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Rowling's exploration of moral themes in Harry Potter
In 2000, an interviewer with Entertainment Weekly asked why Rowling chose to explore a theme of bigotry in Goblet of Fire. Rowling answered saying, "Because bigotry is probably the thing I detest most. All forms of intolerance, the whole idea of that which is different from me is necessary evil. I really like to explore the idea that difference is equal and good. But there's another idea that I like to explore, too. Oppressed groups are not, generally speaking, people who stand firmly together -- no, sadly, they kind of subdivide among themselves and fight like hell. That's human nature, so that's what you see here. This world of wizards and witches, they're already ostracized, and then within themselves, they've formed a loathsome pecking order." Rowling also acknowledged that she was "left-wing", and said of Harry Potter, "there is a certain amount of political stuff in there. But I also feel that every reader will bring his own agenda to the book. People who send their children to boarding schools seem to feel that I'm on their side. I'm not. Practicing wiccans think I'm also a witch. I'm not."

In the Vancouver Sun, Rowling said that to her, the moral significance of the tales seems obvious. The key for her was the choice between what is right and what is easy, "because that, that is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble."