#Also I won't lie a bunch of the 'criticisms' that have popped up around HP are ridiculously stupid and bad faith too

[bookwyrmpendragon]

No, the books do not really do that at all. And this is a big reason why we probably shouldn't participate in conversations about books we haven't read and don't intend to read. And we ESPECIALLY should not imply the author is a cryptofascist for a monologue we literally admit that we don't have any context for?

I agree we should look critically at stories and not go about idealizing their messages, including Percy Jackson, which certainly has aspects that don't hold up...but that quote is not in service to your point.

"Like it or not--and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either--America is the heart of that flame."

The quote on the wiki cuts out the bolded bit, which is unfortunate, as it's pretty important to the sentiment. But honestly, the "Like it or not" kind of covers the point as well.

It is not about portraying Western Civilization as the source of all human enlightenment, it's about portraying Western Civilization as a powerful global force, that has both good and bad aspects to it, that is now largely centered in America. Which is an objectively true statement.

That is the premise. And then the next nine and three quarters books (and that's not even counting the third sequel series or the spinoff book--I stopped reading after a while) are spent critiquing and satirizing and commenting on many, many, MANY aspects of that premise. In between the monster fights and parade of increasingly obscure mythological characters.