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There's a great concept for the Force that's been developed in the New Jedi Order series. I can't really remember it exactly, so anyone who's read the books feel free to correct me. There really is no "light" or "dark" side of the Force. Everyone has light and dark inside themselves, and the key is finding a balance between these two things--nothing is absolute. It's explained much better in the novels...maybe I should do some research or go back and read tbe books again.
Good does not exist without evil.
My viewpoint, stated as simply as possible. Call me unconventional in my thought.
1. The Jedi-Sith rift is not "good" versus "evil".
2. The Jedi-Sith rift is one of "balanced minds" versus "unbalanced minds".
3. Therefore, the Force is balanced only when those who are unbalanced die.
4. Thus, Anakin fulfills the prophecy in E.VI by killing the Emperor, then dying.
Long version for those who care to read it:
1. Accept this so I can state 2.
2. Remember what the Emperor says? The Jedi and Sith have the same eventual goal - to preserve peace. The Sith do it through gathering all the power for themselves selfishly, and rely on their pride and strength and arrogance to do so. The Jedi are like Zen warriors - in combat, they simply fight without fear of dying. Of course, the Sith do have fears. In the Bhagavad Gita, this is the divining principle of the warriors Lord Krishna supports - the principle of karma*. Not Western bullcrap karma, Hindu karma. Verse 4.22 states:
[q=My favorite part]He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord,
who is free from duality and whose mind is fixed in Self-knowledge,
who is free from envy and is equanimous in both success and failure,
is not bound by Karma.[/q]
3. Follows logically from 1 and 2.
4. Follows from evidence in E.III,VI, and logically from 3.
This will most probably be my only Star Wars related post**, though I am somewhat drawn to the discussion, and will most probably be reading reactions to this post, and nothing more. The rest of the threads are too homogenized with the same Western lines of thought anyways.
*By now, you should be wondering what the hell "karma" really is. Simply stated: Karma is the path to God through "doing one's duty and fulfilling one's role and destiny". In the quote, one who fits all those criteria is no longer bound by this path, so to speak; one has already reached God. So the idea is not just to fulfill Karma (by fitting various spiritual criteria outlined in the Gita), but to break free from it.
**Except for spam, of course.
edit: Oh shoot, I guess I could have chosen (a) instead (chose (c)). :p
You're all wrong, Kyle Katarn brought balance to the force and you know it.
Mind Trick AND Lightning? MADNESS
I went with option 3. The Force is just a power, neither good nor evil in nature. The struggle of the Jedi vs. Sith wasn't a necessarily struggle of good vs. evil, but of selflessness vs. selfishness. Yes, to many it would appear that it was good and evil, and I think that is what Lucas was trying to convey.
Often we put "selfish" and "evil" together as we would put "selfless" and "good". But when you think about it, it isn't always that easy to separate. I believe that the true power behind the Force comes from understanding how to keep the balance between the two opposing forces of selfishness and selflessness.