“It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated…” –Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, pp. 644-645

As far as lofty pursuits go, “eradicating evil” is pretty high up there. Although we Stanford students are extremely goal-oriented, it’s difficult to attribute significance to the fights we undertake when the main evils we focus on eradicating are squeaky bike brakes and out-of-control e-mail inboxes. Even when we focus our efforts on something significant and pit ourselves against issues of social justice and reform, we may quickly find ourselves overwhelmed and paralyzed by the enormity of what we face. However, when we examine Harry’s struggles against Voldemort, we are reminded of why and how we ought to fight.

Throughout the series, it seems as if defeating Voldemort is Dumbledore’s and Harry’s be-all-end-all goal; as if destroying Voldemort will be the solution to the wizarding world’s problems. Nevertheless, after Dumbledore’s death (spoiler!), when Harry is contemplating how he will proceed to defeat Voldemort, he recalls Dumbledore’s wise words on combating evil. Harry realizes that Voldemort’s demise will not actually destroy evil for good, and that evil will, in fact, always be present in one form or another. At the same time, Harry manages to recognize the importance of making small strides forward and chooses not to give up hope.

During our time at Stanford, most of us become passionate about one issue or another, whether it is poverty and human trafficking or education and healthcare reform. We try to find and then actualize these passions by joining campus organizations, sending out slews of enthusiastic e-mails and dreaming up nonprofits. Oftentimes, however, we fall into the trap of taking a damaging approach to the so-called evils that we battle, and we lose perspective on what it is that we have set out to fight. We tend to become dangerously drunk on our ideas and let the lack of tangible results push us over the edge, both of which Dumbledore fervently warns Harry against.

While Dumbledore does not implore Harry to abandon his passion or to mindlessly deflect obstacles along the way, he reminds him that if he fights without fully understanding the battle, Harry may very well end up aimlessly fighting against himself. As Harry then attempts to live out Dumbledore’s advice in his pursuit of Voldemort, he is able to focus on each individual step forward. Therefore, rather than finding himself in combat with his own selfish ambitions, resignation in the face of struggle or disappointment in the unattainable nature of his goal, he is able to face each new challenge with energy and zeal. Harry clearly internalizes Dumbledore’s advice, as by the last installment, he is able to act with maturity and stamina as he makes the final strides toward defeating Voldemort.

We thus learn from Harry’s example that our so-called “life missions” are not simply about the final results but are also about refining a process with deliberate and well-reasoned steps. His experiences taking down horcrux after horcrux show us that we can find great value in the incremental strides that we take toward diminishing our discontent with and injustice that we see in our world. Progress against evil doesn’t have to involve abolishing pain and suffering from the entire world, but can simply involve eliminating these things in one individual’s world at a time. By pursuing our goals in such a manner, we are then able to find the strength both to press on and to acknowledge that our work is not in vain.

Lastly, as we consider the battles we wish to fight, we must recognize that if we truly choose to chase lofty visions, our chase will be a lifelong one. Evil certainly did not disappear with Dumbledore’s defeat of Grindelwald, and it’s safe to say that Voldemort’s defeat did not entail evil’s defeat either. Dumbledore committed his life to fighting evil, taking on one dark wizard after another. We are consequently reminded by his example that any mission we embark on, whether it be self-improvement or systemic change, may never see resolution in our lifetimes. Perhaps that is what our years at Stanford truly prepare us for and teach us. Not only does it equip us with the weapons to fight our chosen battles, but we are also able to engage with and learn from those who have been waging these battles for a long time, with the same ardor and hope that they had when they first entered the fray.

Then again, broken bike brakes are a pretty terrible form of evil in this weather. They might just be the one form of evil that can be eradicated with a quick trip to the bike shop.