Imperfect Order

In “Star Wars,” the Jedi are seen as embodying a benevolent order that maintains peace and balance within the galaxy. At least, that is what we’re told about the Jedi within the first trilogy.

This was the same point that was reiterated by Obi-Wan Kenobi in “A New Hope” and Yoda in “Empire Strikes Back.” But perhaps they were too close to the Order to see the toxicity of it.

It isn’t until much later that we receive more information and media about the Jedi Order and how harmful they really were in the days of the Republic before the Empire.

Think of the Jedi Order in Earth terms. Think of the Jedi as a cult that takes children from their families at either birth or a very young age and trains them to be servants in their adult lives. Think of the Jedi Order as a brainwashing institution that tries to render its participants free of emotion and trains them to be highly skilled in the art of war. For instance, when the Clone Wars began, all of the Jedi Masters instantly became Jedi Generals who would lead the clones to battle against the Separatists and their droid army.

From the perspective of the audience, the Jedi are everywhere. But that’s because the films focus entirely on the Jedi and the battle between good and evil. Even at the height of the Jedi Order, there weren’t that many Jedi to begin with. Basically, this tiny, exclusive and religious cult is front-lining a war and leading galactic politics. This notion is insane, especially when you consider that not many people have seen a Jedi, and even if they have, they are automatically filled with respect and awe.

This is even more problematic when you consider that the Force-sensitive younglings are almost automatically taken to the Jedi temple for training when they’re babies and don’t have any contact with their family or their friends from home. They are automatically disconnected from their home world and yet they are commanded to come from a place of compassion and love.

This is highly hypocritical of the Order. As Anakin Skywalker says in the prequels, the Jedi are banned from forming attachments and yet are expected to be compassionate. This can severely stunt the emotional growth of any being.

It’s common knowledge within the Order that every youngling goes through some emotional trial that becomes especially trying of them and their abilities, as we see with Ahsoka Tano in season five of “Clone Wars.” But this kind of attitude toward emotions and attachments is highly toxic, and can lead Jedi astray.

The epitome of stunted emotional growth making an appearance in a Jedi is Anakin Skywalker. In “Revenge of the Sith,” the conflict that was present in him in the final film begins to brew. His desire to be a good Jedi and his desire to protect Padme are pitched against one another. Everything he does, he does out of love for his wife.

Had he been allowed to be open about his and Padme’s relationship with his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Jedi Order, then he wouldn’t have been so susceptible to Palpatine, the Sith Lord. Had the Order recognized their toxic behavior, then the Order might have been able to reform and combat the threat of Palpatine.

The Jedi are also at a place of privilege. Their headquarters are in Coruscant, which is the center of the Republic and, later, the Empire. They remain disconnected from the majority of the galaxy unless their job demands that they go out into the galaxy to solve whatever problem.

At the beginning of the prequels, the corruption of the Galactic Senate has become so apparent that the illegal blockade of an entire planet (Naboo) doesn’t seem to phase the Senate at all. This blatant misuse of power from an outside organization would have the United Nations all tied up in debates and courses of action, but from the looks of the prequel, all the Galactic Senate did was send a Jedi and a Padawan to negotiate.

The fact that the Galactic Senate was so weak that they could let a Sith Lord take command and control without anyone suspecting anything until it was too late is a key indicator of how deep-rooted the corruption within the Senate was.

In “The Clone Wars,” a television show chronicling the adventures of Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and others, there are a few episodes in which senators who left the Republic for the Confederacy of Independent Systems (the Separatists) come in contact with Padme Amidala and Ahsoka Tano. They cite the corruption of the Senate as their primary reason for leaving the Republic. This corruption and inefficiency of the Senate is made perfectly clear through several episodes where they vote for their own agendas and not for the good of the people they vowed to represent.

The Jedi Order is corrupt as well. Not in the way that corruption manifests in politics, but rather in the way that they are willing to sacrifice a young Padawan without hearing her version of the events in order to gain political leverage.

As I have mentioned before, the Jedi Council, which is the head of the Jedi Order, has a huge say in Galactic Politics. This event happened to a certain young Padawan and they had thrown her under the bus without even listening to her version of events. The fact that the Order was so willing to strip a Padawan they trained of her status as a Padawan, not let her Master see her and basically throw her to the dogs without hearing her version of events is corruption, to say the least.

The notion that the Jedi Order is all good is wrong. Sure, the Sith are evil, but maybe the Jedi aren’t the angels we think they are.