The Statute of Secrecy

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 159093

---  "Ken Hutchinson" <klhutch at ...> wrote:
>
> ---  "a_svirn" <a_svirn@> wrote:
> >
> > > Ken:
> > > The Statute of Secrecy is a tough, tough law to
> > > enforce and obey, I grant that. It does not *force*
> > > anyone to act unethically. Individual witches and
> > > wizards and the Ministry collectively *choose* 
> > > convenience over ethics. I won't let them off the 
> > > hook for that.   
> > 
> > a_svirn:
> > Although I agree with you on the question of 
> > forgeries I think that stature of secrecy does force
> > one to act unethically. Because memory  charms *are*
> > unethical and it's impossible to maintain secrecy 
> > without them.
> >
> 
> Ken:
> 
> I don't think we can say that for sure since we are 
> never given the text of the statute. I agree that 
> memory charms are unethical, I think they are as bad as
> the unforgivable curses and should be numbered among 
> them. It certainly is true that the statute is 
> frequently used to justify the casual use of memory 
> charms on Muggles and I agree that this is unethical.
> ...
>

bboyminn:

One small problem with your assumption and that is ethics
are not absolute, they are subjective. Take Bush for 
example, his actions imply that it is alright for /us/
to torture /them/, but it is not alright for /them/ to
torture /us/. We can torture Islamic Terrorists because
they are the bad guys and we are the good guys, and any
objective analysis would agree with that. But, the 
Islamic Terrorist 'claim' that we are the spawn of Satan
and that they are the soldiers of God, and that makes 
them, in their minds, the good guys which in turn makes 
us the bad guys.

In the Potterverse, from a muggle perspective, the 
various actions including memory modification, are 
horribly unethical, but to the wizard world, these 
actions are a necessity. The muggle world, over the 
course of a few thousand years, has consistently proven
that it is incapable of getting along with anyone it 
thinks is better than them. 

I mean, don't you watch movies? What is the first thing
they do when superior aliens land on the earth; they call
out the Army, Navy, and Air Force and very quickly and 
with little provocation attack the aliens ('The Day the
Earth Stood Still'). 

Look at the uproar that was created over the Harry Potter
books, can you imagine how 'up in arms' the Christian 
Right would be if it turn out that Harry Potter was 
history instead of fiction? Can you imagine how the Lex
Luthor's of the world would be plotting and scheming to
get control of the wizards so they could use them for
their own greedy and nefarious ends? If it wasn't all 
out literal war, it would certainly be all out social 
and economic war. 

If you want a good example of how the world is likely to
treat superior beings, read the continuation of the 
'Shadow' Series by Orson Scott Card, were the kids from 
Battle School were controlled and manipulated by various
people vying for control. How they are used as pawns in
a game played for greed and power. It's not a pretty sight.
Eventually all the Battle School graduates choose to leave
earth rather than spend their lives ensnared in the political
and power machinations.

The Wizard World needs to protect itself from that. 
History has proven that the only way they /can/ exist is
for them to exist in secret. The alternative, certainly 
in their minds and most probably in reality, is for them
to go the way of the giants, to be driven to the brink of
extinction by outside forces.

So, they do what they must, and in their mind, in their
frame of reference, they are doing what must ethically be
done to continue to exits.

Note this quote from Post# 159070 by Tesha. Tesha quotes
a legal encyclopedia that says -

"Aristotle ... believed that the most important element
in ethical behavior is knowledge that actions are 
accomplished for the betterment of the common good."

Note the reference to 'the common good'. As far as 
wizards are concerned they are acting for the common good.
If muggles knew that wizards existed, the stock market
would crash, society would be in chaos, and the very 
existance of wizards and witches would be threatened. To
prevent that, wizard do what they ethically (in their 
minds) and logically must do, and that is, keep the 
wizard world a secret at all cost. 

Dumbledore did not /forge/ a document, he created a false
preception that side stepped awkward questions about the
nature of himself and his school, but he did not 
manipulate Mrs. Cole's decision. Further, it seems that 
it was more Tom's decision more than anyones. Mrs. Cole
was probably happy to have any relief should could get 
from carrying the load of responsibility for the 
orphanage. 

Neither do I think Dumbledore compelled Mrs. Cole to
drink, as I pointed out before, it is Mrs. Cole who
offers Dumbledore a drink, not the other way around. Mrs.
Cole most likely told him what she would have eventually 
told him anyway, and further made the only real decision
she could. She had one kid, at least, who would get a good
education, and a one is better than none.

I do agree that Dumbledore was being somewhat lazy. But 
on the other hand, are you saying if you could use magic
that you wouldn't? You would stuggle to peel your sprouts 
with a knife rather than give a wave of your wand? If you
were stuck in traffic, would you grin and bear it, or
would you, with the flick of a wand and twinkling of an
eye, move to the front of the que as the Ministry cars do?

You can say the actions of Wizards are wrong, but I think
it pales compared to the all out war and horrendous 
persecution wizards would suffer if they revealed 
themselves. Again, it is a question of the 'greater good' 
for all, not the short term good of one.

Just passing it along.

Steve/bboyminn