“These are dark times there is no denying it…”
-Rufus Scrimgeour
Many members of all generations will remember the events that took place in the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling. Today I would like to remember in particular those dark times to which the minister referred to and reflect upon the current status of the real world. I for one feel that Mr. Scrimgeour’s sentiments were spot on. With the recent string of murder and cold useless revenge in Dallas, a troubled political scene at home and abroad, and a young populace held in the grasp of a game designed specifically to shield them from that trouble; we can’t help scratching our head as a populace and think… what is the world coming to?
However, we need to look at what is going on today as what it may soon very well become: history. No, I don’t mean that we should all look upon these days with lidded eyes and forget what we may have seen. But instead, let us realize how these days will be looked upon by our children and our children’s children. When I think of the Civil War and then later to the civil rights movements I tend not to think about how terrible life was and look with disappointment upon my ancestors, instead I see how far we have come. Yes, there are still many and diverse issues that plague our nation’s races. But I look at the positive and see the possibility for more progress in the future.
We as a society must stop looking at the world as if it is doomed to be bleak and grey for all of the eternity. There are those who point out the negatives in life, whether it be the media or who have you. But it is up to us to take that negative and show the initiative to turn it into a positive. To change things, no matter the cost. Whether that "us" is our neighborhood, our city, state country, continent, race, or species we must. Because if you don’t do it, I don’t do it, he, she, or they don’t do it, nobody will.
I am no less guilty, but instead of sitting and shouting at the TV, Radio, or phone we need to change things. I will end by debunking a quote from one of the most hated characters in the Harry Potter universe, Dolores Umbridge. She says “Progress for the sake of progress must be prohibited.” I tell you, my readership, the exact opposite is true. Progress is what will give us that brighter greater future that we all want to see some day.
