Star Wars teaches you things. It hands lots of life lessons right to the lap of unsuspecting prepubescent nerds everywhere. The disparity between the Dark Side and Light Side of the force play to some surprisingly deep metaphors.This is not a surprise, given George Lucas has come out and said a number of religious influences affected the creation of the force.
The Dark Side, in particular, speaks to the darker nature that exists in humans. It is not deeply entrenched in evil from the start, so much as it focuses on how our passions can go from driving us to controlling us. All of our more basic impulses can be exploited, and the rush that we receive from giving into our egos can propel us into darkness. Fear comes from that same pool of feeling. They are the grunts and egotistical hang-ups that are far easier to give into but do not pay off in the long run.
The Light Side extols virtues that I feel exist at the very core of a good character. It basically all boils down to one thing: self-control. The Light Side of the force compels us to generate love for the “living force”. In other words, it is an appreciation for the world around us. The essential teachings are to resist the animal urges, and choose to further our humanity by living above things like simple fear, attachment, egotism, and greed.
As Jedi Master Yoda famously says, “fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hatred leads to suffering.”
While the above statement may be the truest phrase ever uttered, I do believe I would choose to walk either side exclusively.
While the Light Side of the force can seem infallible, it surely cannot be in a world of free will and flawed humans (sentient beings). A tenant of the Jedi teaching is to release oneself from attachment -- they will never have any significant others. The Jedi also take children from an extremely young age to be trained into these monkish space warrior/wizards. These stipulations are troublesome on their own.
Both have quite a lot of power because of how good they feel, and in general, will lead to desire and attachment. I infer that this is the reason the Jedi avoid it. However, this does not separate this from our human nature simply by denying it. This is the problem with the light side. We know that regression and abstinence are not cures for our weaknesses to these things.
For me, it is clear that the truth cannot be suppressed forever. It is also clear that understanding something takes the power from its hands and puts it into yours. Yes, people have darkness, but avoiding it allows ignorance to fill the space instead. We also have a habit of blowing it up to theatrical concepts which in the end are just as inaccessible.
Let me be very clear: I am not arguing that people should give in to darker urges. What I posit is that a world where it is accepted we are capable of both good and evil is a better world than one that tries to monopolize control over one concept (“good”) and ignores or vilifies the other (“evil”).
Fighting one’s own demons, large and small, develops character. Simply by virtue of being individual struggles, they are idiosyncratic to the person. The path that is correct for one person is not correct for another and so on. We must make our mistakes and understand them. We must also have the wherewithal of the “Light Side” to become disciplined stewards of ourselves. It also allows us to have compassion for others experiencing the struggle. We must still also hold each other accountable for injustices.
I once heard the Christian concept of sin explained as a sort of equalizer. It is a piece of us that we all suffer from and that we cannot escape. It was a reality – neither good nor evil – but the world in which we live. It does, however, unite us in understanding there are other choices to make besides giving in. It fits into this discussion because it does not vilify or condemn, but accepts and counteracts.
The most poignant contemporary example of our flawed relationship with our darkness are the legions of angry white people flocking to populist movements. I do not consider them all to be flagrant racists, but I do see a deeper issue at hand. Their darkness is telling them to be afraid. The monkey inside them does not want to take the time to change thought processes of leaving their comfort zone. It is racism, but also far more pervasive in both breadth and depth of the issue.
We should live in a world where humans can comfortably confront those feelings inside them and root them out for what they are. We should understand not all of our urges are "good" and that part of us is not right just because it's loud. We could venture into life and ignore something despite its ease, and work hard for something even though there was a shortcut.
There is still no question that my brand of grey walks firmly under the shining light of the sun. The path of insight, critical thinking, altruism and compassion will always result in a better tomorrow for ourselves ad our communities in the long term. I simply also believe we have to be responsible for ourselves while we fight that fight.
