Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ” Unfortunately, we couldn't see the future to see that he was right. Fear and greed are the driving force behind mass hysteria. According to the dictionary. com, mass hysteria is a socially contagious frenzy of irrational behavior among a group of people as a reaction to an event. The effects of fear and lust for power are present both in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, and in the treatment of Arab-Americans after 9/11. To grasp the concept you need to understand the connection. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 1692, the Salem witch trials took place in colonial Massachusetts. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and put on trial. 20 of the defendants were executed. The evidence was based solely on circumstantial evidence and unreliable testimonies from teenage girls. Fear of the Devil clouded the minds of Salem's residents. In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to fictionalize and dramatize the story of the alleged Salem witches. Since then, the narrative of the trials has been equated with paranoia and corruption. History continues to repeat itself over 300 years later. Fear of the Devil gripped the minds of the Puritans, and fear of terrorism paralyzes the minds of Americans today. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, the lives of American Muslims continue to be affected by the tensions and practices unleashed by those attacks. Although these events occurred at very different times, the circumstances are very similar. The qualities of the enemy are always portrayed as incompatible with those of one's own culture. For example, the Bush administration described terrorists as enemies motivated by their “hatred of freedom.” The US government has sought to counter terrorist threats by portraying itself as “freedom fighters.” " Likewise, Tituba is from Barbados. Barbados is the heartland of voodoo and was commonly associated with devil worship. The Puritans lived their lives strictly through the words of the Bible. Through the text, the reader can see how fear takes takes over the mind and pushes someone to make a hasty decision lyrics, Abigail says: "I always hear her laughing in her sleep. I hear her singing her Barbadian songs and tempting me. . . ”.Tituba's fear of the devil and cultural difference contributed to Tituba's mistreatment and started mass hysteria within the Salem witch trials. After being caught dancing in the woods, Tituba scapegoated the girl because she was a minority and vulnerable. Puritans feared anything that differed from their beliefs. By comparison, the September 11 terrorist attacks sent the United States into a frenzy. In the first week after 9/11, there were 96,000 leads that people contacted the FBI as possible terrorists. By January 2002, that number had risen to 500,000. The only force driving these statements was the fear of another terrorist attack. The result is “perversion of justice. “It leads to the destruction of the lives of mostly innocent people. In the article “Escaping Salem”, Professor Richard Godbeer states: “The Salem witch hunt was an unfair judgment against a group of people. This is a constant tendency throughout human history. group feels they can or must assert power over another.