Seeking the light or seeking the dark?

I have been considering the difference between the light and the dark. I think the basic difference in choosing one of these paths over the other echoes a basic truth when it comes to humanity. That truth being that there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that want to believe and those that want to know. People from all religions and walks of life speak of attaining the light, which represents humility and shunning or removing the darkness, which represents vanity. I see this as no different when it comes to the real life Jedi and Sith.

The Jedi want to rise above the failures of mankind. They want to become something more than human by shedding or suppressing those dark parts of themselves they find undesirable and elevating themselves above those things. They believe in pacifism and the pursuit of knowledge to attain enlightenment. They seek to improve their surroundings, facilitate peace and grow civilization into something Eden-like through the sacrifice of self service to others. They do not seek adventure or excitement and they strive to teach this philosophy to younger generations. It is not actually The Force they worship, it is the ideal of the perfect being represented by movie Jedi. They strive for their own form of "higher being". They are believers in a greater good and an overarching universal truth based in moral absolutes. They believe humans have been chosen or are special and the Jedi are tasked with a divine mission to bring this goodness about in humanity and the world.

The Sith on the other hand, want to become more fully human. They want to become, not perfect, but whole or complete by embracing and integrating those hidden and dark parts of themselves that are generally considered undesirable by others. They embrace their emotions; their lusts and desires and seek knowledge in pursuit of greater strength to pursue their passions. They strive to improve their standing in society by seizing opportunity for growth in personal power. They pursue these things relentlessly, willing to give any sacrifice, even if it means their own destruction. They see the force, not as something to worship, but as something to harness to their benefit. They accept nothing that can’t be shown by evidence to be true. They do not believe in a higher meaning and instead follow a path to create personal meaning only for themselves while they can. Because nothing is permanent and humanity is not special, just another form of life destined to die out eventually, and after it is gone new life will rip up everything they have built and transform it and remold it to their own selfish purposes.

What do you think? Am I accurate in these assessments or not?

While I suspect some people might see the distinction between Jedi and Sith differently, I like yours very much. Whether or not it conforms to any source of dogma, it provides a very useful distinction between two different sorts of people, and allows us to evaluate our own leanings. It caused me to reflect, and I don't think there's any higher compliment that could be paid.

Tongue in cheek, it occurred to me that very simplistic summarizations of the characterizations you offered could be aspiring angels and aspiring Klingons. Your description of the Sith does not necessarily require someone operating under the associated philosophy to be immoral - though I'd guess they'd be more likely than the average person to be amoral. Jedis of your description would be more likely to honor in word and deed some form of moral code, one that supports their ideals of service, contribution, and aspiration toward a higher reality.

I'm glad to have run across your post!

"The Sith on the other hand, want to become more fully human."

I tend to disagree with that association that the Jedi are trying to be something unreachably perfect, superhuman or at least better than human, and on the other hand the Sith, humbly being happy just being truly human with all their shortcomings.

In my view to be truly human means to be capable of enhancement, wisdom, empathy and appreciation, of seeing the light and letting it shine, rather than just accepting humanity's lowest shortcomings and indulging in them.