Bewitched

If you think that two disastrous wars, an executive branch that places itself outside the law, a warming climate, and the tireless mainstreaming of racism and misogyny collectively spell trouble for the US of A, I’m sorry to inform you that you’re living in a fool’s paradise.

For as a new article in WorldNetDaily makes clear, we face the frightening possibility of an unprecedented increase in the arguable likelihood of a potential explosion in the relative attractiveness of witchcraft.

A victory for Harry Potter means a victory for Wicca, a religion that practices various forms of witchcraft….

"In the midst of fun and fantasy, J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' novels make witchcraft look 'cool' and exciting," [Steve Wohlberg] told WND. "It doesn’t matter that these novels are only 'fictitious stories.' Stories are powerful."

On that last point, Wohlberg is quite right. There may not be any truth to the claim that there’s a leprosy epidemic in America, or that Rachel Carson has killed three billion and counting, or that the Iranians are plotting to annihilate us with an electromagnetic pulse attack, or that "Islamofascists" are plotting to outbreed the decadent West, or that 240,000 illegal immigrants are dangerous sex offenders, or – for that matter – that there’s been an increase in children who self-identify as Wiccans after reading Harry Potter.

But none of that matters, ultimately. Stories are powerful!

(Photo: "Two Witches" by Sean Duggan, 2005.)