(re: the tags on this post.)  What kills me about the Jedi’s reserved natures–in general, but

(re: the tags on this post.)  What kills me about the Jedi’s reserved natures–in general, but Obi-Wan especially and Wild Space really shows this well–is that I entirely understand how Palpatine used this to his advantage, that the Jedi just weren’t public figures, they weren’t people who wanted to air their personal lives out on the HoloNet for everyone to gossip over.  And they shouldn’t have had to share anything they didn’t want to. Everyone has the right to keep personal things personal!Everyone has the right to not want to discuss certain things about themselves or their culture, if they don’t want to!But the situation the PT Jedi were put in, because Palpatine shoved them into the spotlight, probably knowing that it would only emphasize how the Jedi were usually reserved people, that it was impossible for them to convey or explain the whys and hows of their spirituality, that it would have been deeply uncomfortable for them to be put on the spot to try to explain how they connected to the Force and how it drove them, how people who can’t feel the Force never do understand why it’s so important and how they can rely on it so much, it was impossible to sidestep without the Jedi compromising their personal boundaries about what they did and didn’t want to share about themselves.We, the audience, get to see the personal lives of the Jedi, because that’s how the story works.  But the Senators and the people of the Republic wouldn’t get to see that, because it wasn’t meant to be fodder for the HoloNet, the Jedi deserved their privacy, especially when they were already being ground down and worn thin from this war they didn’t want to be in, wouldn’t see any of that. They would only see these mysterious, incredible fighters that they had to trust would never turn on them, without really knowing them.It’s easy to say the Jedi should have reached out more, been more open, but that always leaves me feeling uncomfortable, because no one should ever dictate how much you’re obligated to share about yourself or your culture. Obi-Wan is a great example of this–yeah, he’s not the kind of emotionally open person that we might want, but– there’s that great debate he has with Bail in Wild Space:        “That would depend on how you define normal, Senator.” He shook his head. “While it’s true that many children are given to the Temple as infants, no child is kept with us against his or her will. The Temple is not a prison. It is a home. A school. A world within a world. A safe haven for those born with peculiar sensitivity to the Force. Believe me, Senator, there is more suffering experienced by those Force-sensitives denied Jedi training than any Padawan you might meet.”        “So there is suffering?” said Organa, discarding his emptied mealpack. “You don’t deny it?”        “Nobody’s life is devoid of suffering, Senator.”        “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Organa’s gaze narrowed. “Come on, Master Jedi. Don’t dance with me.”       “If you are asking me whether it is sometimes difficult being a Jedi, the answer is yes,” he replied calmly. “Is it your assertion that being a Senator is a bed of haffa-blossoms?”        Organa snorted. “One full of thorns, maybe. But at least I’m not forbidden—what did you call it? Attachment. At least I don’t have to pretend I don’t care about things. About people.”       “There are many different ways of caring, Senator. Surely you’re not so arrogant as to claim your way is superior to everyone else’s?”       “Huh,” said Organa, amused and irritated in equal measure. “You know, Master Kenobi, for a Jedi you’re a pretty good debater. You should think about a career in the Senate yourself.”He cares no less just because he doesn’t show it in the way others do, Obi-Wan just isn’t someone who wears his emotions on his sleeve, that’s not who he is.  He’s much more about subtle, simple words conveying what he means to say and trusting the other person to understand that they’re genuine.But now I do wonder what things might have been like, if they had had stronger ties to more Senators.  If more than just Padme and Bail had begun to understand the Jedi.  If there were more Senators who weren’t corrupt that the Jedi could have formed friendships with.  Would the Jedi have thrown their chips in with the Rebellion?  Or would they have taken a more direct route and challenged the Emperor head on?Would they have fought while still being part of the Empire or would they have divorced themselves completely from it and joined the Rebellion?  Would they have relied on their authority as a part of the Republic to give them credibility or would they have thought the Empire stripped all that from them and their support was better placed in the fledgling Rebellion? -- source link

More pics about