Harry Potter, Spawn of Satan
Nov. 11th, 2003 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bimoThis morning, my friendly neighbourhood conservative newspaper Rheinische Post cited a short passage from Cardinal Ratzinger's approving reply to Bavarian publicist Gabriele Kuby, who had recently accused the Harry Potter books not only of undermining Christian values but also of seriously damaging children's ability to make a clear distinction between Good and Evil.
While Kuby's arguments will appear untenable to any unbiased reader (most folks will probably dismiss them as "just the usual fundamentalist propaganda"), they leave me with a feeling of uneasiness, since I pretty much agree with the theory that the true reason for right-wing charges against Harry Potter is not the propagation of fairy tale magic, but the fact that the books seem to encourage individualism and independent thinking rather than blind obedience and conformity.
As a professed individualist, I'm worried.
While Kuby's arguments will appear untenable to any unbiased reader (most folks will probably dismiss them as "just the usual fundamentalist propaganda"), they leave me with a feeling of uneasiness, since I pretty much agree with the theory that the true reason for right-wing charges against Harry Potter is not the propagation of fairy tale magic, but the fact that the books seem to encourage individualism and independent thinking rather than blind obedience and conformity.
As a professed individualist, I'm worried.
