Witches!!!!!!! Let's get serious about hysteria.

Let's get serious about witches and hysteria for Halloween!

I am reading Stacy Schiff's book "The Witches" about the Salem witch trials and hangings in Massachusetts in 1692. Remember, the enlightenment in science and "knowledge" had already  begun by that date. Newton "discovered" gravity in 1687. Kepler and Galileo had come and gone. Yet 14 women, five men, and two dogs were executed for witchcraft, mainly on spectral  evidence (the hysterical ravings of a group of teen-aged girls.)

I'm not going to comment here about whether the Salem "witch hunt" targeted women mostly because women were under-valued in Puritan society. We know they were. I want to explore the hysteria that led to the hanging and jailing of dozens of men, women, and children in the American colonies. It's not as if there wasn't plenty to keep the Puritans busy. Native tribes and the French raided New England villages, wiping out whole towns. Farming, spinning, cutting firewood to keep out the cold, etc. kept people busy. But somehow, children as young as eight were jailed, and women as old as 71 were hanged (an awful death as Schiff describes it) often for being nothing more than accused or perhaps, cantankerous. 

What scares me is how little we have changed. Television shows that rely on "junk science" get more and more popular. Some so-called ghost hunter cast in eerie light claims "I feel a presence" and the public eats it up. I am not even suggesting there's not such a thing as ghosts, ESP, or "vibes..." I question the belief in such things just because someone we admire (celebrities often) say so.

And I mean to question hysteria even in our ideas about politics and religion. I question both sides on these issues. In our upcoming U.S. election, each party preaches Armageddon if their candidate fails. A series of checks and balances make this unlikely. Some of us believe this religion or that nationality is bent on destroying the world. I take issue with those who prejudice the issue with generalities as well as those who chose to remain blind to certain facts. Yes, there are problems in the world, and some of them are based on religion and nationality. Hysteria has no place in our world view.

Well, nonetheless, we will continue to hang our witches despite our best intentions. Our 300 years of knowledge and learning has gotten us only a more lethal manner of execution. We hold up in nightclubs, shooting our fellow man because they are white, black, gay, straight, or clad in the wrong color hoodie. 

When will we get it right?