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Yoda the Hypocrite?
12 years ago
General
I don't think that hypocrite's quite the right word for it, but earlier this evening I recalled the scene in Return of the Jedi when Yoda was speaking to Luke about what it means to be a Jedi.
In particular, he said: "Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things."
To be sure, there's nothing particularly glamorous or exciting about living as a ascetic in exile on a miserable swamp world, but it's bloody well easy, isn't it, to talk about how meaningless adventure and excitement are when you get to travel the galaxy on the taxpayer's dime, waving around laser swords, using mind-powers the rest of us live without, all the while dishing out justice and judgement vigilante-style.
I am reminded of occasions when I'm told by people who are richer than I am, from richer families and societies than mine are, how little money means in the grand scheme of things.
I'd take Yoda and his defeated cult more seriously if they actually practiced as they preached and did the real difficult work with respect to justice and fairness: poring through law books, cross-examining witnesses, exploring issues from all perspectives, and using the sword of justice and rule of law instead of hacking peoples' limbs off or using telekinesis to subdue them. It's utterly pathetic to put yourself out there as a monk when you have a massive, luxurious temple on the capital planet of the galaxy and all of your needs are taken care of, 100%, until you die.
Maybe Palpatine was right and the Jedi are not immune from egoism.
Or maybe I should just go to sleep now before this journal gets even more bizarre.
In particular, he said: "Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things."
To be sure, there's nothing particularly glamorous or exciting about living as a ascetic in exile on a miserable swamp world, but it's bloody well easy, isn't it, to talk about how meaningless adventure and excitement are when you get to travel the galaxy on the taxpayer's dime, waving around laser swords, using mind-powers the rest of us live without, all the while dishing out justice and judgement vigilante-style.
I am reminded of occasions when I'm told by people who are richer than I am, from richer families and societies than mine are, how little money means in the grand scheme of things.
I'd take Yoda and his defeated cult more seriously if they actually practiced as they preached and did the real difficult work with respect to justice and fairness: poring through law books, cross-examining witnesses, exploring issues from all perspectives, and using the sword of justice and rule of law instead of hacking peoples' limbs off or using telekinesis to subdue them. It's utterly pathetic to put yourself out there as a monk when you have a massive, luxurious temple on the capital planet of the galaxy and all of your needs are taken care of, 100%, until you die.
Maybe Palpatine was right and the Jedi are not immune from egoism.
Or maybe I should just go to sleep now before this journal gets even more bizarre.
Really its best the prequels execution of story and how it shows how things were should be disregarded, only the basic idea of the story should be heeded.