{"id":36375,"date":"2024-03-05T10:50:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T18:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=36375"},"modified":"2024-03-05T10:55:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T18:55:53","slug":"muggles-and-mudbloods-the-power-of-words-to-create-differences-or-belonging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/muggles-and-mudbloods-the-power-of-words-to-create-differences-or-belonging\/","title":{"rendered":"Muggles and Mudbloods. The Power of Words to Create Differences or Belonging"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019d say that it\u2019s one short step from \u2018Wizards first\u2019 to \u2018Purebloods first,\u2019 and then to \u2018Death Eaters,\u2019\u201d replied Kingsley. \u201cWe\u2019re all human, aren\u2019t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [1]<\/span><\/p>\n

I was applying to colleges during the fall of 1980. My father was a graduate of a well-known, prestigious college that had only recently begun admitting women. I decided that not only did I not want to try to manage any lingering animosity toward my presence on campus, but I would go in the opposite direction and attend a women\u2019s college.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While at this small liberal arts institution, I discovered at the age of 18 that I was not a \u201cgirl\u201d but a \u201cwoman.\u201d (A conversation with my dad during Thanksgiving break of that year: \u201cDad, I was talking to this woman on my floor\u2026\u201d \u201cWait. How old was this woman?\u201d \u201cOh, I think she\u2019s a junior, so probably 21.\u201d The look on his face conveyed, \u201cWhat have I done??\u201d Now I\u2019m [silently] horrified when our 30-year-old daughter talks about her nurse practitioner colleagues as \u201cgirls\u201d when they are intelligent and responsible, and making life and death decisions every night at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The lesson? Words matter.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The way I think about my identity makes a difference in how I show up in the world. The word \u201cgirl\u201d simply doesn\u2019t have the gravitas and – let\u2019s say it – the power of the word \u201cwoman.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I cringe every time I hear a parent in a grocery store talk about their children as \u201clittle monsters\u201d or some other seemingly playful and demeaning word. We grow into the words others use about us because our unconscious minds begin to believe those words.<\/span><\/p>\n

Words are <\/span>powerful<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Words <\/span>create<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we learn from Genesis 1, God created everything by God\u2019s word. And then God\u2019s Word became human. In John 1:1-4a, 14a we read,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life\u2026 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

In his book, <\/span>The Identity Trap, A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time<\/span><\/i>, author Yascha Mounk challenges the idea that group identity – what he calls \u201cidentity synthesis\u201d – is necessary to create a level playing field that leads to an equal opportunity for all people to live a flourishing and fulfilling life. He says it starts with good intentions but creates unexpected difficulties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mounk states, \u201cMy concern about the identity synthesis is that, in its own way, it too makes it harder for people to broaden their allegiances beyond a particular identity in a way that can sustain stability, solidarity, and social justice.\u201d [2]<\/span><\/p>\n

As I reflect on the thesis in this book, I confess that I am reminded about how important it has been – as a woman – to recognize my differences from men. And as evidenced by the proliferation of subgroups on my campus, even today, I have always been made aware of the differences others experience who are not straight white women. The intention is good, I believe: to make sure that power is equally attainable and no one group runs over another.<\/span><\/p>\n

(I don\u2019t have time or space to go into all the elements of power today, though that is a critical component of the identity trap as explained by Mounk.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But in a review of Mounk\u2019s book, the non-partisan Council on Foreign Relations clarifies some of the problems:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor much of history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. It is no surprise that many who passionately believe in social justice came to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity to resist injustice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minority groups has transformed into a counterproductive obsession with group identity in all its forms. A new ideology aiming to place each person\u2019s matrix of identities at the center of social, cultural, and political life has quickly become highly influential. It stifles discourse, vilifies mutual influence as cultural appropriation, denies that members of different groups can truly understand one another, and insists that the way governments treat their citizens should depend on the color of their skin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis, Yascha Mounk argues, is the identity trap.\u201d [3]<\/span><\/p>\n

In naming my own identity, I suppose I could go even further. I\u2019m a straight, white, married, well-educated woman with grown children and grandchildren. I live in northern New England and attend church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem – I have discovered – with classifying myself by such identity marks is that they take me further and further away from my fellow humans. Kingsley had it right (above).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there is a wonderful element to identity synthesis that we, as Christians, must take note of. When this wonderful element is weaponized, then we end up with the equivalent of Deatheaters and \u201cmudbloods\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat unites the Malfoys and Voldemort with the Dark Side is a certain ideological perspective, an explicitly fascist ideology that wishes to preserve the purity of Magic blood from any taint of Muggle blood. In fact, it gradually emerges that it is this fascist ideology that primarily characterizes the evil of the Dark Side.\u201d [4]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s that wonderful element? It\u2019s <\/span>unity<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s belonging to a <\/span>community<\/span><\/i>. Mounk notices the struggle too: \u201cA society that encourages all of us to see the world through the ever-present prism of identity will make it especially hard for people who don\u2019t neatly fit into one ethnic or cultural group to develop a sense of belonging.\u201d [5]<\/span><\/p>\n

And in their book, <\/span>The Other Half of Chuch<\/span><\/i>, Wilder and Hendricks explain,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAround age twelve, the brain undergoes a structural change that balances individual identity with group identity. From this point on, our group identity is a key player in the formation of character. We are formed by our strongest attachments and the shared identity of our community. Our brains are wired this way\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus delivers a heavy dose of group identity for a chosen, royal, holy, special people. He answers the questions: What kind of people are we? How do we act as members of God\u2019s kingdom on earth?\u201d [6]<\/span><\/p>\n

The authors go on to explain that direct willpower has little effect on our character. It all comes down to those to whom we are attached.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a great deal more that can be said about this, but here are my thoughts going forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To whom do we really belong?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Why is belonging important to character?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What can we do on our own to help the Holy Spirit form our character as followers of Jesus?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Is there anything wrong with identifying with particular groups? What\u2019s right about it?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

How do we make a bigger tent – as Jesus did – to include everyone as beloved children of God?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The questions raised by Mounk are challenging. But I firmly believe that when we view every other person first and foremost as a beloved child of God, the problems of power and equality fall away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I pray for such wisdom, love, and compassion in the world every day!<\/span><\/p>\n

We began with Kingsley. Let us end with the words of Albus Dumbledore:<\/p>\n

\"Dumbledore<\/a><\/p>\n

Source [7]<\/p>\n

==========<\/p>\n

1 – J.K. Rowling,\u00a0Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows\u00a0<\/em>(USA: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007), 440.<\/span><\/p>\n

2 – Yascha Mounk,\u00a0The Identity Trap; A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Penguin Press, 2023) 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

3 – Council on Foreign Relations, review,\u00a0The Identity Trap<\/em>. Accessed March 5, 2024. https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/book\/identity-trap<\/p>\n

4 – Suman Gupta, “Blood.” In: Re-Reading Harry Potter<\/em>.\u00a0 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), https:\/\/doi-org.georgefox.idm.oclc.org\/10.1057\/9780230279711_14<\/span><\/p>\n

5 – Mounk, 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 – Jim Wilder, Hendricks, Michel,\u00a0The Other Half of Church<\/em> (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2020), 111-112.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 – Rowling, 718.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019d say that it\u2019s one short step from \u2018Wizards first\u2019 to \u2018Purebloods first,\u2019 and then to \u2018Death Eaters,\u2019\u201d replied Kingsley. \u201cWe\u2019re all human, aren\u2019t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.\u201d \u2014 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [1] I was applying to colleges during the fall of 1980. My father […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2957,2967],"class_list":["post-36375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mounk","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36375"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36379,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36375\/revisions\/36379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}