Taking the Magic Out of Childhood

Re “Harry Potter Goes to School--Amid Debate,” Dec. 3: So, let me get this straight. Magic, the idea behind Harry’s wizardry, is satanic. Interesting.

If we follow that rather tragic logic, I suppose children should likewise be sheltered from such demonic minions as “The Nutcracker” (Herr Drosselmeyer), the Star Wars movies (what do you think the Force is, anyway?), any fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen or the Grimm brothers, C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” anything by J.R.R. Tolkien--the list goes on. Shall we also eliminate Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and all Disney products for good measure?

Let me go out on a limb here. Average third-graders will not read Satan into these books unless it is drilled into them by their overzealous parents. Enough already. These naysayer extremists are not protecting our tots but simply trampling the elegant magic of childhood.

Dana A.S. Rakoczy

Burbank

Now that some public schools are spending tax dollars on books espousing sorcery and witchcraft, would it be too much to ask that a copy or two of the Bible be kept on campus for balance?

James Bjorseth

Granada Hills

Parents who protest the teaching of Harry Potter in schools for fear of churning out a generation of sorcerers should be forced to write on the blackboard 100 times, “There is no such thing as witchcraft.” Yes, parents are welcome to express their opinions. But theirs is not an opinion, it is a superstition.

Robert Gould

Los Angeles