I LOVE LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THE JEDI EXCEPT ORDER 66.
I love a great many things about the Jedi and I have posted a lot about them, as you’re going to see, from the aesthetics to how much fun they are to their connection to the Force and how fascinating that is to explore. They’re so incredibly extra, I mean, LOOK AT THIS GUY, THIS IS AWESOME:
I love how in touch he is with himself, his body and his mind and the Force, that he moves with such lethal grace and power and precision. This is someone who has worked his entire life to have mastery over himself and his skills, this is someone who has a near unbreakable will, someone who can smile gently just as genuinely as he can righteously, angrily cut someone in half, someone who isn’t meant to be perfect, but who is good. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the epitome of the perfect Jedi not because he’s an emotionless robot or whatever (he’s really, really not, not at any point in any of the movies or tv shows, just look at Ewan McGregor’s face at any point and you’ll see emotion all over it) but because he follows their teachings, he’s applied them to his life, he’s become an even better person by weaving them into his very bones.
And that’s the big reason I love the Jedi is because they were so damn good.
They devoted their lives to the Force and to compassion for other beings in the galaxy. Their entire purpose was to seek further understanding this energy that bound the entire universe together, that familiar sense of warmth, of belonging, of finding themselves part of an endless lattice of connections that held them and everything else.
I loved that the Jedi were just as dedicated to helping as many people as they could. They weren’t soldiers, but they would give up themselves to become that because that’s what the galaxy asked of them, they were willing to not only die to save others’ lives, but to make hard decisions that benefited so many more people than just themselves. They mourned, they took moments to feel that grief, but then did what they must.
They fell into Palpatine’s trap not because they were corrupt (one of my favorite things about the propaganda book is that it is exceedingly clear about the corruption in the Republic, the lack of care for the people it was supposed to help, it was very much about calling people out, and yet was very, very clear about the Jedi were never part of that rotting from the inside out) but because they were willing to do what they felt needed to be done to help the entire galaxy.
I love the Jedi because their teachings of mindfulness are analogous to therapy, that they’re beneficial (if you actually apply them), I love that attachment isn’t equal to love, but to the idea of being unable to accept things as they are. That, “the Jedi also value mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion, all of which have been shown to help people with various psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, substance addictions, and other disorders.”
That, “just as Jedi get in tune with the Force, those who are intrinsically spiritual come to appreciate the great variety of life and endeavor to serve others.”
That the Jedi promote self-discipline because it’s beneficial to the self, but also because they are very much aware of their ability to hurt other people if they don’t control themselves. This is why Depa teaches Caleb that his feelings are valuable and should not be suppressed, but learn to control them before they control you. This is why the Jedi know the dark side is dangerous (and it is) not because anger, hate, suffering, cruelty, selfishness should be denied, but instead that they are to be understood about ourselves, that they’re necessary as part of living beings, but you should let go of them when you’ve worked through them, that’s what “balance” means.
I love the Jedi because they are an intrinsically motivated religion (slash-culture) in a galaxy that is all too often extrinsically motivated.
I love the Jedi because, even when the entire galaxy turned on them and lied about them and twisted their image, they remained faithful and good. Obi-Wan’s entire world burned into ash, helped along by the person he loved most, and he still remained “the bedrock of all good”, because that’s the person his Jedi foundations allowed him to be. I love the Jedi because they weren’t doormats, they did what they must, but they were also willing to forgive when it was genuinely asked for–Anakin kills all of Yoda’s grandkids and he still almost feels sorry for him when Vader explodes with loneliness after Obi-Wan dies. He and Obi-Wan still welcomed Anakin back and helped him over to the other side when he died. Or sometimes, even when it wasn’t asked for.
I love the Jedi because they’re a bunch of super awesome BABES, because their aesthetics are gorgeous, because they’re hilarious and fun, because they’re cool, but most of all because:
The Jedi strove to be the best people they could be, internally and externally.
In other words: #JEDI SQUAD FOR LIFE
2087
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