can be found playing out in the new Star Wars films, and what that says about both our entertainment establishment and the political climate. We cover Kylo and Rey's tense dynamic in the films, masculinity, femininity and where chaos and order collide in the JJ and Rian Johnson iterations of Star Wars. 

Opportunities to discuss morality, virtue, and living well through the lens of Star Wars are all around us. For fans, this is part of what makes the galaxy far far away so special. Today's episode is a somewhat spontaneous look at the subject of Empathy, by way of a piece of writing by David French. A past guest of Beltway Banthas, French has a unique grasp of theology and a perspective on the Christian faith that ties neatly into numerous elements of the Star Wars story. Combining elements of French's post on his Substack, FrenchPress and my upcoming book, How The Force Can Fix The World, this episode lays out why Empathy can be dangerous, but exactly the kind of danger we need to face head on.

Get the book! HOW THE FORCE CAN FIX THE WORLD by Stephen Kent of Beltway Banthas

Read David French's piece: The American Crisis of Selective Empathy

Follow on Twitter @BeltwayBanthas and @Stephen_kent89