The Force and Your Views.

[Voroll]

So I watched the end of The Clone Wars series last night and found something rather… annoying about it. While the story was great (I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it despite it being a fair few years old by now) it bugged me how the lightside of the Force is always deemed to be balanced on its own. There was something mentioned in the last episode stating that a great imbalance would occur-if you've watched them all including Season 6 then you may understand what I'm talking about.

To me, personally, balance is like ying and yang – a light and a dark – but for some reason the Jedi seem to already be this balance. Regardless of their darkside counterparts (to which I read somewhere, were viewed as a “corruption of the Force”) there appears to have been balance throughout the galaxy for thousands of years.
It’s like the Christian faith where there is an almighty God and a manipulative devil. While the former strives to love all and for peace and harmony across the globe, the latter (as far as I’ve been taught and am aware) would like for every individual to commit ‘sin’ and to work against the Church and the divine plans of God. If you remove one of those two, is there balance? Removing the darkside, or the corruption, only leaves the good, the peaceful. Not the destructive and the changeful. It is not balance.

Another thought that rose in my mind is the Dawn of the Je’daii/Jedi comic series. In the former the Je’daii are the original band of Force-users, using both the ashla (lightside) and bogan (darkside). Fuelling emotions into actions that may be used for ultimate peace.
The Je’daii, in my mind, are the balanced ones. Then, of course, the Force Wars occurred and poodoo got real.

There was also a quote on a Wookieepedia article, in the “behind the scenes” section, stating that the view of the Jedi Order, when in relation to the Force, is the canon-accepted view of it all – despite there being many theories regarding the Force.

While this post probably has no logic, or conclusion, I’d like to know your thoughts on the Force. If you have read any of the theories and what you, personally, believe as well as character beliefs.

 

[Kaiden Rohn]

Je'daii are lame and stupid

The force is OP in the EU

theories on force ruined it all

the EU ruined pretty much everything in one way or another

the eu sucks.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

I don't believe in this balance thing, though I know it would be logical to do that... and it doesn't matter to me, that balance is canon.

My Force views can be described by a character of mine, @[member="Equa Dominator"]. He has believed in three different views: Unifying (or Unified, don't remember how it was called), typical Jedi view and the Inner Peace belief.

I personally think, that the Force was never meant to be seen as two separate side. That's why Equa believed in the Unifying Force. But then a change happened to him and I had to change his view too. So... when I came back in December, I had to change his belief again because (sorry, it's my opinion) the Jedi and Sith views are stupid. Even though in real life I am a strict atheist, I have always loved Buddhism. Not that I believed in that one, but... still. I decided to bring it to Star Wars and modify it a bit to match the overall lore.

So he sees Inner Peace instead of Light and Dark side. There is Absolute Chaos existing along with the Peace thing, but... if a Force-Sensitive person focused, meditated and everything, they can achieve the powerful Inner Peace. Well, that's my view.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

IC Siobhan doesn't really have any spiritual views. She does not believe in the 'will of the Force'. To her the Force is, to put it bluntly, a can opener.

 

[Vulpesen]

Jedi: "Bring balance to the force"
Sith: "There's only two of us. we need more power!"
Chosen one: "Why both?" *Wipes out all but two jedi.* (in the movies)

 

[Aelavin Dryearlylth]

I like the Fel Imperiums thoughts on the force. They don't like the Dark side, becuase people use it more often than not for their own gain. While the Fel Use it as a Tool rather than a side.

 

[Fabula Caromed]

This discussion is as old as the Original Trilogy, and sees no signs of stopping.

IC, Fabula holds an expansion of the Matukai belief. "My body is my temple" and that sort of thing. She avoids the Dark Side because it's unhealthy, like all Matukai, but also uses lethal force to remove Sith and the like. While the body is her presence in the Force, the Force itself exists all over the galaxy at once. Thus, the Force is the "body" of the galaxy, and the Dark Side is a cancer within it.

Anyway, that's her. I think the Force is the Force, and any arguments of being balanced or imbalanced or who is in power are all debates over religious doctrine. In fact, the same debates over religious doctrine that have caused almost all wars in the galaxy's history. One faction comes to power, casts down the other. There's a massive war, the other faction comes to power, casts down the first. Over and over again. "Balance" and "right" stop being actual morals by that point and start being justifications to wipe out your rivals.

 

[Darth Immortus]

The problem is that the movies are vexingly vague on this topic. The whole prophecy surrounding Anakin being the Chosen One is never really explained at all. "The Chosen One will bring balance to the Force." Okay. The hell does that mean? Unfortunately, we are never told. The only thing fans can do is come up with creative guesses as to what bringing balance to the Force actually entails. Is it killing all the Sith? Is it creating an equal number of Dark Side and Light Side force users? Is it just killing everybody? Who knows. Ultimately the original trilogy can't answer the question as to whether Anakin actually fulfilled the prophecy in the end, because the original movies were made before Lucas decided to turn Anakin into Space Jesus.

the lightside of the Force is always deemed to be balanced on its own.

It would also be valuable to consider which characters are actually saying this. If it's the Jedi, well, their perspective is clear.

 

[Tallia Farn]

George Lucas used to say that the balance in the force was achieved when good defeats evil, meaning that when both Darth Sideous and Darth Vader are dead, the balance has been restored. You could look at the force this way because unlike dark-siders, who use the force to carry out their desires, light-siders let the force control their actions. Therefore, when a force user allows the force to guide them, they are working toward the goal of balance, which would make the force a typically "good" energy field.

Recently though, canon has changed to support a more morally gray force, which is balanced when the dark and light are equal. Here's one of the definitions of balance in the dictionary. "A state in which different things occur in equal or proper amounts or have an equal or proper amount of importance."

So, you can look at it from two different ways. One where the force is in balance when there is an equal amount of light and dark, or when there is a proper amount of light and dark (Usually with the lightside as stronger).

 

[Timothy Hoyt]

My Character, Samuel Milo, believes that the force is nothing more than a guide. It is there to show you two sides of the coin and to help you choose your path. Because of this he is classified as a grey. He doesn't lean into either the light or the dark side of the force. He also believes that when one starts to choose only one side of the force you have lost touch with the other side which can lead to great consequences for if you only see light then you will be reluctant to kill when necessary and if you only see dark, then you are willing to kill even if it will come back to bite you in the but later. Dark and light need to be put together to see the whole picture.

 

[Aran Finn]

The Lightside = balance. In effect, the ability to use the Light Side shows a balanced, well-adjusted soul.

The Darkside = imbalance. Darksiders are often inconsistent and well, not very well-adjusted.

That seems to fit.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Lightside, Darkside, its all rubbish. There is only the Greyside, complete balance between order and chaos, which is why he sith and the Jedi will never disappear because together they must create this balance of order and chaos.

 

[Arumi Zy]

I personally believe in a more unified force hybrid, that both light and dark can be used for good or evil. That when one side grows to large it leads to corruption and chaos. The force is a tool and an aspect of order and proper balance brings order.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Thurion's view on the Force is this:

The Force is a guide that allows you to choose your own path, and serves to grant you the wisdom to choose what you perceive is the right path in life. What this path is is strictly personal and whether or not it is deemed "Light" or "Dark" by the public, it's a concious - or sometimes subconcious, depending on the circumstances - choice we make. Thurion grew up with the Jedi values in mind after Asha Seren found him, and so obviouly you could draw the conclusion that his views are biased towards the Jedi Code and their views on the Force. This is in fact not true. He has his own beliefs, which are written down in his signature:

Bravery in the face of adversity; Strength in the face of your enemies; Loyalty in the face of your loved ones; Compassion in the face of the innocent; Mercy in the face of the defeated.

This is his personal code, and whether or not it coincides with the Jedi or Sith or whatever other group of FU's adhering to a code, it's the one he himself follows. He lets his own values and his own concious guide him when facing difficulties or opposition, and makes his choice based on them. The Jedi claim they are in the right when describing the "Balance of the Force", and the Sith believe they are in the right their "Peace is a lie"-talk. They are only different interpretations on what they believe the Force is, much like the many various Christian beliefs we have here on Earth; wars have been fought across the world because the Protestants did not believe in what the Catholics believed. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all based around the same core concept, but because of different opinions and interpretations of the "Will of God" we have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. The war between the Light Side and the Dark Side is no different in this aspect, because they fight eachother because of differing opinions.

Thurion would never impose his views on the Force onto another, because he is of the mind that everyone - Light or Dark - have their own personal beliefs of what the Force is to them, and he has every respect for it. Because of this, he is unable to hate a person for attacking him or causing him harm, and is therefore in no danger of disobeying his personal code. They did what they believed was right, and he will do what he believes is right. All of this - everything - stem from his personality, the values he grew up with since he was put in this galaxy. He walks his own path because he has faith in it, and no Force has made him choose it, as it should be.

 

[Bloodknight]

I favor the Matukai's views. The, body, mind and force are one. If you are weak in one, you are weak in all. If you are strong in one, you are strong in all etc. I also just happen to love martial arts.

 

[Mak Manto]

My own views of the Force, as Mak sees it, is simply this, which is how Obi-Wan put it to Luke: The Force is an energy field created by all living things, and as such, The Force, inherently, is not evil. When you twist the power to perversion, it becomes what you call the "Dark Side."

Using the Force to defend and help others or using it for greed and power is what defines you, when you use the Force, but I've never seen it broken down where there are powers only Jedi can use, only Sith can use and than some powers both sides can use. It's what you do with the Force that makes you who you are.

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen believes that the force is as one sees it, having no definite form. However, to him it is a flowing river that moves throughout the entire galaxy. Those who use the force may change the flow of the river's many streams and eventually gain their desired result.

 

[Malice Draclau]

Malice also views the force as the essence of the galaxy, the string that binds all things. He sees the force as power, power granted to few in the galaxy to be used. Does he share the view of the sith is evil and the jedi are the good ones? Of course not. In his mind Sith are not evil but rather free, not letting themselves be as confined as the Jedi. Through their use of the force they open themselves up to the broad aspect of emotion and feeling, where as he sees the Jedi as blindly letting the force dictate their actions Malices uses the force to achieve the decisions he makes himself.

The force ( or the darkside if you want) Is a weapon for Malice. A way to reach his goals and the goals of the Sith.