User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4140222-20110712185824

To me, Harry Potter means doing the right thing. J. K. Rowling's magical series has universal appeal because all of us at some point have had to choose between doing what is right and what is easy, and this theme is as integral to the stories as the themes of love, friendship, and sacrifice. When it is easier to follow the crowd and hide your head in the sand, do the right thing; stand out and speak up. When it is easier to ignore the problem, do the right thing and face it. When it is easier to use people to get what you want, do the right thing and change your perspective. Harry's moral dilemmas are not so different from ours in this way. Every reader from ages 9-99 has had to decide whether to tell the truth, help an enemy, protect life, and defend the innocent, or do what is easy. It's strange to think that the key to changing the world lies within a series of books about a black-haired bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard. If we can all find that same spark within ourselves and use our ability to love to put others first and do what is hard, the world will truly be magical.