I have my own thought on midichlorians: Qui-Gon was wrong. No big conspiracy or anything. He was just in-universe misinformed, such that cause and effect were reversed.
You're not strong in the Force because you have midichlorians. If that were the case General Grievous's attempt to become Force sensitive by infusing the blood of Syfo Dias would've worked.
You have a lot of midichlorians because you're strong in the Force, and they're drawn to that like flies.
It's still a useful measure, but there's no causal element to them.
Especially when you consider that it was coined to refer to literally impossible action. It's not meant to be about self-reliance or whatever, it's something that cannot be done.
Not me but my uncle had a meeting scheduled at the WTC on 9/11. Only reason he wasn't there was because somebody moved the venue across town the night before.
For years now I've responded to anybody saying we should "respect our elders" by saying "they just don't make elders like they used to."
It was easy to be old and wise when the world only changed on a scale of centuries. Now it's easy to see large cultural changes every decade or less; the wisdom of somebody who came of age in the 1950s is of no value today if they've learned nothing else since.