Harry Potter Essay

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The Rants and Raves Page was getting so large—heheheh-- that I decided to move my Harry Potter essay (rant) from a year ago to it’s own page. This would have been the year the first book was published--- The Philosopher's Stone in America and The Sorcerer's Stone in Europe and South Africa. I will be adding more Harry Potter related items to this page at a later date. My objective now is to just free it from the bulk of the regular R&R page. This is the essay as I wrote it over a year ago. But, heh--- crazy zealot religious types are still burning the books and running amok spouting all kinds of nasty vituperations about Harry and Witches. This essay is as timely today as it was a year ago.

Enjoy, Raven

I have some scrolls and potions to attend to before putting quill to parchment here. Meanwhile, please read my rant regarding Harry Potter as well as various other rants and raves. Then bookmark my page and check out my other WebPages as well as those listed in my “Links” section. P.S. There’s some personal Harry Potter info at the end of the page. The coincidence (synchronicity?) is rather amazing. Travel there and come back often to see what has me ranting and raving.

Blessings, Raven...


Well, you asked, so here it is.

Baneful Banning of Books

First of all, I would like to thank Wren and Fritz for their Wren’s Nest on the Web and The Witches’ Voice and for all of their timely reports concerning information that is relevant and important to all persons, especially “non-traditional” religious persons. I “religiously” check Wren’s news every time I log onto the Internet. I would just like give her a BIG THANK YOU, WREN for keeping us abreast of what is happening and giving us a chance to comment. I would also like to thank you for posting this in its entirety on your own website. Thanks, Wren



Okay, so the pagans threw the Christians to the lions a couple thousand years ago. It did not, however, last for hundreds of years as has the persecution in all its myriad forms that the Christians have thrust upon pagans ever since. Because I have had a foot in each world, I feel qualified to discuss this particular case. I want the intolerances toward pagans and others to end and the laws of the First Amendment upheld. We cannot be lulled into complacency. The actions of those that would trample on our constitutional rights must be addressed whenever and wherever they rear their ugly heads. Like anyone else, I want to love others as well as the next person, but when a few start abusing my rights to religious freedom and condemning beliefs I hold sacred, I cannot just sit idly and quietly by hoping someone else will stifle the miscreants.



Therefore, I am replying to an article that appeared in the The Oregon Live News Flash. NOTE: I used to have a link to the aforementioned news site, but it gets repeatedly broken. However, I found it on the Google Search Engine. I suggest trying Google directly. At the present time, it is the first link they display. Actually, there really isn’t any great need to go there as I give an account of what the article related pertaining to the complaint by the Wilsons. Please continue. . .


This is an article in which a born again Christian is complaining about the Harry Potter books. It states, "Greg and Arlena Wilson said the books include witchcraft and divination, which is the occult practice of predicting the future. . .He said the practice of witchcraft is disrespectful to God, and the books encourage children to be disrespectful to their parents." The key operative words here are "whose God"? Why should a school ban a book just because a born again Christian wants it banned? Under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America all citizens are entitled to pursue their own concept of God/Goddess/Jelly Bean Tree, or what have you. Why should a school ban a book when the majority do not want it banned, and those wanting to ban it are basing this desire on their own personal beliefs?



Terrorism wears many faces. Fanaticism in the form of born again or zealous fundamentalist Christians trying to force their religious beliefs upon others is one example. Religious extremists, or zealots, who justify abnormal, and often dangerous behavior in the furtherance of their convoluted beliefs, are terrorists. Their mission, as they see it, becomes one of inflicting their beliefs upon others in order to "save" as many souls as they can. The scary thing about this is that they feel totally justified in doing so because they believe it is "God’s will", and for them this supersedes the law. Wake up everyone. This is the reason they are trying to change laws, get their candidates elected, ban books, put the Ten Commandments into the classrooms, and so forth adnauseam. They are trying to change the laws governing separation of church and state in America so they can implement their plans for influencing young people’s minds as they see fit. They have even gone so far as to try to get other religions outlawed.



It seems incredulous to me that there are still those who are yammering away about the evils of someone else’s religion and religious practices/rituals/books as we go clamoring into the 21st Century.




There are a plethora of quotes from the Bible that I could use to argue against this kind of prejudice and religious intolerance, such as the passages, "judge not others. . .", or "get the log out of your own eye before trying to take the splinter out of the other guy's eye" but these get old and tripe when trying to reason with rascals. Bottom line here is that the school handled this bigotry quite properly and with common sense. The parents objected to the Harry Potter books, so little "Tommy", a fourth grader, was allowed to leave his classroom and go to the library for the duration of the reading. "They want it [the Harry Potter books] withdrawn not only for their child, but for all children," said interim school superintendent Gary Bruner, who read one of the books at the urging of his 14-year-old son. "I thought it was a pretty well-written, motivating and exciting book," he said."



Note for all religious zealots who think their way and their God is the only way to Heaven--just remember that America was founded on the principals of religious freedom. This means that EVERYONE is entitled to worship as he/she sees fit in the manner that is personally and spiritually fulfilling for themselves without interference from the Federal and State governments or, for that matter, anyone else's religious beliefs and purposes whether they be nefarious or benign. Therefore, if Christians want their religion propagated in public school, then they had better be prepared for the propagation of other beliefs as well. Beliefs such as Wiccan, Muslim, Buddhism, Asatru (see About.com [check my “Links” section] and just pick one or more of them). Leave religion out of public schools!



Some so-called leaders in our current State and Federal Congresses would like to declare the United States a Christian nation. Well, they simply cannot do this without undermining the principals upon which this great nation was founded, period. The United States of America is a nation that encompasses a variety of cultural and religious beliefs. To profess intolerance for even one of these undermines the underpinnings of this great nation. There is no place in America for bigotry, fascism, and intolerance of others because of their religion, or even their political leanings (remember Joe McCarthy?). McCarthy was a blight in American history, and, for instance, so was what was done to the Native Americans, slaves, and witches of Salem. I digress, but there is a point to this. Wanting to ban a book any book because of intolerance for someone else’s religion is simply un-American. It isn’t very "Christian" either.



If these zealots want to get upset about something then let them get upset about the hypocrites, wife/husband/child beaters, adulterers, pedophiles, liars, drunkards who kill the innocent and just generally mean-spirited persons inhabiting the planet. Of course, rascals such as these would probably interpret "mean-spirited" as "wrong-spirited". One has to wonder if one could ever reason with bigots and misguided fools. Historically, the answer is a resounding, "No!" However, history also shows us that there is a basic quality in most of humankind that will tolerate hate and prejudice only up to a certain point, and then it seeks a more tolerant, saner region. History is replete with examples, but suffice it to say that sooner or later, when everything seems to be going nuts, the Fates and Providence intervene to put things right. It is just a shame that most humans don’t learn from history.



Perhaps these mischief makers, who yammer on and on about evil in books, would be much happier people if they actually got involved in POSITIVE pursuits such as cleaning up the physical environment, taking care of Nature, and caring for the sick and physically challenged. They could stand on their soapboxes or in the pulpits and argue for saving the rainforests and the prevention of the further extinction of "God’s" creatures by the folly of man. This would show their God that they care, and at the same time, it would be beneficial and not off-putting to others.



I really have to ask what the ulterior motives are of people who want to ban or burn books? Hitler burned books. Hello? The Daughter Library and the Sarapeum, sanctum of the Ptolemaic cult and what Cleopatra had saved of the great Mouseion library, were destroyed, razed, actually, in 391 C.E. by order of a Christian Emperor, Theodisius. Contemporary eyewitnesses said that the Sarapeum, together with all its contents, suffered complete annihilation. Precious information was lost to us for all time because of that bit of pyrotechnics. Personally, I find book burners evil regardless of their religious persuasion.



Children need whimsy. Modern technology is a two-sided coin. For example, with the advent of the Internet one can obtain knowledge and information in nanoseconds that would otherwise have taken years, or at the very least, months to access. Exhilarating isn’t it? On the other hand, it has tended to make the world of today a more structured, sterile, paranoid and Orwellian domicile. It has taken some of the mystery away from the past. However, it has not destroyed the need for mystery and fun. Kids grow up a lot faster today than in the 1950’s and 1960’s of my childhood. Today, theirs is a world that has turned away from the cyclical and has become more linear in its thinking with less time for wonderment and imagination. The emphasis has switched from camaraderie to competing for the best grades and getting into the "best" schools. Of course it is admirable to get great grades but not at the cost of the child within. I am quite pleased when our son, who is in college, always manages to get into "Honors". However, in his youth he spent a lot of time daydreaming and fantasizing about the world and otherworldly realms. Although some of his primary teachers may not have thought so, I believe this put him in good stead for his later years of schooling. He also works hard, but he is not obsessed and has other interests that keep him well-rounded in thought and being. Our married daughter learned at a young age that with freedom comes responsibility. She has integrated this knowledge into her life and is helping others to do the same.



Unfortunately, so many youth of today are uptight. Small wonder that by the time they reach the upper grades in school many of them are so shelled-out they start acting out on others, such as the tragedy at Columbine High School. This anger has even reached into the lower grades with sorrowful results. These children need a safe outlet for all of their energy. Let the children have their flights of fantasy and whimsical fun. Otherwise, they may turn to less desirable outlets.



We taught our own children to be kind and considerate to others, to exercise good judgment, but to be non-judgmental. However, we also taught them that if they saw a great wrong, they needed to speak out against it and try to right that wrong. Wrong here meaning injustices and intolerances toward others. They were taught good manners, to be kind to animals, and take care of Mother Earth. They were also taught that what goes around, comes around. We gave and continue to give them loads of love. Along with love they were given wings to fly and chase rainbows, magick, mysteries and enchantments. In return we have been blessed with two of the best young adults on this or any other planet.



To those born again, fundamentalist Christians that would seek to ban books because of references to witchcraft and divination, it begs to be said that you are disingenuous, pernicious bigots and hypocrites of the worst kind. These ways may seem strange to born again Christians. They may even look upon these ways as being less than correct, but I know it is the practice of all truly good Christians to be forgiving even if they do not have a handle on or understand the moment, or in this case, the ideas and beliefs of others. This is not to say that the ways of non-Christians need forgiving. Quite the contrary, but it is important for those who call themselves Christian to abide by the true teachings of Christ (not some television evangelist’s hubris or the hubris of St. Paul), and these include forgiving what they find "wrong" in others, as well as “loving their enemies”. Let your children be children who can indulge in a world of magick and escape into the realms of fantasy and enchantment. Quit trying to make them into little automatons of yourselves. I am sure the children do not mean to be disrespectful, if indeed this is so. They are probably feeling frustrated at having their imaginations stifled and stunted.



Oftentimes a child will need to leave the classroom to obtain special education in another room. I wonder, however, if Greg and Arlena Wilson have given thought to the damage they are inflicting on little "Tommy" by singling him out and having him leave the classroom because of a book? Children do tend to tease other children. What is loving or "right" about putting your child in this kind of a situation? If this is so upsetting to these parents, perhaps they should home school little "Tommy". Children are a lot smarter than most adults deem them to be. Children’s lives are so structured today, that they really need to have their own space and make-believe realms filled with adventure. As most children seem to have an innate balderdash (bu..sh..) meter, parents really need not be alarmed.



Miracles do happen. The day may yet come when all people regardless of their race, spiritual beliefs, politics or book choices are embraced and loved by one another.



People, I'm begging you, find a better cause. Leave little Harry Potter alone and become more tolerant, charitable, and loving toward one another. "And the greatest of these is love. . ."--Jesus



Copyright © 2000-2006 Raven All rights reserved. No part of this document, either in part or in whole, may be reproduced, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, photographic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Author, Raven.



“What Goes Around, Comes Around”—Universe





Best Wishes, Raven





August 17, 2001


Speaking of Harry Potter and talking about coincidence, I am a ‘Wise Woman’. I went to a real honest-to-goodness high school where the nickname of the teams was 'Potters', and our year book was called the Cauldron! No Kidding!!! I graduated decades before Harry Potter ever materialized. I just thought of something else....for awhile in the 1980's, I believe they also used the nickname, ‘Hogs’ (Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry...?) How incredibly strange and funny, don’t you think? When I was in high school, my English teacher told us to write a story about who we really were. I wrote a story about being a Witch. My teacher liked it so much that he posted it on the bulletin board in the teacher’s lounge! I received an ‘A’ for my effort (good), but became the ‘talk’ of the school (not so good). Some people just don’t have a sense of humor…Well, not many people thought much about Witches back in those days. Of course, back then Witches were associated mostly with Halloween and usually depicted as members of the hairy green mole club. After all, it had only been ten years since England had repealed its Witchcraft Laws. They were still talking about my being a Witch years after I graduated. No kidding!!! If they only knew… Years ago, I was told by a respected editor that I would be a very good writer, and he encouraged me to write. Maybe I will when we move to the next place—a country that doesn’t speak English as its first language. I’ll have a lot of time to play with words.

<(;-)


Brightest Blessings!
Raven


Be well and at peace.

Raven






Cheers,
Raven




Have Courage,
Raven










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