Modern Day Witch Hunts

What is the Witch Hunt today? In Salem, it was the actual women that were working alongside the Devil. Miller was inspired to write The Crucible because of McCarthy's hunt for Communists in the 1950s. In modern day, we are hunting down our competitors. 

In school, there is so much competition around. There are people that want to be the best in academics, sports, and music. No one wants to be the loser or the one that is not good at anything. This can lead to some hysteria like in Salem.

By definition, hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of emotion and fear. The craziness started in Salem once people thought there were witches in town. Abigail catalyzed the hysteria by acting out visions and forcing people in tight situations where blaming the Devil seemed to be the only way out. To compare, there is so much worry and importance in grades. I have seen people get frustrated with school or cry over a bad grade or completely melt down because of all the stress. School is hysteria. If talking about athletics, people compare themselves to others, ranking their teammates on ability. A team knows its strongest and weakest players, and from this, I would not be surprised if judgments arise. 

In the end, it is all a competition. Students are trying to get into a certain school or be the best, stressing themselves. Students have a goal to beat their peers. This is the modern day witch hunt.