Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
In case other people have similar concerns....
The reader e-mail:
I noticed that your Katie Reetz is asking for readers to send in spells. (Page 1, Section D, 9 November)
Perhaps this is part of an effort to embrace all possible forms of being, including witchcraft. Perhaps it's thought that equal time should be afforded to everything, including evil. After all, the current pseudo-intellectual fad, "diversity," ultimately means not merely tolerating, but embracing opposing "cultures." So if you're a good Christian, you should embrace evil, or so the theory goes.
I imagine you'll file this letter under "right-wing, fundamentalist," but you'd be quite wrong. I'm a highly educated liberal, not unlike many members of your staff. But I also understand that there is right and wrong--and that treating spells, charms, and incantations as the harmless theme for a contest is evil.
Is it necessary for you to introduce witchcraft, however rhetorically presented (via the "Harry Potter" books), into our daily paper? How far are you willing to go in pursuit of multiculturalism? Don't you have any idea at all of your demographic?
The reply, from features editor Susan Ladd:
"Our intent is simple -- to have some fun with one of the most popular book and movie series with young people (and many adults) today.
"Since the books first became popular, some have argued that they endorse or encourage evil. This argument often comes from people who've never read them. I have read them, and I believe that the books do just the opposite -- that they frame the age-old battle between good and evil with the overriding belief that good can and should win out.
"And the consensus of most educators is that the books have worked miracles in getting young people interested in reading.
"We aren't introducing or promoting witchcraft with this contest any more than people promote witchcraft by wearing Halloween costumes. It's all in fun."
Comments (4)
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For a differing take on the spiritual elements of the Potter books, consider "Looking for God in Harry Potter: Is there Christian meaning hidden in the bestselling books?," by John Granger, an evangelical Christian, the father of seven home-schooled kids and a teacher in a Great Books (i.e., classic Western literary canon) program. It's a short book, published by the Christian publishing house Tyndale, by a Christian who knows what he's talking about. Anyone concerned about the Potter series should read it and absorb what he has to say before condemning the Potter books on religious grounds.
Posted on November 10, 2005 8:40 PM
Podcasts and discussion (on both sides of the aisle) over at the Catholic Insider.
Posted on November 10, 2005 9:22 PM
I think you grabbed the wrong URL, Lex; that's an article on Judge Alito from Boston.com.
Here's the first chapter from the book, courtesy of the publisher:
http://tyndalebooksellers.com/firstchapter/pdfs/1-4143-0091-3.pdf.
Posted on November 11, 2005 6:59 AM
I did in fact, histrion; correct link (Amazon.com) is here.
Sorry.
Posted on November 11, 2005 9:27 AM