Star Wars and the Redemption of Anakin Skywalker

Whoever made this meme does not understand Star Wars. The whole point is that EVEN someone as evil as Darth Vader has good in them, even if they've forgotten and that all of us deserve a chance to reject the Dark Side. 

Does saving Luke make up for all of his selfish, evil deeds? Nope. But did Anakin Skywalker return and reject the Dark Side. Yup.

Star Wars does not teach us that WE should forgive Darth Vader.  

Star Wars teaches us that we should forgive ourselves.

It teaches us to not let the mistakes from our past prevent us from doing the right thing now, in this moment. Star Wars teaches us that even after we choose the Dark Path, it is up to us to decide for ourselves if forever it will dominate our destiny.

"Do...or do not. There is no Try" - Yoda WASN'T dealing in absolutes like a Sith

There has been much made of  Yoda's line from Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, "Do or Do Not.  There is no Try" that points out the hypocrisy of such a statement of an "absolute" when in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Obi-wan exclaims quite clearly that only the Sith deal in absolutes.

Well, I think the famous line really isn't about absolutes.  I think it's about intent and expectations. 

The character, Yoda, is saying that he believes that you shouldn't start a task, unless you expect that you will succeed...or, in other words, you don't plan on giving up.  You must trust in The Force that the correct outcome will be successful.

I think that's why it is important to see the difference between "trying" and "doing".  It's the difference between the Means and the Goal.  The difference between the "HOW you do it" and the "WHAT you have accomplished once you are done".  Lifting the ship from the swamp, by whatever means, is the HOW you do it.  Having the ship on dry land is WHAT you have done.  

Even if an attempt fails, then you still continue trying.  The actions chosen for each subsequent attempt will be different than the earlier attempts, because they will be made with the knowledge of what didn't work the last time.  And you keep trying until you have reached your goal.  Until you are done.

One final side note, though...if try and try and discover that something really is impossible, then George Lucas...through Yoda has thoughts on that, too.  That is when you need to let go of your attachments and move on to something else.