Well, according to the Ministry-driven press, at least.
From Harry's point of view we see what is really going on. The Ministry is trying to suppress the truth the only way it knows how - by force. Madam Umbridge becomes the dictator of Hogwarts, enforcing rules that serve only to restrict the rights of the students, even going as far as to use the illegal and painful Blood Quill on students, and eventually threatening Harry Potter with the use of the Cruciatus Curse, the Pain Curse, one of the Unforgivable Curses.
Likewise, information about our government is often held from us in America. The Pentagon Papers come to mind as a clear example of what the government is able to hide from us. Until they were released, no citizens knew the full truth about Vietnam and Cambodia, and as a result several Presidents came under the criticism that they should have deserved before. By the time the papers were released, it was too late for the public to truly protest. Even now we don't know the complete, unrestricted truth about the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq. While I believe Barack Obama is far better a president than George W. Bush was, I also believe both are withholding that which should be easy for anybody to read. How do we know that they are doing the right thing?
This is why the press needs to remain free. With the press under Ministry of Magic control in Harry Potter, they can print anything they like without restrictions, including anything from stretched truths to flat lies, and key information can be wrongfully held back from the public. Therefore, Umbridge can be portrayed as the hero of the Ministry and of Hogwarts, instead of a tyrant allowed to suppress and extinguish the voice of any who dare to speak out - either she's gone mad with power, or was mad in the first place, but either way it seems like nothing can stop here. The only thing that does in the end is the arrival of the centaurs, who exist outside the Ministry's control. Thank Merlin for that.
Likewise, information about our government is often held from us in America. The Pentagon Papers come to mind as a clear example of what the government is able to hide from us. Until they were released, no citizens knew the full truth about Vietnam and Cambodia, and as a result several Presidents came under the criticism that they should have deserved before. By the time the papers were released, it was too late for the public to truly protest. Even now we don't know the complete, unrestricted truth about the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq. While I believe Barack Obama is far better a president than George W. Bush was, I also believe both are withholding that which should be easy for anybody to read. How do we know that they are doing the right thing?
This is why the press needs to remain free. With the press under Ministry of Magic control in Harry Potter, they can print anything they like without restrictions, including anything from stretched truths to flat lies, and key information can be wrongfully held back from the public. Therefore, Umbridge can be portrayed as the hero of the Ministry and of Hogwarts, instead of a tyrant allowed to suppress and extinguish the voice of any who dare to speak out - either she's gone mad with power, or was mad in the first place, but either way it seems like nothing can stop here. The only thing that does in the end is the arrival of the centaurs, who exist outside the Ministry's control. Thank Merlin for that.
If things as illegal and wrong as the actions Umbridge took could happen at Hogwarts, and were easily covered up and silenced, what could are own government do? What is our government doing? Should the public have the right to know what is going on? (Well, I certainly think so.)
Umbrage for me is a metaphor of contemporary education -- she's all testing all the time.
ReplyDeleteClearly these 2 posts are insufficient for the assignment, though. Please see one or both of us soon to discuss this.