The Dark Side

The dark side of the Force is innately tied to the distinctly negative ethical paradigm of the Sith. It is largely based on emotions and passion rather than peace and serenity which are preached by the light side of the force. The dark side of the Force comes from the hate, vengeance, and malice in all living things.

The Jedi believe that emotions such as fear, uncertainty, doubt, anger, suffering, and attachment are "inevitably" self-destructive, and lead to the dark side. The Sith philosophy, on the other hand, is to use such emotions to fuel one's own will to power, ego, and selfishness. The inevitably destructive havoc caused by the actions of a dark side practitioner are conveniently forgotten or excused as serving a greater purpose under this philosophy... they believe that instead of living along side the Force, one must master it and use it as a tool.

The negative emotions increase the strength and abilities of a dark side practitioner. As a result, the dark side of the force is extremely addictive: every time one calls on its power, one becomes more and more attached to it. The dark side is not only mentally corruptive, but also physically corruptive: over time, the raw power wastes away the body of a dark side adept.

Overall, dark side relationships and organizations are inherently unstable... the pupil-master relationship of the Jedi is perverted under the Sith, as both the apprentice and the master naturally plot against one other, and one will eventually kill the other. Every time a dark side force has risen in the Star Wars galaxy, it has collapsed from within due to its own unstable nature.

All my life I have always chosen the path of virtue, but will there come a time when I choose the quick and easy path... follow the path of my own dark side? Could doing that consume my life? Would it in essence kill the person I am now? Will I always have the strength to do what is right?

I have the opportunity to have someone greatly discredited or even fired. This person has been nothing but vile and maliciously vicious to people I care about. I can't even begin to express the amount of pain he has caused people. I have a choice... I can sit around and wait (hope) that everything will work its way out and that he'll eventually be so destructive on his own that he'll get himself fired... or I can use what power I have to make him look incompetent and perhaps even have him fired for all of the rules and regulations that he blatantly breaks on a daily basis. Doing the latter would most likely require me to walk down a dark path to achieve a decisive victory.

If I could end someone's evil reign of terror on those I care about, wouldn't that be the right thing to do? What if the only way to stop this person was to sink to their same level, would it still be the right thing to do? Would I be doing it for justice or revenge? Would I be basing my decisions off of peace and serenity, or emotions and passion? Could I ever be driven by hate, vengeance, or malice?