Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Was Harry Potter Prophetic?

As I watch the mainstream media sit more and more firmly in the current administration's back pocket, as I watch them vehemently attack anybody with a differing opinion, I'm reminded of the Daily Prophet from Harry Potter.

Potter fans may remember how, in The Order Of The Phoenix, the ministry used the Daily Prophet (newspaper for the wizarding community) to attack and discredit their dissenters and cover up their failures. This is so appropriate for what is going on with the mainstream media now.

When we need the journalists to tell us the truth, they give us talking points. They're pushing the same agenda and failing in their most important role of informing the public of our government's mistakes. The use the same methods as the ministry of magic in that they attack the messenger instead of the message. Where the Daily Prophet showed Dumbledore and Harry as crazy, attention seeking liars, our media calls dissenters lying, racist hate mongers. It's one thing to see this in fiction, but another, far more frightening thing, to see that fiction becoming reality.

Add to that the interference in every aspect of the country, and we can compare Professor Umbridge to an Education Czar appointed by Obama. Her tactics are surprisingly similar to Obama's in using threats and behavior modification. Her attempt to control every little thing, enforcing it with threats and harsh punishments (in our case taxes), eventually led to a revolt of the people. A situation that Obama would be smart to avoid.

So was a book revolving around a prophecy, prophetic itself? It's looking that way.

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