The Force is the Force, Of Course, Of Course

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:30 A.M.

Still no spoilers about Star Wars Episode 7. I've been thinking about the Force, particularly how advocates of the Light Side (Obi-wan, Yoda, etc.) say it's an energy field created by all living things. The Force surrounds us and binds us. Life creates it, makes it grow. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. Yet, if the Force is benevolent and created by life, how are advocates of the Dark Side (Palpatine, Vader, etc.) able to use it in kind? Anakin Skywalker ultimately was not strong-minded. His emotions allowed him to be easily subjugated. How could someone so mercurial hope to use the Force well enough to threaten the Light Side?

I'd prefer it if there were no sides of the Force, if instead it was naturally created and benevolent, with the Light Side attempting to follow its nature and the Dark Side attempting to bend it to their will. Strong, driven personalities like Palpatine can use the Force this way, but it resists them, over time withering them physically. This depiction of the Force explains Palpatine's decaying appearance and Darth Vader's need for an oxygen machine without any reference to Episodes 1–3.

By contrast, following the natural flow of the Force prolongs life, such as Yoda's nine hundred years.

This is by no means official doctrine on the Force, but it makes more sense to me than what's been depicted in the movies. Your thoughts?