General Dodonna: "May the force be with you"

This has been bugging me for a long time.

In ANH, when the rebels are going to attack the Death Star, Dodonna says May the force be with you. Why? Most people think the Jedi are extinct, others simply don´t belive that the force exists (Solo for instance)

 

Why do people still say "bless you" when people sneeze? Do you believe someone could get infected by an evil spirit and/or die if you don't say it? Of course not. It's just a habit ingrained in our society, much like I wager saying "May the Force be with you" is to wish someone luck. The Jedi heydey was only a couple of decades prior, afterall.

L8r

 

Perhaps he was around during the days of the Jedi and saw what happened to them, and figures he's fighting the good fight... the fight the Jedi tried to fight (from what was considered "good" then) and he just started that tradition.

 

Dodonna was fomerly of the Old Republic Navy, so he probably picked it up from the Jedi he likely met during the Clone Wars.

 

Hell, they're badly outnumbered, so they're gonna need all the help they can get, even if it's from an "ancient religion."

 

General Dodonna was a fairly old fellow; unlike, say, Han Solo, he'd have lived well into adulthood before the Jedi Order "met its destiny". Therefore, he's much less likely to accept the Imperial propaganda about the "outdated" Jedi and their "simple tricks and nonsense" than someone who's grown up being force-fed the party line.

Plus, the Jedi were an extremely important part of the Old Republic, the traditional ways of which the Rebellion was fighting to restore -- so it stands to reason the Rebellion would also be strongly supportive of the Jedi and their ways. Dodonna said, "may the Force be with you" because it symbolizes and encapsulates a belief in the ways of a "more civilized age".

 

Yeah, Dodonna's pretty old, so chances are good that he knew of the Jedi back when they existed.

 

Yeah, they'r out numbered and if they fail then they'r all going to die and the planet destroyed. This is the moment to stand up and be counted. "May god bless you" or "may god be on our side" "please god help us" is the same as "may the force be with you"
Although Im not religious and other people arent also, if they'r about to die then im sure they'd say a prayer or two in the vain hope that a mystical force will help them.

 

Well, it's not just Dodonna. In ROTJ, Ackbar does say "May the Force be with us".
I always saw this as a way for the rebels to keep the memory of the jedi knights and the fact that they all died to serve the true republic. It's a testimony to the jedi's ideals.

 

I was just going to post this exact thread today! lol

When I was watching ROTJ the other day, it struck me that Admiral Ackbar said "May the Force be with us". And I thought.....well, the Force is around all living things, so technically it is with them, they just can't use it the way a Jedi can.

As I thought about it more I was just thinking it was more of a "God be with us" or like "good luck".

 

Yeah, contrast that with Leia's briefing of the pilots in ESB, where all she says at the end is "Good luck."

I think only the older generation really understand what the Force and the Jedi were really all about.

 

If you read the EU (specifically The Krytos Trap, Isard's Revenge and I, Jedi) you'll see that Dodonna knew Nejaa Halcyon, a Jedi Master, in the Clone Wars.

 

Because...Dodonna is really.....

SIFO DIAS!!!!!

Errrr....maybe he's Darth Maul, or Qui-Gon...

 

Even if it's not the type of thing somebody like Dodonna would say on a daily basis, I think it's perfectly believable that Dodonna was familiar with the concept of the Force and may have "believed" in it if that's even relevant.

Also, I think it was meant to be inspiring to the pilots, a reminder of the fact that they were fighting to restore the old republic, and even though they were not Jedi, they were the successors of the Jedi legacy in the sense that they were fighting to restore peace and justice to the galaxy.

 

In addition to the explanations already here, I would've thought Luke and/or Leia would've told the Rebels about Kenobi's contribution while inside DS1, revitalizing hope in the Force/Jedi.

 

I wondered about that myself. He probably said it because it was... I dunno... Republicy.