“We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope.”

Who would have ever thought a quote from a ‘Star Wars’ film, no less ‘Rogue One’, would have a quote that speaks truth to what is happening in America today? Of course, 'Rogue One' was not meant to be politically relevant, but it is interesting how it turned out that way.

‘Rogue One’, otherwise known as the stand alone film that instead of being centered around the Skywalker family, revolves around a new group of Rebel heroes who are fighting an entirely new battle against the Empire. The film has an overwhelming sense of dread surrounding it, with the odds stacked highly against the characters. In this film, the Empire is at its highest point, and the Rebels having seemingly little chance of taking over the government system that treats them unfairly and looks down upon them any chance they can get.

The characters who make up this film are a group of ordinary people, who have a dream of peace to be restored to the galaxy, and to bring hope to others where hope is gone. The enemy is all-powerful and impeachable, leaving a shadow over everyone in the galaxy, but despite this, the Rebels persist. They have a dream, and nothing will stand in their way of achieving it.

And when questioned about why they would take the chance to stand up to the higher power, they cry out, “What chance do we have? The question is, what choice?...You give way to an enemy this evil with this much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is now!"

This quote makes this film one of the most relevant films to date, even if it hit theaters nearly 1.5 years ago. The time to fight is now because if we don't, nothing is going to get better. If we don't fight, we will continue to live in a place that is filled with unrighteousness.

And I know what some of you may be thinking--that I'm definitely overthinking this (and, hey, you may be right) because this is a completely fictional story. But even though this is a work of fiction, fiction has shown itself time and time again to be inspirational and to speak a truth that needs to be heard, and ‘Rogue One’ does just that.

‘Rogue One’ has the group of heroes that we are currently seeing in America, and want to see more of. It’s a group that has been through trauma, but continues to stay united and stand together until they see change. It’s a group that is led by rebellious and courageous people, who demand to have their voices heard.

So when it was asked, “You're all rebels, aren’t you?” take into account what that means.

If rebels means protesting against the NRA for safer gun restrictions, then yes. If rebels means marching for women’s rights and equality, then absolutely. If rebels means protesting racial injustice and taking a stand for Black Lives, then of course. If rebels means taking part in the #MeToo movement to end sexual violence, then there's no doubt about it.

If rebels means seeing an injustice, and protesting against it despite the odds, then yes--you are a rebel and you are working towards making the world a better place by doing what you are doing.

It’s important to remember that we don’t need to live our lives passively, and that we as a nation are stronger together. We rebel not because we have a lack of respect, but because we were created as equals and we deserve to be seen as equals.

I have hope that we as a nation can stand together and fight for the injustices that are seen every single day. I have hope that instead of sitting and watching as the hierarchy that is bent on silencing us do exactly that, that we stand up and take action for what needs to be done. I have hope that our country will become a better place.

But it can’t happen if we don’t have hope for a brighter tomorrow. The journey will be long, and it may seem never-ending, but we need to remember what rebellions are built on.

If we have nothing else, we need to have that.