> I guess my point is, it seems to me that if
you write a mainstream story about good and
evil, somebody's going to get mad at you for
saying what they do is evil. But if you write a
fantasy story about good and evil, everybody
accepts it because you're writing about Elves
and Dwarves, not human beings. Or are you?
>
> I'm afraid I'm not as eloquent as I wish I
was, so I haven't been able to express all my
thoughts into words (and yes, I'm scared I
might offend someone), but I think I got my
general idea down. Any thoughts on this?

On one hand, you don't want to adopt a "devil
may care" attitude, where you deliberately and
belligerantly set out to say whatever you want
to say and completely disregard the feelings
and sensitivities of others.

On the other hand, you can't let the fact that not
everyone on this globe shares your distinct
viewpoints about religion, philosophy, politics,
or whatever determine what you write. If you do
that you'll end up with completely PC,
wishy-washy drivel that won't interest anybody.

My advice is not to let anything dictate how you
tell your story. If the message you are trying to
get across in your story would be better told in
the real world setting, then write it that way. If
the fantasy genre lends itself more to what you
want to write, then use it. Don't be afraid to
express your thoughts and opinions, but be
prepared to defend them if challenged.

There's nothing wrong with using fantasy to
communicate real world ideas. When author
Jonathan Swift wanted to attack his political
opponents, he used satire. He created a
fantasy setting, turning those whose ideas he
held in contempt into Lilliputians and
Brobdingnagians, and triumphed over them in
literature as Gulliver.

Even Jesus Christ used parables to explain
truths to his disciples, even while hiding them
from the scribes and Pharisees who didn't
want to understand.

Gri"avid reader"shny