I'm seriously suffering from Post-Potter Depression. I read all seven books within a four-week span, and I think that was a total Harry Potter overload. When I finished The Half Blood Prince, I could not stop crying. I called Caresse and left a distraught message on her voicemail, half choking from tears. I dragged myself downstairs to tell my little brother that the beloved Dumbledore died (DIED!), while still gasping for breath within sobs. I nearly gave my father a heart attack when he saw my face drenched in tears.
It was a very good cry. Dumbledore is one of those characters who is filled with so much goodness in his heart that sometimes he's a step above from being human. Every time he speaks to Harry, I prepare myself for another philosophy lesson. I think he's the mentor I've always wanted to meet, the professor you thought you would befriend in college, offering you knowledge, energy, inspiration.
How did all the other Harry Potter fans continue with their lives while they were left hanging for one to two years while Rowling was writing the next book in the series? I immediately started book after book after book, not taking any time to breathe, hungry to see what happened next, hungry to live Harry's life.
This collection really unnerved me, in a positive way. It really is more than just a children's book, more than just a fantastic tale. The arguments waged by religious fanatics that Rowling's writing is anti-christianic absolutely has no bearing or weight because after reading the first few chapters, the story is not about magic. It is about love, courage, loyalty, confidence, wisdom, choice, change, second chances, bravery, friendship, respect, honor, compassion, fear... and how to overcome it, death and loss, life. There were moments in Deathly Hallows that brought my mind to stillness, that made me question my own abilities, my own limits, that brought my own life into perspective. In the kind of situation where my life, my family's life, my friends'... neighbors' lives are at stake, will I have the courage to face fear, to face death, to sacrifice what I need to? I wondered if I would find the courage to fight? Will I be prepared for it, or will I be one of the ones unwillingly thrown into it?
Dumbledore reminded Harry that there is a clear and distinct line between people who are thrust into the face of battle and those who walk into battle prepared. I want to be prepared. That is not to say that I am looking for trouble, but rather it means that I... we need to understand the socio-political context of our world. That any day, any moment, something could happen that can burst the bubble of our consumer driven lives. And when that day happens, I not only want to have the skills and knowledge to rally against evil, but also would like to be able to say that I worked and did my best to prevent the world from shattering and falling into the hands of those who abuse power.
We are very close to that place. America, the land of the free, is really the land of the ignorant. We are so blinded by our self righteousness that we fail to notice that our system is far from democratic, that the people's voice is lost, shrouded by pop culture society. Our generation does not see the Voldemort who is currently sitting in the highest office, his Death Eaters doing his bidding, not only in the U.S. but overseas. It is a troubling analogy, but it is the truth. Americans would rather stay blind to this, as if Confunded! than believe that our system, that our nation-state is on the brink of collapse.
These books have sparked the Revolutionary in me, the semi-Socialist, the Activist!
I began to think about where I can really make a difference in this world? Holding on the spine of Rowling's novel, I wondered where my talents would be most effective. And ofcourse, the answer was right in my very own hands. I belong in books. I belong in my writing, as does my writing belongs in me. MFA programs are starting to look quite good.
