Year Seven – Day 45A
This entry is not a recording, but a submission of a file. It is the essay that Dooku had been working on days before and it seems he had made it an entry for his personal journal. The essay has been graded with high marks despite that it did not conform to the parameters of the assignment. There is also a note that the essay was not counted as part of his overall grade.
The Force and The Republic
by Yan Dooku
The Force is all encompassing, it binds the universe together and creates life and guides those who can feel its influence. It's whisper has guided countless men and women of all races throughout history; to victory against those who would conquer and oppress, to protecting the helpless and the innocent, to restoring and keeping the peace where turmoil broiled. History is made by those who can command the Force, so why are those who are touched by it disallowed to make history anymore?
Fear is a powerful emotion and it can influence a person's decisions for better or for worse. It is this emotion that has led to the Jedi Order to becoming nothing more than peacekeepers and negotiators. The Jedi High Council were not afraid of becoming the Sith, but rather it were the politicians who felt the galaxy had suffered enough from Jedi falling to the Darkside. So in order to prevent the Jedi from becoming Sith again, Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum created and pushed for the Reformation Act that would see to the dismantling of the Army of Light and the restructuring of the Jedi Order and making it answerable to the Republic Senate instead of just the Supreme Chancellor (GR 3).
"For twenty-four thousand years the Jedi Knights were keepers of the peace and justice" (Farfalla 20). During those twenty-four thousand years we fought the wars that no one else was willing to fight. We banished our own kin for daring to think radically because it would lead us down a dark path, one that the galaxy would not want us to follow. We were purged numerous times by those who hated and feared us, who wanted revenge or to simply get us out of their way of conquest. We bled and died for the galaxy and asked nothing in return and yet when we finally vanquished the Sith once and for all, how does the galaxy repay us for our service?
They turn us into a glorified security force that has to be constantly watched just so one of us does not fall to the Darkside and start up another thousand years of darkness and war. The politicians fear that which they cannot comprehend and what they cannot comprehend, they try to destroy or control it. Supreme Chancellor Valorum knew he could not disband the Jedi Order, so he opted to trying to control it, to weaken its influence in the galaxy so that it would not be exposed to the elements that caused the Jedi Exiles to fall to the Darkside and form the Sith Order and therefore restart the cycle again (Valorum 124).
Tarsus Valorum is wrong about them. The Jedi Exiles did not fall to the Darkside and found the Sith Order because they were corrupted by power, they fell to the Darkside because they were persecuted by their fellow Jedi for studying forbidden knowledge. They founded the Sith Order out of revenge and to survive after they had been exiled by the Republic to Wild Space. The Jedi are not responsible for the creation of the Sith. The Republic is responsible for them and thousands of years later, men like Valorum choose to ignore that piece of information and accuse us, the Jedi, for causing the last few thousand years of conflict because they believe our power corrupts us. For some fallen Jedi, that is the case but for most who had fallen "it is out of desperation or for the love of the very same establishment that now condemns them" (Cerulian 243).
Valorum believed that by reducing the influence of those who can command the Force, that he would be reducing the risk of a devastating war breaking out again. He believed that peace could last longer than a few decades and that the Jedi would not have to lead armies again. Perhaps he is right about the latter, we haven't led an army since the dismantling of the Army of Light, but peace is a lie. There has been no peace in the galaxy since the Reformation Years. Although there has been no war between the Jedi and the Sith for the last nine-hundred years, there have been conflicts between the Jedi and other Force sects or Dark Jedi who choose to break away from the rules and restrictions placed on the Order by the Reformation Act.
The Jedi have been involved in over three thousand, six hundred and seventy-four notable conflicts in the last nine-hundred and eight years. Two hundred and fourteen of those have been major wars with various factions, half of which were fought against the Hutt Empire (Russco 430) and six of which were fought against the Mandalorians (Ordo 902). Whereas before the Reformation Act, the only major wars the Jedi Order had to fight in the last four thousand years were the ones started by the Sith, the Mandalorians or the Hutts and they total less than the number the Jedi have had to fight since the Reformation Act.
Why is that? Why has the galaxy seen less conflict before the Reformation Act than it does after? It is because the Jedi Order was allowed to hold political and military power within the Republic! Our influence was far and wide and we were able to stop conflicts before they could fester into a full scale war by simply reminding people of the consequences of such a conflict would bring to both themselves and the galaxy should it come to war. No one wanted to fight a Jedi led Republic army, it would have been a forgone conclusion with the Jedi and the Republic coming out as the victors. The only time they had ever lost were when the Sith or Mandalorians became involved and led an army of their own against the Republic (Russco 382).
The Jedi were also well respected and revered by many, and we had many allies and friends in the political arena. A simple word to a person of influence could change the outcome of a conflict. The presence of a revered Jedi Master would be enough to make rivals become friends before he even had stepped off the transport. The Jedi Order held much power in the old days before the Reformation Years. We did not have to bring our lightsabers out for some aggressive negotiations as often as we do now. The people of the galaxy did not test the patience and discipline of the Jedi like they do now. "More Jedi have died in these times of peace than they have in all the wars we have fought since the formation of the Sith Order" (Cerulian 250).
It should also be noted that whenever a Jedi has been elected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, there has been a greater sense of peace in the galaxy than there ever has when a non-Jedi leads. Jedi Master Ola Reysan is one such Jedi Chancellor that has led the Republic through twenty years of peace before the Sith returned and disrupted the tranquility. Under her leadership the Republic saw an economic boom stretching from the Core to the Mid Rim and to a few worlds out in the Outer Rim, my homeworld Serenno being among those to benefit from the economic reforms created by her administration. It also saw fewer trade disputes and political unrest during her tenure and the foundations of the anti-slavery laws in the Expansion Region of the Republic (Singh 4390).
However Jedi Chancellor Reysan would be condemned by the Jedi High Council for the decisions preceding her resignation from the seat of office. From a certain point of view, a person could argue that she had done exactly what Tarsus Valorum feared would happen, and possibly based his decision on, however, on the other hand, a person could argue that Reysan had done what any leader in her position should have and would have done had they been privy to the same knowledge she had possessed. "Jedi Chancellor Reysan had forsaken her religious views to prepare the Republic and the Jedi for the coming war she had foreseen. Had she not, I can only imagine how the subsequent Mandalorian War and Sith Wars would have turned out with a Republic unprepared for the magnitude of death and destruction." (Singh 4398).
Although in the end she would be seen as a corrupted Jedi by her peers, she would be considered, by history as one of the greatest chancellors the Republic has ever had. Even now, today, we continue to honor her with a statue in the Senate Rotunda, even if the Jedi are reluctant to do the same in our own halls. Reysan, in the end, may have chosen immoral decisions and embraced the darker methods commonly associated with our dark brethren, her intentions were good and she helped save millions of lives. Could she have chosen differently to achieve the same results? Perhaps she could have, but Jedi do not dwell on the "what ifs" and the past. What was done is done and Reysan is an example of a Jedi leader willing to do what is necessary to protect the people of the galaxy, even at a great cost to themselves.
Jedi Master Ola Reysan's foresight granted by the Force helped her lead the Republic through twenty years of peace and prosperity and it cannot be argued against that it is such a terrible thing to have as a leader. Without it, where would have the Republic been in those decades and the wars proceeding afterward? We know where exactly the Republic would be without the Force leading it's people, the last thousand years are testament to a lack of the Force in politics and the everyday function of the Republic.
Cited Works
Cerulian, Master Thame. "The Order of the Dark Lords." Treatise of the Jedi Order 280 (873): 240-255. Holonet 5-3-909.
Farfalla, Master Valenthyne. Masters of the Force. Republic City: Coruscanti Publications, 10. Print.
Ordo, Mandalore Chas. Blood, Guts and Glory: The Mando'a Way. Keldabe: Galactic Books, 2374. Print.
Galactic Republic. Senate. Committee on Constitutional Reformation. Hearing on the Restructuring of the Jedi Order. 976th Senate, 3rd sess. Coruscant: RPO, 23,989. Print.
Russco, Prof. Dunald. History of the Galactic Republic. Republic City: Coruscanti Publications, 890. Print.
Valorum, Chancellor Tarsus. "Reforming the Republic: The Autobiography of Tarsus Valorum." 42. Holonet file.
Singh, Dr. Yular. Chancellors of the Republic. Republic City: Coruscanti Publications, 905. Print.
Year Seven – Day 45B
The next entry has Dooku sitting at a desk in his room. He looks irritable and bored at the same time. A stack of datacards are to his right and his datapad lays flat in front of him. He's typing lazily at the keys before resting his head on a propped arm.
Master Jeedo praised me on my essay and even gave it high marks, but told me it would not count towards my overall score for the class. He says he will give me a second chance to write the assignment I was given, but it won't receive the full marks it would have gotten if I had done it the first time. It's not fair. I do not agree with him or the ancient Council's decisions to bar us from any office of power within the Republic.
He sighs and pushes away the datapad and scowls a bit.
I'll do his stupid assignment and then one day I'll prove to him and the others that a Jedi can make an excellent politician. At least a Jedi won't succumb to the corruption that plagues the Senate everyday. I mean, what good does greed and wealth do for a Jedi? We wouldn't need it to bribe people after all. We have the Force and would know which avenue to take to get someone on our side. It's that simple, right?
A comlink beeps somewhere behind him and he glances over his shoulder at it before calling it to him. Lorian's voice is heard on the other end.
"Hey, you done with that assignment yet?"
No.
"Aww," complained the other boy. "When will you?"
Probably never. Why?
"I just got finished with my last class for the day and I was wondering if you wanted to sneak out of the Temple and go exploring. We're old enough now."
I would but I do have this essay to finish.
The look he gave the comlink suggested that he knew they were not old enough to be outside of the Temple by themselves, but didn't bother pointing that out to his friend.
"Finish it later. I'll meet you at the Auxiliary Maintenance 94 passageway in ten. We can get out that way."
But...
"Come ooooon, Yan," pleaded Lorian. "You spend way too much time with your studies. You need a break. So do I."
Dooku is quiet as he contemplates on going or not.
"Jocasta and Medea are coming. You're not gonna let them show you up are you?"
Alright, I'm coming!
The recorder shows him getting up and searching through his room for his cloak and utility belt. He snatches the curved hilt of his lightsaber from the bed before he's seen hurrying out of the room.
