Neal Stephenson Op-Ed piece

One of my favourite authors has an interesting take on the latest Star Wars installments. I was struck by the fairly overt comparison in Episode III to the current geopolitical environment, but Neal Stephenson draws some different, additional parallels between the movies and “real life.”
Cyberpunk writers tended to describe a future world that seemed dystopian to many. I generally found their stories hopeful and empowering, though. This piece is the first I’ve read where I got a real sense of a loss of hope from one. If geeks are the failing Jedi and the US is the Republic, I guess we can only hope for an eventual outcome like the one in Episode VI.