Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO -- How to be a good person in a dictatorship?

I've been a fan of the Star Wars video games because I like the simulation of difficult decisions involved in the game, and the solutions that players can devise to perform "good" actions instead of evil actions. I think that in the past I have been bothered by the implication that it is always so easy to simply "pick" the good option (as if it's so easy in real life to see what the "good" option is in complicated situations / "wicked" problems!) However, I take it now as a reminder that it is necessary to try one's best to do the best good in each tricky situation that a person finds herself in. Writing a situation off as "hopeless" is a last resort, because often there are other options which may not have been readily apparent in the heat of the moment. Or, in the words of Captain Kirk, "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."

I've been playing the new SWTOR game and so far I am enjoying it, even if I don't always agree with the choices that are available to my character. One of the interesting features of the game is the option to play a "moral" Sith -- which raises an ancient question, how to be a virtuous person in an evil dictatorship? This was a major concern of the historian Tacitus, who would often praise and criticize the same person in his works The Annals of Imperial Rome and The Histories. His work is conservative, as are most of the surviving literature from the Roman republic / empire, and I am not sure that he even came to an answer on this topic, although his biography of his father in law Agricola reads like an encomium. It's an interesting question and one that I'm continuing to explore as I read Tacitus and others. I'd welcome your opinions on this question, or if any of you have questions / commentary about the game, I'd be happy to talk about it!

Archaic Smile

It's easy to be a "moral" sith...or at least one would think so...we all have certain lines we won't cross no matter what, sith are no different in that respect...

A dictator that wishes to remain in power and live would (or should) keep such things in mind...

Many sith, while going against the norm, and focusing on themselves, establish boundries that they will not cross because it would be counter productive to achieving their goals...

Once I get a job and a more dependable internet connection I can get into swtor...it would be a shame not to since I have a founders account

In addendum morality is a matter of perspective, so it varies from person to person, country to country etc

Thanks for your feedback. I apologize for being unclear, I do understand that there are different "paths" of morality for certain groups. Obviously a person in the mob would be committing a grave sin to rat out his superiors, even though ratting would be, in my frame of reference, a moral act to do. I was speaking in a more absolutist sense of "good" versus "evil," (I do believe there are ultimate absolutes, even those these absolutes may be sometimes difficult if not impossible for us to understand as humans, hence moral dilemmas) which makes the question much more difficult, especially when living under a dictatorship.

SWTOR is a lovely game for those who appreciate storytelling, and I do hope you enjoy it. I also have a founder's account and the collector's edition, although it doesn't make much difference in gameplay other than I have a few perks that others don't.