Fear’s The Thing…

Aug 22, 2008

Posted by: Oxymoronic

Uncategorized

So here I am, wracking my brain trying to figure out what I’d like to write about for my first ever blog post on Leaky. But here’s the thing….all this wracking of my brain is contributing to the wrecking of my nerve. I don’t get nervous when I post in the Lounge, I can’t seem to understand why I’ve got butterflys (more like bats) going bonkers inside me at the prospect of posting a blog.

But there you have it. And I’m doing it anyway which — bats or not — and regardless of the outcome, is quite an accomplishment for me! I think that part of my trepidation comes from the fact that this fandom means quite a bit to me. More than I thought. And it means something to me because the books themselves, the story of Harry and his friends and all their adventures, mean something very special to me. I respect many of the individuals who make up this wonderful world we play in, most notably of course the creator herself, Jo.

Among the very many brilliant lines this woman has given us, there are several she uttered at the Harvard Commencement this year that truly hit home the realization that this world we live in, and everything that encompasses this world we live in, is an irrefutably communal system of back and forth, give and take. And as human beings living on this planet, we should really think a bit more about how our actions will affect those around us. ‘Sharing is caring’, and all that….which leads me to wonder about old, everyday sayings and why it seems they have no relevance at all in society today. Which takes me completely off point. (It happens in spite of myself.)

But that commencement speech at Harvard was something else. Of all the great advice given to the world by Jo that day, here’s what stood out in particular: “Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places. Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.”

A lesson she taught us over and over again throughout the books. The Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters, and Lord Voldemort used their power to manipulate and control of course, and they wreaked havoc and frustration in Harry’s world in the same way ignorance, hate, and fear wreak havoc and frustration in ours.

It shouldn’t come as a great shock that the political themes in Jo’s story are of particular interest to me. I just find it rather cool that pretty much everything that’s happening politically in that imaginary world, is pretty much happening politically in this one. Lots of stuff to delve into there. Just on that one theme alone, which naturally branches out into all the other themes found in the story. Kind of like how politics does in life.

Jo went on to say to the Harvard Graduates — and to all Americans, I imagine — that: “The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.”

She couldn’t have said it any plainer than that. And I mean that in the best possible way. The images I chose to use in my banner for this blog are there for very obvious, and not-so-obvious reasons. An illustration of Jo as the scribe would fall under ‘obvious’. Fawkes, another obvious choice, is there as an image of hope. Hope is the counterbalance to fear, and as far as I’m concerned, fear is the biggest culprit out there. It’s the bats in the stomach.

But I believe that hope trumps fear. Time and time again. And it’s been proven, like Jo said, “a thousand times every day of our lives.” I’m not sure what, if anything, I’ve got to contribute to the world. I’m still learning that as I go. But, my hope is that at the very least, I will get a few people to think about the issues facing us all in the years to come.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.