Different moral standards (was : On the other hand)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 93049

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Doriane" <delwynmarch at y...> 
wrote:
> Del replies :
> 
> Hey, I did say at the beginning of my post that I was a defender of 
> the Bad People :-) !
> However, I'd like to point out that the Dursleys know pretty well, 
> in my idea, that they are not Nice People. But the thing is : they 
> don't care. Being nice is not one of their priorities. Being 
> respectable, fitting in, are their priorities. Being nice isn't. 
> They have a different moral code. I don't care about fitting in, 
> Vernon doesn't care about being nice, but that doesn't mean one of 
> us is right and the other is wrong. We just have different moral 
> codes.

Geoff:
As a Christian, I believe that there are moral absolutes (and I am 
sure there are others who will agree with me on that point at least) 
which define us as humans and the society in which we live.

Jesus was asked on one occasion about the great commandments and he 
distilled them into two. The first, he said, is that you should love 
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with 
all your mind; the second is to love your neighbour as yourself.

Some readers will doubtless disagree with me over the first but the 
second is in many ways the mortar of society and we can only get this 
one to work if we agree on the fundamental structure of society. Some 
of your aspects of society will differ but these are superficial ones.
The bedrock of life, the moral absolutes - not killing, not lying, 
honouring the family etc. - are the same in Harry's Wizarding world 
as they are in our world; if not, then the 11th Septembers and 
Madrids of this world become just part of a different moral code......


Del again: 
> The way the Dursleys treat Harry revolts me too, but I acknowledge 
> that they simply represent another morality, more "natural", 
> less "humane". I read somewhere that when a new lion takes over a 
> lion group, the first thing it does is kill all the offsprings of 
> the old leader, and the mothers let it do it, because that's the 
> natural order of things. Tough, but normal.

Geoff:
Yes, but we are human beings, with consciences and self-awareness - 
dare I say made in the image of God - and not animals acting by 
instinct. I doubt if your new lion senses any moral comeback when he 
removes the various offspring. The Dursleys, by the way in which they 
treat Harry, not only abuse him but belittle themselves in reducing 
their humanity.