Review for Like Some Song You Can't Unlearn

Like Some Song You Can't Unlearn

(#) iwantmynickffs 2007-08-14

Apart from the last chapter being formatted in an utterly deformed way well..

I've enjoyed the righteousness of what Harry is doing, trying to fix the issues of his past.
But as you yourself say, it's starting to get preachy with these discussions. Including morals about right and wrong in a fic usually isn't a very good idea unless it's absolutely essential to the plot. I personally don't agree with your reasoning at all and I feel like your Harry's a Gary Stu. Nobody calls upon his bullshit.

I mean personally I have a beef with people turning the dark arts into some politically misunderstood whine fest. Canon-wise you have to want to cause real pain to your target. Hardly something a healer would do. If you wished to jumpstart a heart then there should be more localized spells you can use. Crucio is after all triggering every single nerv in your body.

Then again, your description of what the dark arts in your universe is just you using your artistic license. If you want magic to be a blank slate where the dark arts doesn't require you to invest emotionally then fine.
You did end there with dark arts being something most "evil" wizards used often and you started mentioning the ease with which you could do the wrong thing for the right reasons. I've tried rereading it several times but I still can't make heads or tails of what exactly you were trying to convey. Because in the end you are hinting that the dark arts magic is corrupted and that goes fully against what you said earlier.

I'm getting the feeling that Harry wishes to be an anarchist but you should know that there is a reason why that doesn't work on a wider scale. Government as inherantly evil? That's a very cynical view if I've ever seen one. You should make a distinction between the institution and what it stands for and it's servants, the difference is quite absolute.
And how the hell was "society" supposed to save Cedric? And for that matter, no matter how incompetent the wizarding aurors are, without aurors there would be absolutely nothing to keep order. And without a society we'd all live in groups of families with what we can grow ourselves. And I don't know about you but I'd rather live together with all the benefits and responsibilities that demands.

Author's response

Cynical? Me?? You bet your ass.

Your positions mirror Hermione's in my story very closely but I feel the actions of the Ministry in canon through all 7 books support my position far more than yours. Government is, at best, an ammoral entity whose primary goal is its own continuation and advancement.

Personally, I feel that Jefferson said it best: That Government governs best which governs least. Or put another way, and I can not remember who said it, Government is like fire, a fearful servant and a dreadful master.

BJH