Sith, Jedi, and Force Users, Oh My!

Ok ok, this is one of my big pet peeves.  The Jedi, the Sith, the Force Users, and every other one of those Force-Sensitive factions.  That's right, I said factions.  These groups of people are bound by the same belief in the Force and how it should be used.  Allow some explanation and background information.

The Jedi.  These peoples believe in using the Force for good, for defense, and never for offense.  They attempt at all costs to use non-invasive Force powers on other living things, unless their own lives are in danger.  They battle with honor and on behalf of their council.  The Jedi Council, run by a small group of Masters dictate the direction of the Jedi.  Or, at least they did in the Old Republic.  The New Jedi Order, created by Luke Skywalker, is the last reincarnation of this Force-Sensitive Faction.

The Sith.  The Anti-Jedi, to be blunt.  Their belief is that only by giving into the hate and anger inside yourself can you truly feel power and wield it with any use.  Some Sith may participate in self-mutilation, some may just mutilate innocents.  They deal out swift and severe punishments to those who commit crimes against them, and seek the destruction of the Jedi.  The Sith are a splinter of Jedi who were exiled for their beliefs, and trained on their own in their own corner of the galaxy.  When the time was right, they struck the Jedi back and the Sith War was on.  However, due to the nature of these warriors, it is generally followed that only two may exist at a time, as to not cause conflict inside their own circle.

Force Users.  They're not Jedi; they're not Sith.  They are those who do not choose factions, who do not choose sides, and do not follow any beliefs but their own.  They may train alone; they may train in a group; they may create their own faction.  Potentially, during the Galactic Civil War, there were many Force Users around in the galaxy, unaware of their own potential until many years after the defeat of the Empire. 

Rest assured, the Jedi and the Sith are not the only Force-Sensitive factions around.  The Dathomir Witches, for example, practice their own means and methods, celebrate their own beliefs, and do not call themselves by either of the two aforementioned factions.  The Jedi and the Sith merely represent the largest factions ever created, and thus creating the misconception.

Since most good people that people see using Force powers end up being of the Jedi group and bloodline, those people are referred to Jedi.  Likewise, those using dark powers are said to be in the Sith cult.  This is entirely assumption and not correct at all.  To be a member of the Jedi or the Sith, one must be inducted by existing members and masters.  Only with the approval of the Jedi Council may you be a Jedi, and only when the Sith Lord verifies your deadly abilities are you welcomed. 

This means that any Force User running around is not a Jedi.  You are simply a Force User until the Jedi Council welcomes you.  Or one of the Jedi Masters.  This misconception leads many to write down on character sheets and tell others that they are Jedi, when the Jedi themself are a faction whom you do not represent without their approval. 

They are a way of life, simply a faction, nothing more.  To be one, you must be a member of the faction, not just be Force-Sensitive.  I urge people to recognize the difference.