Right News and Views

My wife and I recently saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I was sitting there, enjoying the film and minding my own business, when a thought suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. This thought concerned Dolores Umbridge, the overbearing, nasty, narcissistic, and snobbish new professor of the Defense against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts who later becomes “Grand Inquisitor” of the school.

It is impossible not to dislike Umbridge. Indeed, it is very easy to outright despise her and I could not help but see parallels between her behavior and the actions of certain politicians. Consider the following points and you’ll see what I mean.

First, she believes that creating more rules – laws – is the answer to every problem – or, in many cases, perceived “problems.” She is part of the “Ministry of Magic,” after all- in Harry Potter-speak that means “Congress.” At Hogwarts she has rule after rule after rule posted in glass cases on one of the hall walls in attempt to first simply control but then later to actually target students. One of the best scenes in the film occurs when all these rules come crashing down around her- and all of the students she has suppressed cheer at the sight.

Secondly, she seeks to portray those who disagree with her as liars. By obscuring the truth through control of the student’s speech she seeks to stifle all descent. She devises a particularly nasty means to keep Harry Potter from continuing to warn others about the coming danger. Not as nasty as influencing by lying through most of the media outlets but nasty nonetheless.

Thirdly, she means well but fails to see how much chaos and harm she is actually causing. The school becomes a virtual prison with more and more of the student’s freedom suppressed. Much the way Congress, through high taxes, stifles the freedoms of the people.

Lastly, and most serious of all, she denies the obvious truth that a clear and present danger, Voldemort, threatens a great many lives. Despite the obvious evidence of this danger she blissfully refuses to consider even the possibility that an enemy exists who is bent on killing all that refuse to join his dark regime.

Sound familiar? If you’ve realized JK Rowling must have patterned Umbridge on well-meaning but short-sighted liberals then go to the head of the Defense against the Dark Arts Class.