The Dark Side: The Misunderstood Side of the Force

            One aspect that is present in any Star Wars related media is The Force. Whether it is used by the Jedi or the Sith, the force is everywhere in the Star Wars galaxy. Even people who are not able to manipulate it acknowledge its existence. Everyone also knows that there is the light side of the force, and the dark side of the force. The light side is associated with the Jedi, and the dark side with the Sith. Although it is viewed as evil, and even labeled the dark side, it is not inherently evil. It is just misunderstood, and at the mercy of an organization that gives it a bad name.

A little bit about the force, and its connection to religion. There are many monotheistic religions in the world. They all believe in one GD, and sometimes, they each have the same GD. Their interpretations of GD’s wants, and how to please him can be very different. When a religious extremist kills hundreds of people, and then says that it was his way of serving GD; that does not make GD evil. It makes the worshipper evil. The Force can be viewed as the GD in the Star Wars universe. It is everywhere, influences everything, and can even be manipulated by select individuals. Those individuals are usually divided into two different groups, with radically different ideals. The Jedi seek peace, and aim to bring prosperity to the galaxy. They train to serve the force. The Sith seek to rule the galaxy, and remove any obstacle in their path. They train to use the force for their benefit. They both take advantage of the force for their own purposes, whether it be good, or evil. The force itself, although it isn’t good or evil per say, what one does with the force is a big determinant.

            Everyone lives with emotions. Whether one gives into those emotions on the other hand, is another story. The Jedi view giving into emotions as evil, and try their best to stay neutral in all aspects of life. One of the lines in the Jedi code is “There is no emotion, there is peace”. The Sith take the opposite approach. They give into their emotions, and become strong in the dark side. Sure, sometimes emotions make people do stupid things, but that doesn’t make them evil. Giving into emotions is easy. Some people believe that the dark side is easier to master because of this. But it also makes it stronger than the light side of the force, which promotes turning away from emotions. There is nothing evil about having emotions. In fact, it is what makes someone human (or in the Star Wars galaxy, sentient).
            The Sith rely on emotions to stay strong in the dark side. They use pain and suffering to teach Sith acolytes how to rely on the force for everything from sustenance to strength. The Legendary Sith Lord Darth Bane left his apprentice on a planet with no way to get off, and her goal was to meet him on a planet many light years away. She used the force to deceive others, and kill people in order to meet him on that planet. Sith Lords will manipulate emotions, and create conflict using the force. The Sith thrive on chaos, and love conflict.

            The light side favors the spiritual spectrum. The Jedi train, and teach their students to serve the force. To benefit from the omnipresence of the force, and to protect people with it. The Jedi were peacekeepers for thousands of years until the purge by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious. The techniques they use aren't physical, but deal with the mental, or spiritual aspects of a person, such as force manipulation, and battle meditation. They are used for the benefit of others, and the Jedi usually do not use those techniques for themselves.
            The Sith on the other hand, are the complete opposite. They train to use and manipulate the force for their benefit, no matter what it takes. They lie, manipulate, and kill whoever they need to with the force in order to succeed. Their techniques deal with the more physical aspects of life. Techniques such as force choke, or force push/pull are dark side techniques. Even the Jedi sometimes make use of force push/pull, even though they use it as a defensive technique, it is technically still a dark side move. While the dark side moves might have negative names, and be used for evil, it is the person using them that uses them for evil. 

          The dark side of the force is mislabeled, as is the light side. The true names should be the physical side, and the spiritual side. Neither is technically good, or evil. It is those who uses them that makes them so. The Sith pervert the force, and make everyone believe that the dark side is pure evil, when in reality the Sith just use it as a tool. It is actually the exact opposite. The Sith are evil, and use the neutral force as their tool for evil.