Harry Potter and the Dementors of Guantánamo

This video from the USA is called High Schoolers Confront Bush On USA Not Representing Torture.

This post, written by Leah Anthony Libresco, originally appeared on The Huffington Post:

I’ve grown up with Harry Potter. The final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, comes out on my eighteenth birthday. As I’ve matured, the message of the series has become clear to me: the most important power is the courage to do what is right. We don’t have to be wizards to save the world.

Thank goodness.

One month ago, I met President Bush as a Presidential Scholar. At the photo-op, I was one of 50 students to write and sign a letter asking the president to condemn torture and extraordinary renditions and to repudiate his signing statement to the McCain anti-torture bill. While I wouldn’t say Harry Potter was my only role model in speaking truth to power, I did admire his decision to speak out against the excesses of power in his own government, the Ministry of Magic.

Book Six, Half Blood Prince introduced the new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, who is described as, “decisive… a man of action” (p 61). Unfortunately, just as in our world, it is not enough for a leader to be decisive; s/he must make thoughtful decisions based on data, and, once Scrimgeour gets down to business, his certainty is detrimental as he uses his power badly.