If there's one thing that annoys the hell out of me, it's those people that insist that Harry Potter is leading our children down the fiery path to hell. I'm not going to give you a list of all of the horrible things in the bible (I'll leave that to these guys). I'll just present you with these arguments.1. Harry Potter teaches against racism without making your kids think about racism. Thrown into a magical world full of people and creatures they've never imagined, children are taught that it's wrong to be prejudiced. They learn how to be accepting of other people and other cultures, without putting it in terms of black and white.
2. The books mature with the audience. Contrary to what one might've expected, the later books took on a much darker and more serious tone than the earlier ones. The subject matter and style grew up with the readers, rather than being patronizing and condescending. The Harry Potter books are suitable for children and adults because the reader is never treated as a stupid child.
3. Good characters die unfairly and bad characters live on happily. Because life isn't fair. Rowling gives the lesson that sometimes people die for no good reason, for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she isn't cruel about how she hands it down. Kids are taught to accept death, to honor the memory of the fallen, and to understand that just because the good doesn't always win doesn't mean it's not worth it to fight.
4. The movies don't deviate much from the books. In a time when you can't trust anything to be safe from the slimy hands of Hollywood, this means a lot. This is an example of integrity and accuracy. Rather than teaching kids that if they're careless enough to love something, it will be ripped away from them and molded into garbage by careless studio executives, the Harry Potter series has been very delicately made and guided along.
5. Adults aren't portrayed in absolutes. Authority figures are not always trustworthy, governments are capable of being very corrupt, and cantankerous adults that appear to be the very spawn of evil just might be acting that way for very good and honorable reasons. From Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, and Dolores Umbridge-- Rowling teaches us that you can't judge someone before you get to know them, and even then you'd be surprised. People are people, not archetypes.
6. Harry Potter is not trying to recruit your children into witchcraft, Paganism, Satanism, or what-have-you. Harry Potter is not a Wiccan, a Pagan, or a Satanist. Harry Potter has no religious affliliation, and no religion is either promoted or condemned in the series. Children are not encouraged to join any kind of belief system. In fact, it's made very clear that the wizards and witches of Potter's universe are born that way and that there's nothing wrong with being a "muggle" (that's non-magical humans for those of you who haven't picked up a book).
7. Arthur Weasley is amazed with our world. The patriarch of the Weasley family is a wizard obsessed with muggles and technology. While children are peering into this world of fantasy and magic, they are reminded that the real world has got some pretty cool stuff, too.
8. Lord Voldemort was a kid once, too. Even the epitome of all evil is shown to be nothing more than a human gone corrupt with power and hate. There is no Satanic figure, no undefeatable giant. He's a wizard and he has some amazing powers, but he was not borne out of the fires of Hell. He was a mistreated orphan who unfortunately became a prejudiced, violent person.
9. There's no sexism in Harry Potter. Witches are just as skilled as wizards, some even more so. The main female character of the series is the smartest (albeit an "insufferable know-it-all"). Girls kick ass right along side the boys on the Quidditch pitch. Mrs. Weasley is everyone's favorite mom, and she also turns out to be a damn good fighter.
10. Parents are portrayed positively. I've heard people complain that Harry's Aunt & Uncle are supposedly teaching kids that authority figures and parents are bad. While their characters are pretty unsavory, there's plenty of examples of good parenting in the series. The Weasleys take in anyone who needs them, Hermione's muggle parents are accepting of the wizarding world, even Narcissa Malfoy makes parenting a priority. Harry idolizes the idea of his parents as perfect people, but eventually learns some of their faults and accepts them as part of them as people. And in the last book, Harry gives a stern talking to to a character who tries to choose adventure over being a responsible father. Brilliant.
There are hundreds more reasons why you and your children should be reading Harry Potter. They're a lot better for you than this ridiculous bullshit.
