A Jedi's Weapon
I've been thinking about Lightsabers recently. Everyone knows them, everyone likes them, and I'm pretty sure everyone reading this wanted one when they were a kid. But lately, I've been thinking about what they represent.
Lightsabers are weapons, yes, but it's not their only function. They are useful tools, and not only in combat, but in everyday life to light fires, to cut down the branches of trees when your travelling through a forest, etc. But most of all, I like the symbolism and the meaning they have for the people of the galaxy.
Everyone can pick up a blaster and shoot. And although aiming is harder, it's nowhere near the level of difficulty that achieving mastery in lightsaber combat is. Lightsaber dueling has several forms, all of them unique and useful depending on the situation and the individual, which is amazing if you think about it hard enough.
Blasters are almost always used to kill. Sure, there are stun blasters, and Jedi do seem to be able to use them when the situation calls for it (Obi-Wan killing Grievous with a blaster in ROTS immediately comes to mind). But, if you want to defend yourself with a blaster, the only thing you can do is shoot back, aka aiming for the kill, kill them before they kill you. That's why Luke using a blaster is portrayed as a sign that he's not a Jedi yet, that's why Ezra using a blaster instead of reconstructing his lightsaber/blaster hybrid is used to signify a dangerous shift in his thinking.
Lightsabers are dangerous, yes, but the greatest danger doesn't come from your opponent attacking you before you can lift your weapon. Even Force-adepts have quicker ways to kill you if that's what they wanted to do (look at how often Vader actually uses his lightsaber in the OT, for example, the only person he kills with it is Obi-Wan and that's because Obi-Wan let himself be killed; very clearly, Vader prefers Force Choking, which is entirely fair).
The greatest danger of a lightsaber comes from your own blaster bolts being reflected right back at you. That is a good incentive to surrender and solve things in relative peace, instead of a firefight. Even if that's not enough to stop you, even if you shoot anyways, it gives you some pause, which a blaster can't do.
When it maims, it cauterizes the wound, which prevents you from dying of bloodloss and makes it easier to find medical treatment (think of Luke in ESB).
When it kills, it kills fast and immediately, if your opponent knows where to hit. (Think of Qui-Gon in TPM, where he gets to say his last words to Obi-Wan and doesn't seem to be in much pain).
Dexter says this, in Jedi Apprentice. What the lightsaber represents to the people. Hope, safety, there's someone to protect us now… unless you are the one opposing the Jedi, of course. No other weapon inspires so much hope and fear.
It's a weapon it takes a lot of time and effort to master. It's almost a self-imposed limitation.
It's a weapon with sacred value, unlike many others. It's a unique weapon connected to its user's soul. It's a weapon which is used to protect, to defend. It's a sword used as a shield.
It's the weapon of a Jedi.
A more elegant weapon, from a more civilized age.
