By Chris Cosci

They preach witchcraft. They teach all about the occult. They will lead our children to hatred and rebellion. They are the Harry Potter books.

Does this sound a little extreme? Not to some people. In 1999, at least thirteen states reported groups of people requesting that the books be banned or restricted in libraries. In fact, they were the most challenged books of 1999. In 2000, the number went up to twenty-four states, solidifying the Harry Potter series at the top of the list for the second year in a row. Now, with the movie based on the first book making a zillion dollars, it is pretty much guaranteed that the Harry Potter books will head the list for the third straight year.

As if that's not bad enough, some parents are trying to take it a step further and preventing children from seeing the movie. And I'm not talking about their own children. In North Dakota, a group of 100 children from ages 12 to 15 had brought in signed permission slips from their parents, allowing them to go on a field trip to see the movie in a local theater. However, thanks to the efforts of a select few parents and (seriously) a local radio personality, the field trip was cancelled.

What is the problem here? The problem is that people have the misconceived notion that kids who read these books are going to start reading more about witchcraft and dark magic, will grow up to become Satan worshippers, and will perform ritualistic sacrifices on their classmates. They think that these books encourage kids to learn spells and make potions to hurt other people.

A major source of this problem is the association people make with the terms "witch" and "witchcraft." From various sources, I have found that there are over fifteen common definitions of witchcraft, identifying several different varieties of wizards and witches. The type of wizards and witches found in the Harry Potter books are the type who inhabit alternate fantasy worlds filled with people who possess magical powers, magical creatures, and magical objects such as flying brooms. The key word is "fantasy," meaning "these things do not exist in the real world."

Children seem to grasp this concept. Adults, on the other hand, who think they know everything about what's right and what's wrong, have a harder time understanding this. To some adults, the word "witch" sets off a stream of consciousness that goes from witch to witchcraft to evil to Satan, coming to the conclusion that all witches must be bad. If these book have witches in it, they must be evil and they're probably trying to convert all of our children into devil-worshipping imps.

I think the real problem is that the people who are making the complaints haven't actually read the books. If they did, perhaps they'd realize that these books do not teach kids how to perform rituals. They do not preach about the work of Satan.

In fact, the books talk about the value of true friendship. The kids in the book learn about the difference between right and wrong, are always told to shun evil, and are taught to only use the magic they learn for good. And in the end, one thing is always the source of everything that is good and that prevails over evil: love. So how is it possible that a book that acknowledges love as the root of all that is good be so bad for children? The answer: It's not possible.