Dumbledore's Army discussion
Your Suggestions, Opinions, etc.
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A real Dumbledore's Army?
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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You guys are awesome! The discussion you just had is totally university-level, and I've heard much lamer discussions on the same topic even among philosophy majors! (I was a philosophy minor.)You are all so right. Our decisions are essential to who/what we become, but circumstances can push hard on us. The important thing to remember: no one can take responsibility for who/what we become other than us. (I'll write about "healthy boundries" soon.)
I'll be in Portland tomorrow, so I decided to write on Kate's question today. This is a condensed version of a blog I did a couple of months ago. Like many things in life, if we break it down a little, it becomes workable and not so scary.
Probability x Severity = Risk
This formula lets us put preparations into at least 2 categories, but I'll add a third for interest.
1. Probability: HIGH, Severity: doesn't matter. These are all the things we can predict. If I'm going to town for 6 hours, I KNOW I'll get hungry. Preparation: take lunch or money.
2. Probability: LOW, Severity: HIGH. These are all the dangers in life that we can prepare for. I might, someday, cut myself while slicing veggies for dinner. Preparation: first aide kit, and know how to use it.
3. Probability: VERY LOW, Severity: VERY HIGH. An asteroid hit the Earth 65 million years ago. It could happen again. Preparation: none possible. Enjoy life until you die, by whatever cause.
Most people can trust their instincts to naturally prepare for #1s. We all forget sometimes, but these are usually not fatal.
It's the #2s where people get lazy. Part of being a witch or wizard, or any other serious discipline, is thinking deeply about what might come along, hour by hour, day by day, and preparing. It's different for everyone based on your location, your strengths and weaknesses, and your path in life. Your most powerful tool is, of course, your imagination.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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I think time also matters. Some people physically and mentally don't have enough time to prepare for #2 For example a single mother running a household by herself with 4 or 5 children taking on as many jobs as possible only cares about putting food in her childrens mouth and clothes on their bodies as well as getting them thrugh school, college and life. I don't think she has the time to worry about chopping her fingers off. Opinions?
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I agree, Arti, and there's nothing we can do about #3. I'm glad you read it and realized it wasn't really the dreaded MaTh monster. Good point, Kate. Preparing for things that haven't happened is a luxury, very hard if you're living close to the edge.Good Boundaries
Kate recently gave an excellent example of someone who gets their boundaries mixed up. It's easy to do. Learning good boundaries can be the difference between a successful and honorable witch, wizard, carpenter, or bookkeeper ... and someone who bounces in and out of the loony bin or jail all their lives.
Having good boundaries starts with respect. Except for children and a few others who can't take care of themselves, every person wants to be respected in their personal business and personal space unless they ASK someone else to come in, or someone offers and they ACCEPT. It's all about free will.
Parents and young adults have lots of trouble with boundaries. It's so very easy for either one to forget that the other is a person too.
Employers and employees, leaders and followers, rich people and poor people, the majority and the minority ... all have a long history of one kind of person treating the other kind as an object, instead of a person.
Objects are things, we "own" them, we do with them what we want, treat them however we want, tell them what to do, take them, throw them away ...
People have feeling and rights. They have a territory we must not enter without permission, or we will be seen as TRYING to bother them. Sometimes it's just a few feet across, like in a store or on the sidewalk. Sometimes much bigger, like when driving a car. When I'm flying a helicopter, my "personal space" is about a mile in every direction, and a thousand feet up and down.
People have feelings about a lot more than physical space. We all have a keen sense of when someone is sticking their nose in our business. Respect is all about knowing what's our business, what isn't, and asking very politely any time we are tempted the cross the line. "Yes" mean be careful. "No" means no.
How do you learn good boundaries? Like anything: practice. Watch other people, see what hurts them. Pay attention to what hurts YOU. Then decide what kind of person you want to be.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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What do you mean by boundries?
Yes, Arti, I'm a pilot of both helicopters and airplanes. I couldn't write the NEBADOR series without that experience. In this post, I'm talking about boundaries between people, usually called "inter-personal boundaries."
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like...personal space?
Exactly, Arti, and personal space is much more than physical space. It's all about respect and fairness.Generalizing Preparation Skills
What?
"Generalizing" is a big word, I know, but it's your friend, believe me.
It's actually really simple. If you prepare for one possible problem that might whack you in the future, you are going through the same process as you would to prepare for most other problems. So you're 1/2, maybe 3/4 prepared for things you haven't even thought about yet!
An example.
Let's say you live in a forest, like I do. You have nightmares about a forest fire. You decide to prepare as best you can. You read some things and decide to get a smoke hood (sort of like a "gas mask"), and a day pack with food and water, for each person.
Next year, no forest fire, but a huge snow storm comes along. Electricity is out, cars are useless, pipes are frozen.
You're 1/2 prepared because you have already chosen to THINK and ACT instead of FREAK OUT. You don't need the smoke hoods, but after a week, the pantry is bare, and those day packs with Power Bars (or whatever) save your lives.
Then, when the storm is over, you decide to get some snow shoes!
This is the thinking and acting process that sets witches and wizards apart from muggles, good leaders apart from scared followers.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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So connecting this to Harry Potter, what would Volemorts "boundaries" have been? He was mad because mudbloods existed. But theres honestly nothing you can do about that is there? No one in specific tried to cross his boundaries, it was just their normal lives which he thought affected him.
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Generalizing Preparation Skills
What?
"Generalizing" is a big word, I know, but it..."
So Voldemort is a good leader? I mean even if he was leading towards the wrong thing he carried out his job pretty well. Although I think that true leadership is when the people who are following you will repsect you and stand by your side, not thrugh fear of you, but through respect of you. Harry took the respect side, and Voldemort took the fear side. On harry's side though there was Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione, who helped him out a lot. On Voldemort's side it was just him.
Oh yes, Kate, Voldamort had some sick boundary issues. He wanted to rule the world. Everyone and everything was a real or potential enemy, even his "friends." He was a good leader in the sense of "powerful," but not ethically good. You nailed the difference perfectly: respect or fear.Wealth When Money is Sick or Dying
Any good witch or wizard needs to know what's going on in the world. Most of you have probably heard about the huge national debt, banks closing, bail-outs, toxic assets, and many other things that are hard to understand. They are hard for me to understand too, even though I study them an hour or two every day. They're all about money. It's sick, and might be dying.
Lots of people pooh-pooh that idea. The great US dollar, the noble British Pound, and the strong Euro could never die! Fact: no civilization in the history of the world has ever piled up huge debts, like we have now, without destroying their money.
What can we do???
First, we just need to get used to the idea that money can die. It only has value right now because we all agree it does. It can die slowly through "inflation" (prices going up slowly) or quickly through "hyper-inflation" (prices going up so fast that no one can do business any more). Imagine $100 bills or 50 pound notes being good for nothing but lighting fires or wiping your ...
Next, we can put some of our wealth into other things, things that WON'T lose their value. They are called, as a group, "commodities." They include food, tools, fuel, and metals.
One of those metals is just right for young adults. Silver. In the USA, dimes and quarters from 1964 or earlier. You can't find them in pocket change, you have to go to a coin shop. Right now, dimes will cost you $3-$4, quarters $7-$11.
The price of silver is going up most of the time. That means that if you buy some now, it'll probably be worth more next year. But more importantly: if money dies, your silver dimes and quarters will be worth SOMETHING (at a time when most people will have nothing).
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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In dollars or pounds or euros or whatever, yes. That means the value of the money is going down. But with silver and gold, historians have figured our that they bought almost exactly the same amount of stuff in the Roman empire, 2000 years ago, as they do today.
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I thought you lived in England, Arti. You mentioned wanting to move to London.Enchanted Forest
I'm posting early because I'm going there tomorrow, to Enchanted Forest. It's Oregon's only theme park, a delightful little family-run place.
Enchanted Forest -- a forest that is sung to. Singing is the very essence of magic.
Opening my book of shadows, here's what jumped out at me, instead of what I was looking for:
Where the Witches Dwell, by Whitedog
Beyond the srafts of evolving tyme
Amidst the grapes of sun-soaked wine
Within the walls of every church
Every leaf and every birch
Behind the eyes of a child's dream
Gently sleeping beside the stream
In storms of love to sandy caves
Riding Nature's breath and cresting waves
Between the Moon and Mother Earth
In dancing fyres, laughs, and cures
Singing 'round humanity
Touching hearts, living free
Without shame or guilt or fear of Hell
This is where the witches dwell.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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What's in Your Magic Bag?Actually, a day pack or shoulder bag is probably the way to go these days. The smaller and lighter (that will still do the job) the better.
Potions? We call them vitamins and medicines. What do you need? How long will your supply keep you alive? Can you live without it? If nothing else, a small bottle of vitamin C tablets can save your life if you get an infection.
Book of Shadows? Okay, a journal or diary. If you only keep your addresses and phone numbers in the "cloud" somewhere (like on Yahoo), or in your phone, someday you'll have to kiss them good-bye. Ready for that?
Broom? Real, sturdy walking shoes and socks, especially if you tend to go places in sandles or flip-flops. If you can't MOVE under your own power, an emergency can eat you up like a Dementor.
Coin of the Realm? How much depends on how far from home you go. What would it cost you to get home on the bus or train, including meals, if your usual support people disappeared? Minimum in the USA: $20 and 4 quarters. This is NOT, at this point, those silver dimes you are hopefully collecting.
Cloak of Invisibility? A hoodie in the summer, a real coat in the winter. Adjust for your climate. It may not go IN the bag, but should always be with it.
You should have the idea by now. The future that's rushing toward us is going to make us grow up, wheather we're 30 or 15 or 9. You can get ready for it at any age. If this bag isn't somewhere you can grab it at any time, then you aren't ready for ... much of anything.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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What Happened to Draco Malfoy?Throughout the entire story, Draco was full of anger and cruelty. Those come from FEAR. That's why it's SO important for witches and wizards, and anyone else who wants to be a respected part of the universe, to master their FEARS.
The little meditation exercise I gave you a while back is a good place to start. Many good stories are about people learning to use their emotions as tools, instead of being slaves to those emotions.
In the last movie, Draco's life was saved by his enemies. Was that enough to make him re-think his values? Almost. Then evil parental units appeared, told him what to do, and FEAR kicked in again. Blindly following is easy. Standing up and saying NO is much harder. Standing up to parents, which every young adult must do someday, is VERY hard.
At the end of the battle, Voldamort and his slime-balls lost. Did the Malfoys lay down their wands and kneel before the victors, pledging service to fix the damage they had done?
Of course not! They were AFRAID. They feared they would be treated like THEY would have treated Harry and his friends.
When a crisis is in your face, it's too late to learn calmness, honor, maturity, and self-discipline. You have to learn those things day by day, in everything you do, or they won't be there when the important moment comes.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Sorry for being inactive. I think that maybe Draco wasn't scared of his parents. Everything Narcissa did was for Draco. I think that yes, they did evil things and yes, they probably would have joined Voldemort for power but ultimately what kept them with him was FEAR of him and provided protection for their family. Draco was a scaredy cat without his friends and so am I, doesn't mean I like him though.
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I'm glad both of you saw how big a part FEAR plays in getting mixed up with EVIL, Arti and GS. Since you're aware of your fear, GS, hopefully you can master it.What's Wrong with the Ending?
Something about the ending of the last Harry Potter movie bothered me. It wasn't that Ron and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny, had children, and they grew up to be magical. That made sense.
What bothered me was that the last scene implied everything was okay at Hogwarts (after some serious repair work, of course).
The entire Harry Potter story was about the fact that Hogwarts was trying to be good and honorable while existing in a system that was AT LEAST as bad as muggle politics, maybe worse. The Ministry of Magic (sort of the "school district office") was riddled (sorry about the pun) with corruption, dysfunction, and came very close to sponsoring pure evil. The dementors were "bad cops" who just wanted some action, and didn't care whom they got it from. And Hogwarts didn't seem to have any way to keep evil teachers off its staff, and evil students out of its students.
It would be NICE if Hogwarts was repaired, a good headmaster and good teachers found to replace Dumbledore and Snape, and life went on for the main characters' children. It's just a little hard to believe, given what we saw during the six years (not counting the last scene) that the story covered.
BTW, that's one of the mistakes people often make when thinking about the future. It will be like the past, or (if we've been brought up with the Myth of Progress, which most of us have) it will be better. Not necessarily true. There is some inertia (tendency to stay the same) in the flow of history, but tomorrow can be very different from today, and it can go in either direction.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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So you're saying that everything will not be "fixed" but it can? And I agree with Arti that the major problem, Voldemort, to Hogwarts and the Wizarding World was solved.
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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I MOSTLY agree with all of you, but I'm just worried, especially after seeing how much the Ministry of Magic worked against Hogwarts. But I totally HOPE you are right.Wrapping Up the Topic
I'm about to do some traveling for about a month, so I'll end this topic today, and thank the young adults who have read and commented on my postings. Arti, Kate, Goldensunshine, Tokio, and others.
Partly inspired by this topic, and partly by my Youth Futures blog, I've decided to write a book this winter that will be a gift to young adults. It will be part story and part things you need to know if the problems in our world keep getting worse. It will be a gift because I plan to give it away to or for any young adult, although it will also be for sale at a minimal price for those who prefer to buy it.
To put it very bluntly, I don't believe the adult leaders of our world can solve the economic and environmental problems we are facing. Problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them. Every time I see a young adult (a "teen" or "tween"), I get the strange feeling that I'm seeing the future. I don't mean I'm seeing the people who will grow up to be the next "consumers." Instead, I get the feeling I'm looking at the ONLY people who will be around in the future.
Maybe my book will help a few of you who would otherwise be caught in the mess that looks like its coming our way.
This Dumbledore's Army topic, and most of your comments, will be preserved on my web site (www.nebador.com) in case it doesn't remain on GoodReads for any reason. As soon as my new book is ready, I'll post a note on Dumbledore's Army so those who are interested can get a copy.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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I'll miss you too, Arti and Kate. I'll be on trains and busses, then driving a truck to help a friend move, for the next 3 or 4 weeks. I have to shut down my computer tonight and get up EARLY tomorrow. Be well!
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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Will you be back sometime in the future?
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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he ight come back, but who knows... does anyone wanna continue this topic?
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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But we make are choices because we are influenced. i mean voldemort was influenced my many thing he was encouraged as well that's why he made his choices, choices aren't the only thing that makes us who we are it's the reason behind the choice of what we do.
For example let's say a boys brother had fallen in love with a girl and she had loved him back. All of a sudden the girl ditches the boys brother for a richer guy and the boys brother commits suicide. The boy loved his brother and he hated the reason for his brothers death - a girl. So he hated all girls. It was his choice to hate girls but his chioce was made because of multiple reasons.