Tonight the Dark Lord reveals the differences between Sith and Jedi.

First of all let me apologize for any hard feelings concerning the blog I wrote earlier. I hope you do not stop reading my blogs and deny yourself knowledge (I'm not trying to be cocky) simply because of the comments I made. What I meant was that in addition to what is commonly written on the blogs, we should also focus on writing theories. I also did not mean to criticize any blogs, nor did I mean to say that EVERY blog has been bad. Anyway... today's topic is about the philosophy and the differences between the Sith and the Jedi. It is a topic that touches me personally and one which has always fascinated me. I hope you will learn something from this blog and enjoy it as I have enjoyed writing it.

PALPATINE: "Good is a point of view, Anakin. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every aspect... including their quest for greater power."

ANAKIN: "The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves."

PALPATINE: And the Jedi don't?

ANAKIN: The Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others.

PALPATINE smiles.

The above conversation is, in my opinion, one of my favorite Star Wars conversations of all time. It is fascinating because of the fact that it is the only time in any of the six episodes that we have a Jedi speaking to a Sith about their philosophies. Both seem to be trying to persuade the other, which of course Anakin is blind to. Besides that, it is also fascinating because we get a good view from both sides at the same time.

The Jedi: The Jedi are an ancient order, which started at an unknown date much before the Sith Order was created. These people discovered the Force and realized that it can be controlled. Through study they became more powerful and began to do more and more. Armed with their knowledge of this power and melee weapons, they decided because they had an advantage over the average human, they would only use their power for good... but not all agreed.

The Sith: The Sith are an ancient order, based on a long-extinct species, that was started thousands upon thousands of years ago. They were a group of Jedi who have different beliefs than others in the order and were either kicked out or left by choice. They adapted an ancient species philosophy of greed, jealousy, and lust for power, which in turn made them evil and sinister.

The two groups inevitably became enemies, as the Jedi served to help the people and the Sith sought to do harm and take advantage of the people. Although it is unclear who struck first, the two orders clashed and became enemies ever since.

But the question now is, was Palpatine right when he said that they are similar in almost every aspect? As a Sith Philosopher, my opinion is yes they are very similar. What I love about that conversation is that Anakin simply states the only difference between the two groups; "the Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others." That is truly the only difference between the two groups because evil can be construed according to one's point of view.

For example, when Anakin helped Sidious destroy the Republic and slaughter thousands of Jedi, children, innocent civilians, and friends he was not doing evil according to his logic of thinking. By doing all of that, he was becoming more powerful to help save Padme, which he felt was a good deed.

The second part of this blog is the question was Anakin really evil and was he a Sith. Now taking the information we know about the differences between Jedi and Sith, the difference being that Jedi use their power for good and Sith for themselves, it would appear that what Anakin did was not necessarily a Sith (especially if you take the Jedi philosophy that an individuals life is worth as much as the general welfare that I'm not going to get into because it will spark a big debate that we can have in another blog). But that is incorrect; he is a Sith and the reason is that he doesn't want to save Padme just because he wants to be a good person- he wants to save her because its what he wants. Listen to some of these quotes stated by him during the film:

I won't loose you Padme... not the way I lost my mother.
I won't let these visions come true, Master Yoda.
I can't live without her.
And I don't have time to look it up now, but in Episode II he does state something about not being able to live without her.

From these quotes it is pretty clear that Anakin is not only saving Padme for her sake, but also for his. Therefore, his evil actions are no longer purely for the purpose of saving someone else, which classifies him as a true Sith.

Summary:

Jedi and Sith both use the Force, carry similar weapons, have ancient doctrines, formed from the same group of people, and most importantly, both try to rule the galaxy and strive for "greater power." So basically the only difference between the two Orders is the fact that the Sith use their power to help themselves, whereas the Jedi use it to help others.

And if you do not believe that Jedi strive for greater power let me show you some of these quotes and facts to change your mind:

The Jedi have a huge say in what goes on in the Republic and pretty much do what they want because they think their way is always correct (I can think of countless examples, but this blog is already too long so I'll save it for another time).
Mace: "The Jedi would have to take control of the Senate in order to maintain a peaceful transition."

P.S. I wrote this last night and edited it this morning so if anything says tonight (referring to this blog) it probably meant today.