I haven't read the essay, and its been decades since I read any of Card's books. But IIRC, the ending of the first book did not excuse him at all, it wrapped up abruptly and left the reader (me at least) reeling as to the full consequences of Ender's actions. A (the?) primary theme of the sequels was Ender trying to atone for his actions.
The lesson I took from the first book was that blind faith in leaders is terribly destructive -- that a moral person can never hand over the responsibility for their morality to anyone else. I was a teenager when I read it and I'd put that down as one of the formative lessons of my teen years.
The lesson I took from the first book was that blind faith in leaders is terribly destructive -- that a moral person can never hand over the responsibility for their morality to anyone else. I was a teenager when I read it and I'd put that down as one of the formative lessons of my teen years.