Never Again is Now
When the past tells its tales, we often grimace in despair, vowing never again to repeat past horrors. Yet the past has a way of seeping into the present until the horrors no longer seem so far away. For this we might take heed, and ponder whether “never again” is now. Never again is now.
Salem, 1692
In the darkness of the Salem witch hysteria, there was a sense of urgency for villagers to behave a certain way, to guard their words and actions, lest their intent be misconstrued…or worse…they upset a powerful and determined foe.
There was fury in the village well before the nightmares began. One side against another, each opposed to another’s land rights or standing in their society… all quarreling, never sharing common goals for their community, but rather choosing amongst themselves who was worthy and who was not, who should be allowed to remain and who should be forced to leave.
Even ministers, men with experience and wise words meant to bring peace and comfort, could not calm the righteous tide. Nay, in just a few short years several had tried and failed. Never again is now.
Then Reverend Parris arrived, supported by the most wealthy or boisterous, resisted by many of lesser means or smaller voice. The reverend reminded all of how determined Satan was to punch a hole through hell’s door. Of how, each day, they were tested, of how they must unite against such evil – for should even one among them fail in virtue, then all were at utmost risk.
As the cloud of dread and fear descended upon the village, it grew eerily quieter, with each questioning who might be the weakest among them, who might allow evil to enter.
Reverend Parris bid his time, preaching the ills of all except that which he deemed pious and pure. He poured himself – body and soul – into his work to guide and please his flock. Even when they questioned him, he persevered. Even when they withheld his compensation, he remained. Yet when he purchased, for the meetinghouse, candlesticks made of gold, that was a step too far, and a new feud had begun. All held tight to their coin, refusing to pay for such an unnecessary and profane extravagance as that.
Then soon, the Reverend’s daughter, along with her friends, captured the attention of all as they fell into fits… fits certainly caused by the weakest among them, the one who allowed darkness to enter their town.
And the clash between good and evil became a fight more urgent than ever before.
Fear then ruled the lives of all in the village and surrounding areas, for they knew, at any moment, they or someone they loved could be accused of being allied with evil. Of granting evil a place to reside.
The witch hysteria that followed scarred our land with the blood of innocents…and innocence. It seared paralyzing terror into the minds, hearts and lives of not only the meek, but soon, the powerful as well, until not one among them was safe. Until good and evil collided, merged in such a way as to confuse even the most wizened, the most pure.
That time of darkness, though it simmered well and long before it
reached boiling, lasted but a relatively short while. And though the purposeful and systematic desecration of human decency that took place cannot – and should never – be diminished in any way, we must realize life was put back to rights not very long after the horrors began. Common sense, the voice of the people –the resistance to the obvious and ever-growing atrocities – brought light to the village and exposed the true sinners.
Sadly, those who perished would not be honored until centuries later. But vows were made then, as so often since, to never again repeat the sins of the past.
Never again is now.
#Resist
This makes my skin crawl. I cant believe how things that are happenging now are like what happened before. I keep seeing peole compare what’s going on now with Hitler and Nazis but I never heard this comparison. People should open their eyes. This scares me.
It’s base human nature, I suppose. When fearful or stressed, we tend to gravitate toward the Strong Man, if you will, who promises to make things better, to show us who’s to “blame” for everything that’s wrong in our lives and to help rid us of that supposed problem. In history, we’ve gone along with it until we realized our rights had been eliminated, that a witch hunt had begun which rounded up people we knew, people we loved…’us’…and only much later did we realize what was really happening and stand up against it.
That it’s happening again now is scary, as you said, Carla, but we should not be so frightened that we cower. Sometimes, action is necessary. I like to think we’re recognizing the signs of this kind of nightmare scenario sooner than we ever had in history and that we’ll stand up together as one to see that history is not, yet again, repeated.
Thanks for coming by and commenting. xo