So how would you put a Jedi order together?

[Jedi Marso]

Wander a few planets, looking for age appropriate candidates who glowed with sufficient Force potential to become Jedi. I'd also look hard at their personal circumstances, upbringing, values, etc. It's easier to work with material that is already ethically grounded than try to instill it in someone who is learning to wield a great power.

Once I had a pool of potential recruits, go about trying to recruit some of them to go somewhere secluded and train. I assume I'd have to be doing this at least partly on the sly from the bad guys, so discretion and keeping it on the down low would be important.

Once the first cadre are trained, have them act as Jedi Knights for a few years. Then recruit the second group and start training them Eventually, have the others start recruiting and training as well, and you're off to the races. The important thing in the beginning would to be establish a philosophy of standardized training so that you aren't teaching your students Force karate while your first apprentice is teaching his students Force aikido, and a third apprentice is teaching her lot Force Tai Chi.

My Jedi would be allowed to marry and have families. They would also be encouraged to integrate into the communities they served. They would remain in close contact with their families and enjoy familial relationships. Some could serve in the military if they chose, some as LEOs, others as scholars or judges in courts. Some would probably prefer to sit like a guru and dispense Force-inspired wisdom to seekers of Force-inspired wisdom. Each sector would have Jedi watchmen to watch over the flock and help maintain peace and justice in the galaxy. That also includes knowing when to sit back and do nothing, rather than interfere.

 

[The Lensman]

"Do you dream of owning a laser sword? Yeah, that's right! A fucking laser sword!!! How cool is that? Well guess what? If you join my Jedi club, you'll not only get a laser sword, you'll be swinging that laser sword in expert fashion in no time! "But Lensman, what good is a laser sword if I don't have crazy rock lifting powers, or the power to convince people that these aren't the droids they're looking for?" Well good news amigo! You've already got those, and we'll train you how to use them along with that bitchin laser sword! So get to gww.holyshitigetalasersword.com and register today!"

 

[Qonundrum]

You are in your early twenties, you've got some dusty old books and a few weeks training from a weird alien who lived in a cave.

Why would you be able to put together a successful Jedi order?

Well, I'd take the fries and place them on the tray on the lower-right quadrant. The sodiepop needs to be on the upper-right quadrant. The primary obesity-enabling entree needs to be on the mid-left side. It's successful only if enough people order it, even if it's only once.

I'd put out flyers and tell potential participants they're like all special and warm and fuzzy and realize they're different and how we've got competitive health insurance. Reel them into the group and get them to realize they had no special powers, just good hand-eye coordination (like at shooting rats from a long distance in a speeding vehicle or when practicing the greatest rite when they're fully accepted into the Order).

Granted, one of them will think they're better at ruling. So we whip out our light sabers but instead of dueling, we're inclusive and inviting and sharing and have a different sort of hand-eye coordination thang goin' on...

Not sure - although if you were recruiting people for your mystical cult - it's likely an advantage that they have a low level of literacy.

As an aside, what makes me laugh about the new films is that I have a lot of education and qualifications including a PhD and I sound like a country bumpkin and Rey grew up on effectively a trash-heap and has a lovely clear speaking voice and wonderful diction.

And yet people keep ragging on RP as if it's a bad thing...

 

[Reverend]

For me the more fundamental questions that need answering before even attempting this are: what does it mean to be a Jedi? What, if any role should Jedi play in larger affairs? Why the the old Order fail? How did it begin? How did it change over time and why?

To my way of thinking, a large part of why the Jedi fell in the first place was because they strayed too far from their origins and my increments over the millennia became something they were never intended. We all tend to think of the Jedi as they were around the time of the Clone Wars, the semi-militant order of warrior monks sent to quell rebellion and strife within a political and bureaucratic apparatus. But is that really how they started off?

One of the things that massively put me off the old EU's "Dawn of the Jedi" comics was that they attempted to tell a story where the Order appears almost whole cloth as if by divine (or rather "mysterious alien") providence. It focused mostly of the meaningless, superficial elements and never really got to the core of what a Jedi is or even how the light and the dark side works.

I think with the Disciples & Guardians of the Whills we perhaps get a true glimpse of the Jedi of the Old Republic, before the Sith schism. Monks and priests that worship and contemplate the mystical energy field that emanates from and connects all living things and protects the sacred sites where this force appears strongest so that all may come, look within and learn of themselves.

In my mind I see the very early Jedi not as warriors, knights or the protectors of the Republic but as travelling monks and teachers in a very wild and unsettled galaxy. Seeking and sharing knowledge before passing it onto the next generation. Indeed, teaching is so at the core of Jedi philosophy that even towards the end, the passing on of knowledge from one Jedi to another is implicitly within the Jedi Code and the final test for a Knight to become a Master is for their Padawan to themselves be Knighted. Perhaps, overtime their ubiquity, grasp of philosophy, dedication to fostering peace in all things and their unquestionable neutrality made them trusted arbiters between the warring kingdoms and fiefdoms of the pre-Republic galaxy.
Over time, perhaps they nurtured those warring states into founding what would become the Old Republic and were appointed as the protectors of peace and justice. Not enforcers or the arbiters of good and evil they became, but as they were before; arbiters, teachers, philosophers and the glue that kept the galaxy together...much like the force itself.

I suspect it wasn't until the Sith faction broke away that the Order began to fail. Both from the internal trauma and strife caused by any major schism, but also as a direct response to the new rival order that wasn't so timid about wielding their knowledge of the force and their martial skills intended for defence and protection only into weapons of conquest. So, action brings reaction and the Jedi changed to face the threat of the Sith, meeting them blow for blow and thus, ultimate sealing the fate of them both.

So, if one were to create a new order, would it be the cloistered monks of old? The travelling teachers or the jumpy, flippy, "cut-their-hands-off-with-a-laserswordy" self appointed arbiters of good and evil that we're more familiar with?

 

[USS Firefly]

I blame yoda a little bit for the fall of the Jedi.
I don't think it's a good thing to have a leader or a grand master for life time.
I think it's better to change the council after a couple of years, and let the masters travel and teach new Padawans.

 

[Reverend]

I blame yoda a little bit for the fall of the Jedi.
I don't think it's a good thing to have a leader or a grand master for life time.
I think it's better to change the council after a couple of years, and let the masters travel and teach new Padawans.

IIRC the way the council is set up only some members are permanent. The rest are a mix of short and mid-term postings. Yoda being Grand Master is mostly just due to the bold fact of him being the he's the oldest Jedi alive. And while yes some of the responsibility for the fall of the order is his, he inherited an Order that had potentially been on the decline for hundreds, if not thousands of year...plus we don't exactly know how long he's been Grand Master. Yes, he's 900 years old, but he could have already been in his 800's when he accepted the position.

As for having the Masters train more padawans: some do (indeed the fact that Qui-Gon was already a Master when he trained Obi-Wan strongly indicates that Kenobi wasn't his first apprentice.) But remember that there's only so many padawans to go around and at any one time there's going to be more Knights than Masters, so it makes sense that the Knights be the ones to take the lion's share of the potential apprentices with the older more experienced Masters focusing on the early training of the younglings, before they're apprenticed (as we saw Yoda doing in AotC.)

This is important for a number or reasons: firstly, as mentioned in my previous post, passing on knowledge and wisdom is at the core of what Jedi are supposed to be about and for a Knight to become a Master they must (usually) train a Padawan to Knighthood (hence Anakin's bitterness about his rank in RotS, given what went down with Ahsoka.) Secondly, the wisdom of the senior masters is best applied to the younger acolytes in their most formative years, where (in theory) the troubled cases can be guided and the talented cases properly nurtured. Thirdly: because of their responsibilities, the senior Masters are bound to be spending most of their time at the Temple, which is no place for a Padawan to become a Jedi. They need to go out into the galaxy with the Knights if they are to learn.

 

[JD]

I gave kind of a joke answer, so now I have a serious one.
I would leave a few things from the old order, like the one on one knight and Padawan set up, and I'd keep a Council of the most senior members of the order.
I would get rid of the rules against connections with others, both romantic and otherwise. The Jedi are supposed to be protectors of the people, so I would want my Jedi to actually know the people they are protecting. I don't think there would a problem with the Jedi marrying and having children, those relationships do bring out strong emotions, but I think as long as the individual is stable that wouldn't necessarily be a problem. I'd also get rid of the age restrictions, Luke proved that it was possible for someone to begin training as an adult and still tun out OK. It would also be a lot easier to handle future child students if there were other trained adults around without having to wait decades for them to be able to help.

 

[Kor]

You are in your early twenties, you've got some dusty old books and a few weeks training from a weird alien who lived in a cave.

Why would you be able to put together a successful Jedi order?

For one thing, I wouldn't be so dogmatic about the nature of The Force and it's various "sides."

Kor

 

[Ithekro]

Probably wait on the whole "rebuilding the order" bit. Start small. Get students. Set up a relatively secluded place to train them in the Force. Maybe make sure it has a location strong in the Dark Side (like Yoda's cave) or one of the old ruined temples so that you can provide lessons similar to how you were trained. After you get a good core group of Jedi Knights and some that are ready to train their own students, than think about making on Order and what it can provide to the Republic, or if it should provide anything to the Republic, or just be a Order that studies the Force, rather than be Galactic Peacekeepers and Guardians. Leave that for future generations, once the number of Jedi can matter on more than a few dozen beings, or only one Jedi or pair of Jedi per Region, much less someone that can look into any given sector's problems.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Reality tv show.

To whom shall Luke give a lightsaber?

 

[Reverend]

Here's a notion: maybe Luke wasn't suppose to rebuild the order. Yoda said "pass on what you have learned", not: "rebuild a hierarchical, bureaucratic system of organised belief with laser swords!"

Maybe instead of rekindling the old religion, a better idea would be to contemplate why it failed and what can be learned from it, then share that knowledge of the force to any that wish it, whether they can move rocks with their brain or not.

 

[arch101]

I would do absolutely nothing the Republic -era order did. We all saw how well that was working out.
Seriously, the order needed a major rethink. I think this is what the new films are getting at. Luke tried to establish a classic style order and it blew up in his face. The whole concept of a Jedi order needs to be reworked. Probably made less isolated too.

 

[Kor]

Unlike the old Jedi Order which heartlessly forbade attachment and marriage, the postmodern Jedi Order constitutes a massive group marriage in which all members are simultaneously married to each and every other member of the order.

Kor

 

[Jedi_Master]

1) Education - collecting and cataloging the various sources of Force lore and knowledge (would likely need help)
1a) Training - teaching the basics to the various Force sensitives of the galaxy
1b) Codification - creating the new framework of the Jedi Order, excising some of the unworkable parts of the previous Order, and adding new directives that minimize the binary framework of the previous Jedi/Sith divide.
2) Funding - how with the Jedi Order pay it's bills? Would it be supported by Republic tax dollars, and thus serve as a quasi-governmental group?
3) Growth - create and support various satellite Academies, training centers, bases, etc.

99) Robe design. The order needs have distinctive garb, but it need not be boring.

 

[BillJ]

Why would you be able to put together a successful Jedi order?

There can only be two: one with the mop, the other with the bucket.

 

[Reverend]

I'm curious why people seem to think that allowing Jedi to marry would somehow improve things. I mean the one Jedi we know for a fact got married wound up murdering younglings...perhaps that rule was there for a reason, no?

 

[BillJ]

I'm curious why people seem to think that allowing Jedi to marry would somehow improve things. I mean the one Jedi we know for a fact got married wound up murdering younglings...perhaps that rule was there for a reason, no?

Perhaps they need to open up the new Jedi Temple next to a psychiatrist's office?

 

[Kor]

99) Robe design. The order needs have distinctive garb, but it need not be boring.

I'm curious why people seem to think that allowing Jedi to marry would somehow improve things. I mean the one Jedi we know for a fact got married wound up murdering younglings...perhaps that rule was there for a reason, no?

And that one Jedi got married on the down low, against the rules of the Jedi Order. He therefore felt like he was unable to openly turn to that order for help when he believed that Padme's life was in danger. He ran right into Palpatine's arms in the seeming absence of any alternative.

Kor

 

[Reverend]

I rather think this perception at least partly stems from the odd way the old EU seemed to characterise Jedi in contrast to what Lucas actually envisaged them as. The way the EU showed it (post RotJ), "Jedi Knight" was somewhere between getting your first aid certification and being a part time vigilante/weekend warrior type. And if you do that enough, then Luke will say "OK, I guess you can be a Master now. Good job on not blowing up any more inhabited solar systems Kyp!"

Whereas what it's actually suppose to be is a deeply religious monastic order. A lifelong commitment to selfless service of the greater community. That requires a lot of personal sacrifice and self discipline.

And that one Jedi got married on the down low, against the rules of the Jedi Order. He therefore felt like he was unable to openly turn to that order for help when he believed that Padme's life was in danger. He ran right into Palpatine's arms in the seeming absence of any alternative.

Kor

Well that seems to suggest he would be *less* attached to Padme if he were allowed to marry her openly. I mean this still ends with him having visions of her imminent death, no? Not being able to openly marry is not what made Anakin an evil murderer; he was already on that path well before then. Hell, he'd slaughtered a bunch of kids not a few days prior to his wedding night! You'd think Padme would have taken that as a bit of a red flag.

And get this: there *was* an alternative. Anakin could openly be her husband any damn time he wanted, and all he had to do was quit the Order and walk away. Nobody was stopping him from leaving and living any kind of life he wanted, but he wanted it all his own way. In a word: selfish.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I'm curious why people seem to think that allowing Jedi to marry would somehow improve things. I mean the one Jedi we know for a fact got married wound up murdering younglings...perhaps that rule was there for a reason, no?

No romantic relationships - formal or otherwise - were allowed. That's a recipe for disaster.