Crucible Blog 1

Accordig to Miller, the Salem tragedy was the horrifically epic, and unbeliveably inhumane series of events that were the Salem witch trials, but more so, the mentality that allowed them. People turned on their neighbors, using personal differences to accuse and prosecute innocent people. Society made those on its fringe into scape goats. The theocratic rule of Salem allowed for innocent people to be prosecuted. The paradox in it all is how an institution, like religion that is to be based upon vales, being good, and being fair, an institution whose early ancestors had fought needless prosecution back in their homelands and come here to a free land for rights could ultimately turn around and do the same. People whose ancestors lived through the pain of undeserved repression had turned on their neighbors and inflicted the same pain on them. In the modern era, situations similar to this arise to a lesser degree everyday, as Miller puts it "There is no prospect yet that we will discover its resolution"(7). As long as people find comfort in finding someone to blame for societal chaos, this mentality will exist. Today, discriminations against various races, groups, and sexual orientation exist promminently. Just because of one's appearance or choices, society finds it acceptable to assume that they are just like everyone else who looks or acts that way, and take the whole group to task on irrelevant issues. Society will always find it easier to blame problems on a peripheral unpopular group than to face its faults head on.