Hi everyone -- banning the books

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 159619

Ken:
> >Liberal atheists are as likely to ban things as conservative
> >religionists. 

Tesha:
>    No, I do believe you're quite wrong. Liberals would like you to 
read everything, and cogitate deeply and discover your own belief. And
> as an Agnostic, I feel that anything that makes you be a better 
person is fine - but it is your "doing" - not your "saying" that 
makes it so. 

In fact the "Liberal atheists' would probably do just the opposite 
of "ban" books, they're likely to hand you a book and say.."What do 
you think now?"

Ceridwen:
I think that anyone, liberal or conservative, Christian, Athiest or 
Agnostic, will try to force people into thinking or acting a certain 
way if they strongly feel it would be beneficial, or to prevent 
others from reading or viewing something they strongly feel should be 
restricted.  I believe this is the core of such deep-seated beliefs, 
that the person believes strongly enough that they also believe that 
their personal feelings should inform everybody else.

That is one reason why I think, in part, that one aspect of Harry's 
story will be for him to have to re-think some of the beliefs he has 
held dear throughout the books.  I think there was a small taste of 
this in OotP when he went into Snape's memory in the Pensieve and saw 
his father acting like less than the Noble Hero.  Harry's world was 
shaken at that point, and he went so far as to feel ashamed of his 
father's actions and to begin to feel some sympathy for Snape.  That 
was shattered as fast as Snape could break a jar of cockroach parts, 
but the emotion was there, even if fleetingly.  I think it will be 
one of the things which will return to haunt, then to strengthen, 
Harry in Book 7.

And, it's an ongoing process.  Harry is growing up.  Children who 
have their parents go through a time when they see their parents as 
very flawed and very *wrong*, out of step, out-dated.  The Pensieve 
memory allowed him that sort of revelation despite his parents' 
absence from his life.  *Everyone* has their blind spots.  Part of 
life is learning to grow past them.  Funny that this whole 
fundimentalist flap echoes what I believe to be one of the themes in 
the books themselves.

Ceridwen.