Listen to Tolkien’s son Christopher talk about his father’s concept of “The Machine” and tell me he didn’t have real revelation and prophetic insight into what was coming for humanity
My dorkly opinion, which I have shared before: the Jedi as depicted in the prequels never worked for me. I greatly preferred the picture Uncle Ben paints in the 1977 original. Prospective Jedi are recruited as adults, not drafted as children. They have free will. And they train each other. There is no academy. They conduct their business moving about in ones and twos. Perhaps no more than three? Jedi are wandering ronin. Not a space force of wizarding battle cops doing the Republican Senate's will. Instead, the Jedi are independent. Secretive. Mysterious. Keeping their own counsel. Bending no knee to any political entity. And only getting involved in galactic events when the need is very, very dire.