To me, the Jedi are dead wrong, and directly responsible for the existence of the Sith or a "dark side":
Their repression creates and fosters their Jungian shadow, letting it grow and fester in the dark recesses of their minds until it finally breaks free, becoming truly monstrous. In short: every Jedi is just a sith waiting to happen, and their code is to blame.
The Sith, on the other hand, are just a manifestation of the Shadow, a twisted mirror image created by repression.
I can definitely agree. I'm reminded of when Obi-Wan tells Anakin that only a Sith works in absolutes (during the "Revenge of the Sith" film) and condemns Anakin for falling into the dark side. Obi's statement shocked me since what he said was an absolute...... and a little later when Anakin says that he thinks the Jedi are evil, Obi-Wan just blurts out that he is lost.....yet another absolute by a Jedi...
In many ways, I thought the ways that the Jedi would make absolute statements and yet talk on how there were no absolutes was a reflection on the fact that the Jedi were just as flawed as other groups - and thus, it seemed realistic to me. Just like it is when others talk on moral absolutes not being present and truth being relative - and yet they'll make absolute statements and say certain things are "evil." It was the arrogance of the Jedi that led to A LOT of problems in the universe - for they often did the same things that those on the Dark Side tolerated and were never willing to call it as it was.
Many lied - just as the Sith did. Many were willing to kill for the sake of the "greater good"/cause they fought for - just as the Sith did for what they valued.
And with the Sith, I must say that there was a purpose for what they did that the Jedi could have learned from. Sith were able to achieve some of the same abilities as the Jedi - for even the Spirit of Palpatine (in the expanded universe) was able to return later and challenge Luke (almost tempting Luke to go to the Darkside).
Specifically, if following the comics from the 80s/90s, at an unknown point in time prior to his death at the Battle of Endor Palpatine had found a different way to cheat death by preserving his spirit after the death of his body, by the method of
spirit transference. The series this was discussed in was the one called
"Dark Empire"
According to
the official StarWars site on being a Force-Ghost:
The origins of that knowledge, as well as its history, are not known. Ancient Jedi of the Galactic Republic such as Arca Jeth, as well as Sith Lords, knew a secret which could enable the user's essence to "survive death", but this knowledge was somehow lost over the millennia, perhaps with the destruction of the Jedi library world of Ossus in the Exar Kun Wars or the First Jedi Purge. However, it was secretly preserved over the millennia by the native Ysanna, descendants of Jedi trapped on the world and slowly driven to barbarism.
Rediscovery
Qui-Gon Jinn was the first of the recent Jedi who rediscovered this secret with the assistance of a shaman of the Whills. Qui-Gon's spirit guided Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi and revealed to them the secret of retaining one's individuality after becoming one with the Force. Yoda during his exile taught it to another Jedi Master, Qu Rahn. The Dark Woman also learned of it at some pointperhaps Qui-Gon also appeared to her during her years in hiding on Cophrigin V. Death for those Jedi were different: their spirits could retain their individuality and could return as voices, dreams, or apparitions at will, so that they could help those in need of their guidance. On death, their bodies vanished; this was not the case with Qui-Gon, however, probably being a technique evolved by Obi-Wan and Yoda, under Qui-Gon's guidance. This state was temporary, as Force ghosts were an intermediate state between life and afterlife; after a certain amount of time, they would then have to move on to the Netherworld of the Force, another realm of existence. Darth Vader learned of this ability through Darth Sidious, and upon his death, the spirits of Kenobi and Yoda completed his training by granting him the last step in becoming a spirit. Anakin's spirit appeared as that of his younger self, prior to his fall to the dark side.
If one wishes to see the hypocrisy of the Jedi in not liking all aspects of the Dark Side, I am reminded of what was noted in the comics when it came to the fact that Mace Windu used a light saber system that drew from the dark side
The light saber style (goodness, can't I actually know this stuff ...,man I'm a geek
) is called
Vaapad . As a fighter, Mace Windu created the seventh form of lightsaber combat and had it named after a creature whose tentacles moved so fast during its attacks that they could not be counted. Vaapad was a dangerous technique, taking its user close to the dark side in order to channel an opponent's anger and dark side energy back at him. Numerous practitioners of Vaapad lost control and fell to the dark side, including Windu's apprentice Depa Billaba. Another master of Vaapad was Sora Bulq. He helped create Vaapad by dueling with Mace Windu. As Sora Bulq was a lightsaber instructor, he was the perfect choice to help create Vaapad. In his entire life, he had taught most of the members of the Jedi Order at some point or another and he used regular blade/short blade style of Vaapad, though it is unknown whether he created this style or not. Sora Bulq was eventually consumed by the power of the Dark Side, and was a living example of how dangerous Vaapad was for the user itself. Though he was considered a master of Vaapad, Mace Windu stated that he "did not master Vaapad. Vaapad mastered him." When Mace Windu dueled with him on the planet Ruul , Sora Bulq stated that he "perfected [Vaapad]... harnessed all that is inherent in it." Through this statement one learns just how close Vaapad is to the Dark Side.
Others used it and Mace warned against it - as was the case with Quinlan Vos.
Mace actually used it to fight against the Emperor. More was shared in the novelization of
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on pg 333
But the ultimate point in saying all of this is that Jedi and Sith are more alike than many wish to give them credit for. Others to consider would be people like Darth Traya/Kreia and the duality she demonstrated.
