Wow... That's some shit I had absolutely no clue about!
Admittedly, I have not been deep into Star Wars since I was a kid and read the Timothy Zahn Star Wars books,
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and
The Last Command. Oh, and I
loved the Dark Horse comic series
Dark Empire.
Suffice to say, the new stuff that's been released, especially in reference to the new trilogy, I've simply not followed at all. So this is all very interesting.
Like damn. With the way the Old Republic sounds, its as if Old Xehanort's nightmare end for the universe came true here, hence the need of a Chosen One to
FORGE THE X-BLADE AND SUMMON KINGDOM HEARTS end the tyranny of the light.
One of the first things we learn is that at the height of their power and at the end of 1000 years of “Jedi peace” there are several massively prominent and galactically well-known groups who openly practice slavery and oppression outside the Old Republic who are going unopposed by anyone, even as injustices grow unchecked amidst the incapable democracy in the Old Republic. Additionally, the Jedi’s dogma is continually pushing the Force out of balance by only training individuals in the Light and rejecting everything from the Dark.
Why is neither of those things apparently the Jedi’s responsibility to correct?
The Force exists in ALL THINGS, so why don’t the Jedi help anyone outside of the Old Republic? Why can’t the Jedi nurture balance in the Force through their own teachings? What exactly WERE the Jedi doing for an ENTIRE MILLENNIUM that was so important if they weren’t ACTUALLY keeping peace, upholding justice, or fighting against the Sith? Why does anyone in the galaxy who’s being actively oppressed and wronged need that? – That's the whole point. They don’t need those versions of the Jedi. They need someone who will stand up and take action for them regardless of where these injustices take place. The Jedi Order won’t ever do that. They’re failing the galaxy and blinding themselves to where they’re needed when it doesn’t fit their code.
...That's a pretty damn good point. I even remember as a kid seeing the Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequels and stuff and going,
"lol why the hell aren't the Jedi fucking these Hutts up, rolling into Tattoine and ending all this slavery?" Like, I understood it was an "Outer Rim" world and not subject to the Republic's laws but I thought it was kinda weird that these allies of justice jedi
kinda didn't do much at all.
It seems that the Jedi got bogged down being arms of the state/Republic, rather than agents of the Force at large. And that ended up blinding them to the obvious and prevented them from what they should've been really focused on.
I really love the idea of the Light Side and Dark Side of the Force being two halves of the same thing, and there being a means of balancing both and not having them constantly at each other's throats. Although, that seems almost too easy on the surface. I'd imagine it'd be hard to wield both and keep them in balance, right?
But damn, this is some stuff I had no clue about existing at all. That's pretty mindblowing about how the Jedi and the Sith were at each other's throats like that.
...However I have one question. If the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force must be kept in balance.... How does one actually achieve such an aim? Dark Side Force users kinda have a tendency to lose their rational minds when they really cut loose with this power. And if Sith teachings are what I remember them to be, doesn't its teachings kinda lean hard on lethal training and stabbing your fellow students and even your teacher in the back when necessary? That seems like a pretty dangerous doctrine of Force use. So how does that co-exist with the Light Side? Let alone merge with Jedi?
EDIT:
Further reading has answered my above question. Eschewing the dogma of both factions is essentially the solution. Since there really isn't a "Light" or "Dark" side of the Force. It's literally just the Force. Focusing on one or the other apparently causes a galactic Force imbalance that manifests itself as conflict and destruction to inhabitants of the galaxy. Which is kinda strange.... How would one ideally rectify this situation in the first place? Are Jedi just to feel out how the Force is and act accordingly? Like, reading the waves of an ocean current and going with the flow, when applicable?
Given all this, it's actually kinda shocking to imagine that bitter old man Luke was actually right all along in his decision to not stay and fight with his friends in the conflict against the First Order. He was actually wise and correct to remove himself from the galaxy and avoid the conflict entirely. That's fascinating in it's thematic implications on use of power, conflict and pacifism.
I'm sorry, the Jedi exist on the capital world of galactic politics and negotiation. Why exactly would liberating Tatooine require subjugation by a Jedi Army? ONE Dark Lord of the Sith took control of almost the entire galaxy with basically nothing but politics. But for some reason, the Jedi have thousands of times more resources, but still can't use either politics OR combat to liberate the oppressed?
This part of X's post made me seriously lol cause it's so true.