The most fundamental question

[PAGAN MICHELLE I]

No: HPFGUIDX 47761

Ok, I'm about to pose the most basic, fundamental question to the Harry
Potter universe, one that I'm sure has been mulled over countless times,
but perhaps not so fundamentally.  And the question is:

Why the heck is Harry Potter so darn important?

Take that facetiously please, because I'm about to be so blase about a
life (albeit a fictional character's life, but still), but honestly, when I
look at what we have, I just don't get it.  So I'm looking for some
insight into the canon that I just haven't noticed.

Voldemort is evil.  Granted.  I think somewhere it might have said he was
the most evil wizard in a century (or maybe that was Grindelwald). ".
Ok, but a century isn't that long...

In about 1960 he started looking for followers (SS/PS) and by 1969 people
were referring to him as "You Know Who".  So in the series he's been
around for approx. 35 years.

So, as I * know* has been speculated, Voldemort went after Harry
especially.
Perhaps he was interested in James too (bloodline or something, I don't
know), but what he was after really was Harry.  So even before Harry
became famous for being "the boy who lived," he was a very special boy
(baby).

But why?  Does anyone have any theory for that?  Because otherwise, I just
don't understand the WW's preoccupation with keeping Harry so safe.  Yes,
I know, Voldie is trying to kill him, but when I think of the terror in
Cornelius Fudge's voice when they apparently don't know where Harry is in
the beginning of PoA, it seems as if there is more to it:

"... Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that!  I'd started
to think . . . but you're safe, and that's what matters." (The Knight Bus, p.
45 U.S. edition)

and then..

"Don't want to lose you again, do we?" said Fudge with a hearty laugh.
"No, no  best we know where you are I mean." (p. 46)

I mean, really (and here's the blase part) -- so what if he dies?  Yes,
it's an awful blow to wizard-kind and darkness will have won that battle,
but then what?  I guess it's kind of like that philosophical question
about how important are any of us, really?

There've been evil wizards before, (i.e. Grindelwald), who've been
defeated by great wizards before (i.e. Dumbledore), and I'm sure there've
been them throughout wizard history.  So if Harry's not around, odds are
another will come around.  It seems to me that ok, Harry survived, and
"defeated" Voldemort the first time.  Is he only important because
everyone (or many "important" people) think Voldemort will rise again
(which he is obviously doing) and that Harry will be the only one who can
defeat him then?  That seems so dumb to me, and especially so because
despite the obvious fear about not knowing where Harry is (in PoA) other
times the WW puts him in danger. (SS/PS and GoF) Why do they not care
then?

Answering my own question, I would say in PoA when Harry runs away is the
only time they truly don't have tabs on him (the rest of the times he's at
school), but even so, my question goes back to why?  So what if Harry
dies?  Is Harry the savior of the wizarding world then?  And then that
gets way too religious for me, and I would think JKR might feel the same
way.

Let me know your thoughts,
Polaris