Dumbledore's Army discussion
Your Suggestions, Opinions, etc.
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A real Dumbledore's Army?
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:)
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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Soryy if I sound clueless, but I couldn't really get what you were saying, just 12 years old.
yeah im 11
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WHAT?!?!? I just said yah cause it sounded right. i didnt read the whole ting. i tried to....and Im 12 too!
11 and 12 years old is a great time to start sinking your teeth into the hard questions of life. Some of my book critiquers atarted at 8 and 10. On to today's topic...What's the Threat?
An army forms because there's a threat. People don't make armies when there's no threat, because there are many more interesting things we could do with the same resources.
In Harry Potter's case, the threat was coming directly from the leadership of the Ministry of Magic, who were reacting with fear and denial to rumors that V ... you know ... had returned. Even though those leaders were not in themselves evil (?), their efforts to do their jobs were threatening to destroy Hogwarts by leaving it vulnerable to the real evil.
In our world today, huge changes are going on all around us. Although there are some people who might be labeled as evil (Bernie Madoff comes to mind), mostly there are just a lot of "leaders" running around trying to figure out what's going on, how it will affect the next election, and who they can point fingers at.
Some of our main threats:
- The economy seems to be resisting all the usual efforts to get it going so enough new jobs will be created.
- There doesn't seem to be enough coal, oil, gas, and electricity, even when the price goes way up.
- The weather is getting weirder and weirder, even though our leaders deny there's any climate change going on.
Just like in Harry Potter, fear and denial can easily be sources of problems, instead of solutions.
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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Well, honestly we are doing a ton of things to solve those problems.
I think it was all caused by the discovery of fossil fuels.
They caused pollution which caused strange weather.
Decline in fossil feuls also in a way caused the downfall of the economy.
What can we do now?
- Hope
-Recycle
- Not litter
- Noot smoke
- Just say no to uneeded alchohol
- Get ejducation when it's offered to you so you can get a job
- And give charity to people in need of ejducation.
Is that a little bit more on the dot?
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Nice ideas, Kate a.k.a. Hannah. I think you're going to enjoy and learn from my posts.J. Z.
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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J. Z."
same here. :)
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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-Discovery of Fossil Feuls
Harry Potter - Discovery of Dark Magic
Dark Magic caused Voldemort which caused death. It also caused a large out turn of bad wizards and harry potter.
These bad wizards also spread death and fear. Which caused a dark period in the wizarding world
The first time voldemort rose was kind of like the great depression. Then when he was resting was kind of the time between the great depression and now. Now would probably be the second rise of lord voldemort except it's longer and not likely to be the last one we have.
What people in Harry Potter did -
The good people stood up for what they believed in.
The cowards (willing to switchh to whichever side was safer) were always causing the problems. For example - if there hadn't been a peter pettigrew (the man who betrayed lilly and james potter) there would have never been a chosen one and the story would have never happened. So the cowards are in a way like the fossil fuels which caused the whole thing.
The bad people continued doinng what was wrong and murdered and killed and savaged.
Main Characters (Harry and Ron and Hermione) - these are the chracters that solved the problem - this is the part of our story that hasn't happened yet and might never happen. There was only one thing they could do and that was to find and destroy the horcruxes. However they weren't sure where the horcruxes were or how to destroy them, they were also partly confused and depressed during the story.
**Note- Harry Potter is a more emotional version of whats happening to us.
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
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Wonderful insights, Kate! I'm going to be learning from you! Today's post...What's needed for Magic?
One essential thing is actually the same thing that's needed for doing just about anything. It goes by many names, but my favorite is:
PERSONAL POWER
Ever wonder why Hogwarts started at age 11, not 5 or 6? Personal power doesn't come easily for adults, but it's almost impossible for children. Somewhere between 10 and 12 is when most young people these days go through a huge change. Their bodies and minds kick into high gear and begin the transition to adulthood.
Years ago I helped plan a personal power camp. For financial reasons, it didn't open, but out of the planning came a definition of personal power that became the most important theme of my writing:
"Personal power is the ability to stand on your own two feet, with a smile on your face, in the middle of a universe that contains a million ways to crush you."
That's the journey Harry, Hermione, Luna, and their friends, to various degrees, are on. That journey is there for you to make also, even if you never get a magic wand. In future posts, we'll explore it in much more detail.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Anyone can succeed, but it's harder to succeed ocnce you've fallen.
For example, it's easy to make a river dirty, but to make the dirty river clean is a challenge. And you still haven't succeeded once it's clean, once you figure out how to keep it clean that's when you've succeeded.
Harry Potter wise - For Harry - After he defeated Volemort once evrybody praised him, but when he tolld everyone that Voldemort was coming back, he went from a hero to scoundrel (to the public). But he dealt with it, he didn't do anything rash or runaway. I think that is what defines personal power:
Wanting to do something soo much that you can deal with anything bad that comes with the reward.
or Overcoming challenges not escaping them.
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So, starting a Dumbledores Army in real life huh? Young kids/teens already do something like that, which I think makes positive change in the world today.4-H.
Different 4-h clubs, counties and districts come together to solve problems at least once a year...sometimes twice or three times for counties, many more for clubs though.
They introduce it in a fun way to kids and teens(4-Her's).
4-Her's come up with several different ways to solve problems today, the main focus is solving problems facing kids and teens though.It's interesting because people who live in different lifestyles have different takes on several things, and 4-Her's always seem to find a way to come up with a solution.
I'm sure there are many different things like this in the world...but we definitely need more of them.
4-H is one great example of helping the community, and places all around the world even. And they have clubs of different kinds too.
Horse clubs, service clubs, clubs just for younger kids, and many others that have positivity for kids and teens today, to shape our future tomorrow.
4-hers of all ages are cleaning up rivers, picking up litter,having food drives, compostig and other forms of recycling, volunteering at animal centers, and many other things. You can even tell by the 4-H pledge that 4-Her's are dedicated to good causes
4-H pledge:
I pledge my head to clearer thinking
My heart to greater loyalty
my hands to larger service
and my health to better living
for my club, my community, my country, and my world
So is 4-H kind of what you're talking about when you say a real life dumbledore's army...or did I just ramble on for nothing...??
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Thanks, I just kind of went crazy though...
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Very nice point, Tokio. I have always had great respect for 4H as they are not afraid to get their hands dirty and do things that matter, like work with animals. 4H is an excellent way to develop PERSONAL POWER, as 4Hers get practice doing large, complicated projects, and nothing that is important in our world is going to be quick and simple. 4H will be especially relevant if our agricultural system keep having more and more problems, and we have to grow more (all?) of our food locally. Right now the ingredients in a typical American meal traveled an average of 1200 miles, and for every calorie we eat, 10 calories of oil and gas were used to make that one calorie.Today's topic: So ... what is Magic?
Magic is many different things to different people, and I'm no expert, but I know of a couple of definitions that will give us something we can actually use, as opposed to just movie-making special effects.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke
In other words, if a technology is beyond our understanding, we might as well call it magic. If you pull a little box from your pocket, touch its crystal face, and then talk to, maybe even see, someone far away, it might as well be called a "magic mirror." We call it a mobile phone. Does that make it less magic? No. Only a few people REALLY understand it. That's the case with Hogwarts-style magic too. Lots of students use it, but only the most advanced teachers (Dumbledore, Snape, ...) really know what's going on.
Giving it a mundane (or muggle) name lets us THINK it's not magic. Why do we do that? Are we afraid to be magic-users?
The future is going to need wizards and witches of many kinds. There is a small group of people in the world studying "Green Wizardry" under John Michael Greer, an Arch Druid. They are rediscovering the skills of growing a garden without poisons, chemicals, and power tools. In the not-too-distant future, when there's no food in the grocery stores, people everywhere may be begging for their help.
"Magic is changes in consciousness at will." -- Dion Fortune
In other words, practicing magic is being in control of your own mind and heart. Most people stumble through life, tossed this way and that, rarely planning, just being "victims" of the thoughts and feelings that slap them around. Magic of any kind needs focused, trained intention, which requires a coordination of mind and heart, under the control of the human will.
It's that simple.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Yes, I must say that I agree with that. And I have never thought of magic that way...thank you for the new idea of what magic truly is J.Z.!!
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What's the Danger?It's essential for an "army" to understand what the stakes are, what they stand to lose if they don't go to "war."
Hogwarts was rapidly being turned into a police academy when Harry and his friends decided to form Dumbledore's Army. They saw where it was going. Some of the students, such as Malfoy, would have liked it. Most of the students with high values such as honor, fairness, honesty, kindness, etc., would have left. Those who remained would have been easy pickings for V ... you know.
Our world also has a direction it's heading, and it's not hard to guess what it is. No one can really "see" the future, we can only look at the forces at work in the present, and imagine where we'll go if nothing changes.
Here are some directions we're heading, if nothing changes:
- Climate change will make us lose more big chunks of the world to hot, dry deserts, and low-elevation land to rising oceans.
- The cost of food, energy, and most other things will keep going up until only rich people can afford much of anything.
- "Safety nets," now tightening, will almost completely disappear: unemployment insurance, retirement pensions, health insurance, police and fire protection, libraries, etc.
But when thinking about dangers that seem to be lurking in our future, it's important to take a deep breath before freaking out, and remember that many things can change between now and that future.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Kate*~FlyingOnABroom~*, ~*Never*Knows*What*To*Write*Here*~...*sighs*
(last edited Jul 07, 2011 03:28PM)
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It's essential for an "army" to understand what the stakes are, what they stand to lose if they don't go to "war."
Hogwarts was rapidly being turned into a police academy w..."
If you go into war thinking about what you have to loose you will loose everyhting! You go into war to gain something, think about what you will gain and fight. Have a positive attitude and once youy step into something don't look back.
Hmans were given the gift of walking forward for a reason.
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J.Z. wrote: "What's the Danger?It's essential for an "army" to understand what the stakes are, what they stand to lose if they don't go to "war."
Hogwarts was rapidly being turned into a police academy w..."
You're right about the fact that between now and the future that things will change, I just hope it's for the better. I hope that everyone will understand that we don't have to accept bad things that happen, and that we can change things.Every bit of positivity can change something for the better...right?
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what do you mean, why are there so many words?
Good points, Kate and Tokio. I totally agree. But remember that positive attitudes are NECESSARY for making things better, but are usually not enough.Some of the Usual Mistakes
Most "armies" make the same mistakes, over and over again. Harry and his friends made some, and the Ministry of Magic made others. It's a good idea to avoid them if you have any intention of winning. (Not all armies have that intention, as strange as it sounds.)
Fighting an enemy on HIS turf with HIS weapons is an excellent way to lose. The home football team, on the football field, with a football, is going to walk all over the visiting tennis team. Going into the Ministry of Magic wasn't a complete slaughter ONLY because Dumbledore was there to add (magic) muscle. We are polluting our planet because doing so makes money, and we will not stop polluting as long as money is our measure of success.
Are we trying to fight evil? At first, evil was something "out there" named V ... you know. It got closer and closer to Hogwarts, until finally, at the time of Dumbledore's Army, it was literally IN CHARGE. Evil had come home, in the shape of Fear and Denial. Sound familiar? The usual response to an energy shortage is "We'll never run out!!!" and to climate change is "It's not our fault!!!" or "You're making up the data!!!" The fact is, Fear and Denial are in all of us whenever we step outside our "comfort zone."
Most wars are about replacing the leadership, and that was just as true at Hogwarts. Occasionally great leaders pop up (Dumbledore, Louis IX), but they are rare. Usually, when an army wins, they replace the old, corrupt leaders with new, corrupt leaders, and then wonder why things are bad again a few years later. The lesson here is that bad leadership is NORMAL in human politics. So be careful what you fight for. It may not be worth the blood, sweat, and tears.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series
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Tons and Tons of words! srry, im over reacting
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Some of the Usual Mistakes
Most "armie..."
what do you mean by "bad leadership" ?
I think he means something like a person who might not exactly know what they're doing and lead others in the wrong direction...or maybe someone who is too comfortable to sense the threat or danger in something that is their idea. But he might mean something different...with my skills of unerstanding...he probably does...
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Arti, I think Harry was a very good leader, although he was young and inexperienced. But a TYPICAL leader is more like the head of the Ministry of Magic (can't remember his name right now). He was too fearful to be a good leader.What USUALLY happens when there's a fight of some kind is the old bad leader is replaced by a new bad leader. Different leader, same @#$%&.
Good thoughts, Tokio.
JZC
Wasn't the ministry of Magic head Barty Crouch? And yeah, now that you mention it...he was too fearful, but it also seemed like he thought if he kept out of most peoples business, that they wouldn't try to hurt him, therefore making him invincible.Another thing though is, what if that became untrue? I mean there must be a few instances where the old bad leader was replaced with a good new leader, right? If not, than everyone would just be going in circles...
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But what is considered "winning"? And what are we fighting against? Is it really the tumbling economy, lack of resources, and climate change or is there really a greater threat that we need to look out for? Are these issues just small battles in what is really large war that will never end?
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It hit me the other day that Dumbledore's Army is the perfect analogy for something that bright, imaginative, courageous young people may need to start doing, in the real world, very soon. I'm sharing this you all of you because I've found that people who love the Harry Potter stories have a special spark in them, a love of friendship, team cooperation, and fairness/goodness, and also a dislike of all the slimy politics and evil that went on in the Ministry of Magic.
Harry and his friends discovered, step by step as the larger story unfolded, that the good values in their small group were not shared by the outside world. The muggle world was clueless, as are most people today who are struggling with unemployment, rising prices, and disappearing services. Even most students at Hogwarts just had their own little agendas, and weren't seeing the threads that were weaving themselves like a spider web (with V ... you know ... as the spider). People today have a million and one agendas (conservative, liberal, or whatever) and aren't looking for the threads that are weaving themselves in our world.
So I'm going to post here (and respond to good comments), once or twice a week, my thoughts about how Dumbledore's Army is an excellent model for what young people need to be doing to live and prosper in the very near future. I don't pretend to be able to see that future, but I study the forces that are shaping it, and I'm convinced that anyone who does not sharpen their wits and hone their skills very soon, like Harry and his friends did, will wish they had.
J. Z. Colby, author of the NEBADOR series