Quote: Anakin shows a lot more compassion toward Ahsoka than Obi-Wan does toward Anakin in ROTS. Ahem.
Anakin had just killed a large number of Obi-Wan's friends, and temple full of children. Not to mention helping an evil manipulative ass-hat seize control of the galaxy. I say screw compassion. That he attempted to reason with him at all deserves commendation. But that's beside the point...
Oh, nice reading of the reanimation of Ahsoka as coming through sacrifice, and how Anakin likely only saw the Lazarus act and missed the sacrifice altogether.
Anyway...
I've been mulling over this light/dark balance thing for the past week.
Balance refers to an equilibrium between light and dark...?
I think my initial reaction to this was informed by the wrong-headed suppositions found all over the internet, that assert that Anakin creates balance by becoming Darth Vader. He was light, and becomes dark. Hence... balance.
Balance as I see it is about harmony within the system. The Force is life. All life is dependant on each other. A symbiont circle if you will. The Sith cause imbalance by disrupting the natural flow. Death, destruction, greed etc. etc. cause disharmony.
Ending the Sith, ends the imbalance.
I thought these episode's were contradicting this... at first. On reflection, I realise they're not. It essentially augments it, and actually helps to make more sense of it.
We need the darkness.
It drives us to take chances. It makes us ambitious. Jealous. Angry. Even selfish.
A little jealousy can make us strive toward improvement.
Anger can drive us to fight against an injustice.
Selfishness is present in anyone who lies to gain an advantage.
This of course, can be dangerous. For all the obvious reasons.
The light side balances these drives, though. It keeps anger from becoming poisonous. Lets reason and rationality be what really fights that injustice. Jealousy, greed, selfishness are checked by compassion, generosity, nobility, altruism.
That is the balance.
The question was posed as to what an imbalance toward the light might look like.
I think stagnation is the answer.
Without the darkness there's no drive. There's peace. There's community. Serenity even. But there's no will to achieve. No momentum. It's a dead end. Dormant. Fallow. Inert.
no subject
Anakin had just killed a large number of Obi-Wan's friends, and temple full of children. Not to mention helping an evil manipulative ass-hat seize control of the galaxy. I say screw compassion. That he attempted to reason with him at all deserves commendation. But that's beside the point...
Oh, nice reading of the reanimation of Ahsoka as coming through sacrifice, and how Anakin likely only saw the Lazarus act and missed the sacrifice altogether.
Anyway...
I've been mulling over this light/dark balance thing for the past week.
Balance refers to an equilibrium between light and dark...?
I think my initial reaction to this was informed by the wrong-headed suppositions found all over the internet, that assert that Anakin creates balance by becoming Darth Vader. He was light, and becomes dark. Hence... balance.
Balance as I see it is about harmony within the system. The Force is life. All life is dependant on each other. A symbiont circle if you will. The Sith cause imbalance by disrupting the natural flow. Death, destruction, greed etc. etc. cause disharmony.
Ending the Sith, ends the imbalance.
I thought these episode's were contradicting this... at first. On reflection, I realise they're not. It essentially augments it, and actually helps to make more sense of it.
We need the darkness.
It drives us to take chances. It makes us ambitious. Jealous. Angry. Even selfish.
A little jealousy can make us strive toward improvement.
Anger can drive us to fight against an injustice.
Selfishness is present in anyone who lies to gain an advantage.
This of course, can be dangerous. For all the obvious reasons.
The light side balances these drives, though. It keeps anger from becoming poisonous. Lets reason and rationality be what really fights that injustice. Jealousy, greed, selfishness are checked by compassion, generosity, nobility, altruism.
That is the balance.
The question was posed as to what an imbalance toward the light might look like.
I think stagnation is the answer.
Without the darkness there's no drive. There's peace. There's community. Serenity even. But there's no will to achieve. No momentum. It's a dead end. Dormant. Fallow. Inert.
Loving these episode's. Great stuff.