On Children and the "Other" (was:Re: On the perfection of moral virtues)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 169508

Jen:

> The Trio, like Dumbledore before them, will welcome 
> people at their table as long as they are on the right 
> side because the stakes are so high. Those who oppose 
> Voldemort will become allies and those who don't will 
> fall the way of the Ministy.

> [...]

> That's at the core of what I see coming: can the 
> Trio work with individuals they don't like and who 
> don't like them? They'll learn they must in order to 
> defeat Voldemort.

houyhnhnm:

What happens after Voldemort is defeated?  This is 
the problem I have with a standard of morality that 
defines goodness and badness according to whether or 
not one is on the "right" side (assuming the "right" 
side is not open to interpretation, which in the case 
of Voldemort and his followers I am perfectly willing 
to concede, but not in every case.)

If people are not good or bad according to their 
acts--bullying versus fair play, lying versus 
truthfulness, etc.--but only as they oppose the Big 
Bad of the day or not, then when Voldemort is gone, 
there will be no standard of right and wrong, just a 
chaos of everyone for him or herself, alliances 
constantly breaking and reforming, until finally 
a new evil Dark Lord emerges to restore a sense of 
order again. 

With this system of morality there must always be 
a Dark Lord.  Without a Dark Lord, there is no 
North, South, East or West. 
 
I will accept anyone who is one my side?  That is 
not tolerance.  Tolerance is a commitment to the 
the belief that *everyone* has a right to be.