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On the Sovereign Will of Parents
Feb. 21st, 2013 12:45 pmSince antiquity, tribal and societal elders have been revered for their experience and wisdom. In some cultures, the eldest members were deemed to be possessed of special capacities, having survived the ravages of disease, injury and other hardships which befell other, less fortunate souls among their number. In the society of wizards, survival to extreme old age is more common, but no less to be respected.
Furthermore, the role of parent is often regarded as both a privilege and a sign of prosperity, especially when magical parents succeed in producing magical offspring. This is of particular importance in closed societies, such as the Protectorate, where the population must be constantly replenished in order to ensure the livelihood and prevalence of future generations. It is essential that the magical population grow in size or at least remain constant, lest the far greater numbers of muggles in Protectorate care should attempt to overthrow their minority rulers. Thus, the prowess and status of large magical families has been judged by Ministerial programmes as a desirable condition, to be rewarded as appropriate.
However, not all magical children are lucky enough to be born into such propitious circumstances. A child may not choose his parents and thus ought not to be punished for his birth; yet not all birthrights are equal in the eyes of the law. In the case of halfblood children whose parents miscalculated in their choice of partner, it is the solemn duty of society to ensure that their education be conducted in a proper manner. For many, that obligation requires that the child be placed in the home of one of those families whose lineage is impeccable, in order to ensure that a proper value system may be instilled in their charges.
This concept is at the core of demanding filial obedience to the sovereignty of one’s parent or foster-parent, who must in those cases supplant the importance of the birth parents for the purpose of inculcating all the Protectorate’s best philosophies into the minds and hearts of their young wards. One’s foster-parents are chosen out of all the families in the Protectorate to have the most efficacious, wisest advice for those in their care. Indeed, by placing halfbloods in their homes, the Protectorate itself has indicated the trust and reverence which ought to be accorded them.
From the simplest needs, such as food, clothing and shelter, to the more complex and confusing realm of such diverse topics as marriage, financial management and career choice, a foster-parent is bound by honour to act in interest of the child. The child, it therefore follows, must endeavour to behave with full faith and credit to his guardian. As in the tribal societies of old, one must accept that one’s elders, who have been given the right to direct one’s path, recognise through experience and wisdom what the child may not yet fully understand.
In the best of these situations, the relationships that emerge are marked by deep bonds of shared affection and sincere gratitude, creating a mutually beneficent association that shall endure long beyond the moment when the ward is judged ready to assume full responsibility for his own affairs. One hopes that all those in fostering shall enjoy not only the favours of their guardians’ attention while growing, but a transition to adulthood that denotes mutual respect, so that they may pass into society as true heirs to its glory.
Furthermore, the role of parent is often regarded as both a privilege and a sign of prosperity, especially when magical parents succeed in producing magical offspring. This is of particular importance in closed societies, such as the Protectorate, where the population must be constantly replenished in order to ensure the livelihood and prevalence of future generations. It is essential that the magical population grow in size or at least remain constant, lest the far greater numbers of muggles in Protectorate care should attempt to overthrow their minority rulers. Thus, the prowess and status of large magical families has been judged by Ministerial programmes as a desirable condition, to be rewarded as appropriate.
However, not all magical children are lucky enough to be born into such propitious circumstances. A child may not choose his parents and thus ought not to be punished for his birth; yet not all birthrights are equal in the eyes of the law. In the case of halfblood children whose parents miscalculated in their choice of partner, it is the solemn duty of society to ensure that their education be conducted in a proper manner. For many, that obligation requires that the child be placed in the home of one of those families whose lineage is impeccable, in order to ensure that a proper value system may be instilled in their charges.
This concept is at the core of demanding filial obedience to the sovereignty of one’s parent or foster-parent, who must in those cases supplant the importance of the birth parents for the purpose of inculcating all the Protectorate’s best philosophies into the minds and hearts of their young wards. One’s foster-parents are chosen out of all the families in the Protectorate to have the most efficacious, wisest advice for those in their care. Indeed, by placing halfbloods in their homes, the Protectorate itself has indicated the trust and reverence which ought to be accorded them.
From the simplest needs, such as food, clothing and shelter, to the more complex and confusing realm of such diverse topics as marriage, financial management and career choice, a foster-parent is bound by honour to act in interest of the child. The child, it therefore follows, must endeavour to behave with full faith and credit to his guardian. As in the tribal societies of old, one must accept that one’s elders, who have been given the right to direct one’s path, recognise through experience and wisdom what the child may not yet fully understand.
In the best of these situations, the relationships that emerge are marked by deep bonds of shared affection and sincere gratitude, creating a mutually beneficent association that shall endure long beyond the moment when the ward is judged ready to assume full responsibility for his own affairs. One hopes that all those in fostering shall enjoy not only the favours of their guardians’ attention while growing, but a transition to adulthood that denotes mutual respect, so that they may pass into society as true heirs to its glory.
