Today, the final book of the Harry Potter series goes on sale all over the world, with long cues at midnight for bookstores to open. This mania is a bit over the top. Those Potter fans can't even wait till the morning to rush to the bookstore. Most of them will only read the first chapter during the night. The rest and the final episode will have to wait for tomorrow anyway.
The Potter books are fiction and fiction has its place in literature. But this good-versus-evil, us-versus-them paradigm is not very appropriate. Bush will like it of course: playing the role of Harry Potter against the Voldemort terrorists. The real world is a bit more complicated. Underlying causes need to be analyzed. Some good guys are using bad methods to wage their struggle. One's good guy is another one's bad guy. Who is good and who is bad? And all the shades of gray in between?
The real world is much more complicated than a mere fantasy. But it can be equally, if not more, fascinating. I can't bring myself to read the Potter books. Time is a valuable commodity. There are only 24 hours in a day. Better don't spend them in a fantasy world.
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