50 Reasons why Star Wars is Better than Star Trek

11. The Jedi Code vs The Prime Directive

The Jedi Code and the Prime Directive are very similar, in so much as they both teach peace and knowledge first. However, which one of the two is more practical? How many times have we seen the Prime Directive broken because of the need to accomplish a mission, or even by accident? Then again, how many Jedi follow the tenets of their own code, and can such a code even be practically followed, in time of war?

The problem with the Prime Directive is that each Starfleet Captain can interpret it as he or she sees fit. it has been breached several times throughout Trek’s long history, whether it was Kirk and Bones relocating a people from the eruption of a volcano that would have wiped them out, or when Kirk and the crew gave a vaccination to a deadly virus to a people on a planet resembling earth. Others would have us believe that the Prime Directive is absolute: “The Prime Directive is not a matter of degree. It is an absolute.” ~Worf.

Winner: The Jedi Code. According to Obi-Wan, only the Sith deal in absolutes, so is the Prime Directive fallible? Can the Jedi Code be followed more closely than the PD? I think so, as the Prime Directive has too many guidelines and too many species and star systems to cover. The Jedi Code can be followed, even in time of war, just look to Obi-Wan Kenobi as the example. He gave himself to the Force, allowing Vader to strike him down so that he could better guide Luke.

Next: #10 J.J. vs J.J.