Good evening, all! Tonight I'd like to share with you a few things I've noticed about those who join the Dark Side.

Overly Excessive Zeal In Battle

This surfeit seems to be very common among the Sith. For example, General Grievous* was quite fanatical when fighting Obi-Wan Kenobi. He ignited 4 light sabers, and approached Obi Wan wielding said sabers with such gusto that he damaged the ground in his wake. He even shape-shifted into something akin to a spider! All of this for a sole jedi who was only holding one light saber!

Do you remember the fervor with which Palpatine attacked the jedi who came to arrest him? He force-grabbed his light saber, ignited it, lept into the air, and executed several cylindrical spins before landing and slaughtering Mace's 3 assistants. Could Palpatine have accomplished the same thing without the aerial acrobatics? Undoubtedly. So why the ardor? It's just another example of the overenthusiastic fighting style of the Sith.

How about the way that the clones* carried out Order 66? Does it really take a whole army to shoot down a few unsuspecting jedi (as in the case of Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura)? Yet, the use of too much force is typical of Sith behavior. It brings to mind the words of the esteemed Confucious: "Don't use a cannon to kill a mosquito."

Grandiosity

The wreaking of general havoc together with a fair amount of battle victories wasn't enough to satiate the Sith...no! They had to aim for galactic domination as well. "I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him. And together you and I can rule the galaxy." When Anakin said this, Padme backed away from him, and rightfully so: he sounded like a full-fledged lunatic!

"To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together I know we can discover the secret." -Sidious speaking to Vader This statement takes things to the next level. It wasn't enough for Anakin to have the highest midichlorian count in the universe and for Palpatine to have control over both the Senate and the Courts. Now they must discover the secret of cheating death as well. Who do they think they are?! It wasn't meant for them to have such divinity; they were getting way beyond themselves. In the words of Master Yoda: "Death is a natural part of life."

Separate Examples

In the case of Anakin in particular, I noticed that his transition to the Dark Side caused him to experience more than his usual confusion. "I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire." I find this assertion to be slightly reminiscent of the Holocaust. Restore peace and order to a realm by wantonly slaughtering a large percentage of its inhabitants?! Riiiiiiiiiight. Yet this is the type of dementia Anakin experienced once he went down the dark path.

Finally, in the instance of Sidious (and this might seem mundane), but did anyone else notice his maniacal laughter? I can't recall him acting that way before being fully revealed as the Sith Lord, and yet, while he battled Yoda: Hehehehehehahahahaha!!!!

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, if you're thinking of turning to the Dark Side, please be sure to have a large supply of Zyprexa on hand...and take a healthy dose of it on a daily basis.

Thanks for listening.
*hugs and kisses*
-Tee



*Since the Sith are determined to destroy the jedi, I am including General Grievous and the clone troopers with the Sith because they worked along with the Sith to accomplish this purpose, even though they weren't officially part of their Dark Order.