Post by bountyhunter9 on Jun 22, 2010 22:30:30 GMT -5
Lol. That's an interesting explanation. It's tough to tell with Mace and his relationship with the dark side, because he is always walking the line. He seems to understand the limitations and dangers of both the Light side and the Dark side better than any other Force-user. He seems to fall to the Dark side many times, but he always cam back. Except for this instance, where it's difficult to tell. Killing a defenseless prisoner would be a cardinal sin for a Jedi, but Palpatine is never truly defenseless. He may not have had a physical weapon, but he doesn't really need one. Not when he has control of the corrupted Senate, minions who are willing and able to kill for him on a moment's notice, and of course his mastery of the Force.
What Mace did, to me, seems more like a complete mastery of all aspects of the Force than was ever accomplished. While he was not nearly as powerful as some other Force users, he found a balance between Light and Dark, and Jedi and Sith, that no other had or would. In attempting to finally kill Palpatine, effectively the epitome of evil, he renounced the Jedi, but in doing so he became what a true Jedi should have been - a defender of the people, destroyer of evil, no matter the cost. By killing Palpatine, he would have saved billions, if not trillions, of lives.
Really, I think the problem with the Jedi is similar to that of the Republic. Like you said, the Jedi are tied to the Republic, because the Republic represents the will of the people. But people are easily controlled and, by extension, the Jedi are too. By serving a corrupt Republic, the Jedi ways became corrupt - things such as trials and justice systems ultimately (because the systems can be manipulated) lead to unpunished crime. It's the minor crimes on unprofessionals and people who are not truly enemies of order that are punished. The true masters of crime are rarely punished without bloodshed because of the system.
The Jedi are also flawed by nature. Their two main 'objectives' seem to be:
a) Uphold peace in the galaxy and
b) Do not commit a 'crime'
While both 'objectives' are good, they can be conflicting. Because of the occasional inability of the Jedi to keep peace without commiting a crime themselves (Mace and Palpatine are a perfect example), the Jedi cannot truly exist as they are meant to, without failure. Mace sees what is right, and the only thing that stops him from killing Palpatine - commiting one murder to prevent the murder, enslavement, genocide, oppression, and and abuse of billions - is the Jedi training of Anakin. Anakin is very powerful, but inexperienced, and he doesn't understand the Jedi as well as he should. It seems that he sees the Jedi ways as simply "prevent crime", which is not truly what the Jedi should be about.
The Jedi are, in a way, evil. They are bound to the Republic, and to the people, and because of that they cannot truly protect them. Not killing Palpatine is just unfathomable from the point of view of someone who knows all the facts (us). The Jedi know he is evil, and that he will kill many people, but they cannot bring themselves to prevent that, until it is far too late (Yoda). The great injustice brought upon the galaxy by leaving Palpatine alive is, in its own way, evil. Mace realized what was right. He may have fallen to the Dark side by killing Palpatine, but, from the perspective of a selfless Jedi, would it not be worth it? The Jedi ways are full of contradictions. Mace renounced that 'flawed' code, and by doing so, became one of the few to truly understand the Light side.
Of course, most of this is conjectural, but it does make sense, logically.
What Mace did, to me, seems more like a complete mastery of all aspects of the Force than was ever accomplished. While he was not nearly as powerful as some other Force users, he found a balance between Light and Dark, and Jedi and Sith, that no other had or would. In attempting to finally kill Palpatine, effectively the epitome of evil, he renounced the Jedi, but in doing so he became what a true Jedi should have been - a defender of the people, destroyer of evil, no matter the cost. By killing Palpatine, he would have saved billions, if not trillions, of lives.
Really, I think the problem with the Jedi is similar to that of the Republic. Like you said, the Jedi are tied to the Republic, because the Republic represents the will of the people. But people are easily controlled and, by extension, the Jedi are too. By serving a corrupt Republic, the Jedi ways became corrupt - things such as trials and justice systems ultimately (because the systems can be manipulated) lead to unpunished crime. It's the minor crimes on unprofessionals and people who are not truly enemies of order that are punished. The true masters of crime are rarely punished without bloodshed because of the system.
The Jedi are also flawed by nature. Their two main 'objectives' seem to be:
a) Uphold peace in the galaxy and
b) Do not commit a 'crime'
While both 'objectives' are good, they can be conflicting. Because of the occasional inability of the Jedi to keep peace without commiting a crime themselves (Mace and Palpatine are a perfect example), the Jedi cannot truly exist as they are meant to, without failure. Mace sees what is right, and the only thing that stops him from killing Palpatine - commiting one murder to prevent the murder, enslavement, genocide, oppression, and and abuse of billions - is the Jedi training of Anakin. Anakin is very powerful, but inexperienced, and he doesn't understand the Jedi as well as he should. It seems that he sees the Jedi ways as simply "prevent crime", which is not truly what the Jedi should be about.
The Jedi are, in a way, evil. They are bound to the Republic, and to the people, and because of that they cannot truly protect them. Not killing Palpatine is just unfathomable from the point of view of someone who knows all the facts (us). The Jedi know he is evil, and that he will kill many people, but they cannot bring themselves to prevent that, until it is far too late (Yoda). The great injustice brought upon the galaxy by leaving Palpatine alive is, in its own way, evil. Mace realized what was right. He may have fallen to the Dark side by killing Palpatine, but, from the perspective of a selfless Jedi, would it not be worth it? The Jedi ways are full of contradictions. Mace renounced that 'flawed' code, and by doing so, became one of the few to truly understand the Light side.
Of course, most of this is conjectural, but it does make sense, logically.
Man
