So.

My first really philosophical blog.

The big question. Do the ends justify the means?

In case you don't know what that means, it is asking what you will do to achieve your goals. How far will you go?

The books that ask this question the most are Republic Commando, NJO, and LotF. These are the books that also blur the lines between the light side and the dark side of the force. These two points are very closely related, so I will be talking about both in concert.

One example of this question comes in Exile. Unfortunately, I lent the book to a friend, so I don't have any exact quotes, but I'll do my best.
So, in this scene, Wedge is talking to Gejjen and the other high ranking Corellian military officers. Gejjen tells Wedge that his problem, and why he's being fired, is that he is not willing to win at any cost. Wedge replies that he is not, but neither is Gejjen. Gejjen says that he is, and Wedge asks him if he would be willing to win if the cost was that the Corellian system was the only remaining center of civilization in the galaxy.

Although Wedge was just proving a point, his example works for my purposes well. So let me ask you. Would you be willing to win a war on Earth if the U.S.A. (or whatever country you live in; I'm just using my country as an example) was the only populated country left in the world?

And here is another example, this time from Betrayal. One of the people who is influenced by Lumiya, Doctor Movac Arisster, has a bomb strapped to his back, along with a hostage. He has more hostages that he can kill at a moments notice. So Jacen solves the situation by detonating the bomb, when it is far enough away that nobody gets hurt by the explosion, except, of course, Arisster and his hostage, Serom Haxan.

At first, this seems like a perfectly reasonable solution, especially after Jacen explains it to Nelani. There was no way to stop him, and if you cannot, why not deny him a complete victory by limiting the number of hostages he killed? So, Jacen sacrificed (I hate that word now. I can't talk about Jacen at all without saying it) one innocent life to save many (it does not say exactly how many. If it does, and I missed it, please tell me). In this situation it was unavoidable, or so we are told, but it is not the same in all situations.

To use an extreme example (again), let us say you are in charge of the country in which you live, and you are given information that a country is about to start a colossal war with a preemptive strike. Let us also assume that negotiation and peaceful solutions have already been tried, and failed. Do you: a) Invade with infantry, jets, and tanks, which would lead to your soldiers and theirs being killed or injured, and the war going on while your invasion was conducted, or b) Hit them with a nuclear bomb, and sacrifice all the innocent lives in their country for the lives of your soldiers and the innocents of the countries that were the targets of the aggressor?

And is either option totally light or dark? The answer is no. Both options reside in the gray area in between, and would depend on the specifics of the situation.

So. Do the ends justify the means? What are you willing to sacrifice in any given situation? Being able to sacrifice anything is not necessarily a good thing (like Jacen). But it is just as bad if you cannot sacrifice anything.

Huh. It seems what I just said represents the views of Lumiya and the Old Jedi Order, respectively. According to the Old Jedi Order, you cannot love anything or anyone, because then you will be unable to sacrifice them for the good of the galaxy. According to Lumiya, you should love and sacrifice anyway, because it will make you stronger. The difference between the two view is that the OJO believes in sacrificing ONLY IF YOU HAVE TO. But Lumiya believes in sacrificing just for the heck of it. Still, the two views are oddly similar, and yet are still completely contrasting.

So, what do you think? Do the ends justify the means?

I do not no what I think, and I will not know until I have to make a decision like one I described in this blog. I hope I never have to make that choice. I would not want anyone to be forced to choose. But someday you may have to choose between the lives of the people you love, or the greater good. What would you choose?

MTFBWY