Yes I was joking, but the point of the joke would be that if I wanted to bring down the Jedi, I would encourage them to do everything that they were doing wrong, only more so.
The seeds of the Jedi's destruction were already growing. Rather than plant a new tree, a good Sith, like Sidious, would only have to water them.
Now we can argue that the Jedi way is all about suppressing emotions, and distancing one's self from emotion, temptation, chocolate milkshakes, and all that, but the simple fact is that the Jedi are involved in the day to day workings of the universe. If they are, and the force is indeed connected to life (as we are told it is), then the Jedi are using exactly the wrong approach.
If the proper way is to distance from emotion, involvement with others, etc, and to do little but contemplate the majesty of the force, and the depth of their Jedi navels, them the approach of those monks who have their brains in jars on spider legs is a far better means to that end. Why have a big temple and run around the galaxy like a bunch of lightsaber wielding Texas Rangers? That just seems the way to expose the order to other beings and emotions that they are trying to suppress. Better to lock themselves away and pretend the rest of the universe doesn't exist.
Then of course, the movies would have been rather dull.
Not living in that universe I can't really discuss the "true" nature of this force thing, but it would seem that given the results, the Jedi really don't know much more than I do.I get the feeling you have a problem with Yoda.
Again, all I saw that they were doing wrong was breaking their own rules and falling victim to hubris. The former can be corrected by being more stringent and the latter, well, I don’t know how to fix that.
Except that the purpose of the Jedi isn’t to just sit around being emotionless. The Force has a will, a destiny, a plan- the Jedi are the Force’s instruments in realizing this destiny. That’s where the Jedi and the Sith differ. The Sith think the reverse is true- that the Force is an instrument for them to use in realizing their goals.
Edit: And as for the bit about their being Texas Rangers- remember that I also said that the mandatory lightsaber training should be thrown out.
Okay, the Lobohanian period of fantastic growth and prosperity for the Jedi order begins thus:
Jedi training becomes something akin to military school. Let people who aren’t dedicated wash out, not force them to live apart from their families.
Jedi are allowed to marry, date and hump prostitute droids. In fact, it’s encouraged. According to the prequels force sensitivity is genetic and bottlenecking your best and brightest is something only someone with as fat a head as Lucas could come up with.
Jedi start wearing body armor. For some reason the Jedi’s enemies haven’t realized that explosives or flame throwers can’t be parried by a 3 mm laser sword. Shit, a shotgun would probably kill them.
Overturning civil authority with a Jedi mind trick becomes a dishonorable discharge offense. Mind controlling the appropriate and legally elected civil authority to give you a submarine to swim through a planet [sic] is a direct affront to the rule of law.
Don’t under any circumstances allow a six year old to even touch a lightsaber. God-damn it Yoda, think!
Institute galaxy wide genetic tests if possible (the Senate might be more amenable to this because Palpatine got to a position of high power a nut-hair from the Chancellorship with evil magic lightning powers). Identify people with high metachlorian counts and offer them high paid civil positions if they are uninterested in Jedi training.
Create a more secular non-Jedi force academy. Set them up for low level conflict resolution and mind reading.
Institute Jedi MMA as a popular sport.
Install a flesh-light in 3PO’s butt.
Annex Tatooine and end slavery.
That last seems more a Senate thing than a Jedi thing. Besides, it was my impression that Tattooine was in the Republic and slavery was tolerated. I haven’t read much – okay – of the novels, though, so I could easily be wrong.
As far as I know, Tatooine was not a Republic world.
Edit: I should have specified. Tatooine was not a Republic world at the time of the prequel movies.
Seems unlikely because Republic money was worthless there.
Which, as an aside, is fantastically stupid, because they were offering more money than a starship would cost. Anyone who could afford a trip off planet could spend that money. Jesus, Lucas is an idiot.
But yeah, it would likely have to be done by the senate. But I’m sure the Jedi could exert some influence.
See I that very perceptive you are. Main cause of stagnation of the Jedi green little goblin was. Shoot him just.
It was technically in the Republic but the Republics was not strong enough at that point to contol its territory.
Yes I read the EU.
Well, let’s compare to how many other things the Jedi turned out to be correct about:
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I mean, seriously, they taught that all emotions (even love) were bad, and that it was impossible to redeem someone who had fallen to the Dark Side, and then Like comes along and manages to redeem Anakin via love. Maybe the only reason they thought it was impossible in the first place was that they were crippling themselves all along by shutting out their emotions. And if you’re going to go by the extended universe, Luke eventually married and had kids, and that didn’t end up driving him evil, either.
Oh, I agree. But I stipulate in the OP that he dies before your ascension to Master Jedi status. I’ve been wondering why no one suggested doing anything about Anakin, though, as I left him alive on purpose.
Even stupider than that: Sure, Watto was immune to the mind trick, but there had to have plenty of merchants in that hive of scum and villainy who weren’t. Even if Watto was the only one with starship parts, it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone to convince to change your money for you, especially at a very profitable rate.
Impossible to redeem someone who had fallen to the Dark Side? Since when?
I never said that marrying and having children will drive a Jedi evil. In my first post I mentioned continuing to let Cerean Jedi marry and procreate. The point is that by marrying and having children you are providing footholds for the Dark Side. Keep in mind that during Luke’s time the Jedi Order was being rebuilt.
I would never rescue him from bondage to begin with. I mean, it’d be nice to try to end slavery on Tatooine but I wouldn’t go there just to free him in particular. Presumably with Pappy and the other baddies dead he could just live out his life as an untrained Force-sensitive.
Actually at the time of AOTC, lightsaber training HAD been reduced, but not yet eliminated. Most Jedi were practicing a less demanding form (form VI, Niman), and relying on their force powers and diplomatic skills.
Which is why all of the form VI practitioners at the battle in the arena were killed.
Again if I were a Sith, attempting from within to bring down the Jedi, I would insist on de-empathizing lightsaber combat. Worked like a charm at the Battle of Geonosis!
I'm sure you would say that the Jedi shouldn't have been involved in the battle of the first place, but the series is called Star WARS, not Star Diplomacy.I would remind my colleagues that “balance” in any force is not the same as domination by one side. If the Force is out of balance, balancing will cause the recessive side to gain influence and the dominant side to recede, and depending on how lanced it is, it will be quite unpleasant to be around when it equalizes. If they truly want balance, they should keep that in mind.
On the emotion suppression thing, at least Kenobi knew it was a dead end, which is why he always told Luke to trust/stretch out with his feelings.
Well, I didn’t say YOU rescued him from bondage, now did I? The OP implies that Episode 1 happens pretty much as it, ah, “recorded.”
And yet there were still toddlers with lightsabers. 
You’ve got me all figured out! 
True. Or they could have looked for a dude with a starship willing to ferry them. I mean that guy would already be where he could spend the money once they got there!
How does something that glaring and stupid get through the writing phase? AARRGH!!!11one
And according to your hypothetical I’m not given control of the Jedi until a year before Revenge of the Sith, right? Well, this is tricky. By this point he’s already a Jedi, even if only an apprentice. I could either confiscate his lightsaber and banish him from the order or I could keep him around.
“Hey buddy, I know about your relationship with Padme. Normally I’d give you a choice: Her or the Jedi. But if you chose to stay with the Jedi we’d have to forbid you from ever seeing or contacting her again and we’d ship you off-world to make sure that you can’t. You’d resent us for it for years to come. It’s the council’s decision to relieve you of duty. You’re a civilian now. Ciao.”