Society Takes A Step Back

To be moral is to be concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness and badness of human character. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller the lack of morality is shown through the lack of discipline in society and helplessness of women in that time period. Although morality lacked in the previous time period, it is much worse now. To some people society has become more moral over time; however, evidence shows that society, in fact, has decreased its level of morality. The society in America in the twenty-first century is less moral than the society in the 1600s in relation to racism, women’s rights, and religion.

Throughout the history of the United States, the community of people has seen how racism has been an issue in the society since slavery first began. In the two texts mentioned above there is racism; however it is not whites against blacks. In The Crucible Parris is pleading with the judge when he says, “Judge Hathorne–it were another sort that hanged till now. Rebecca Nurse is no Bridget that lived three year with Bishop before she married him. John Proctor is not Isaac Ward that drank his family to ruin. I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town…” (Miller 127). This quote is an example of racism in the 1600s because Parris is explaining to the judge that the people who had been executed so far weren’t important in society because of their backgrounds compared to John Proctor who was known as an honorable man.

In present day the public eye sees this kind of discrimination between white people and black people. Nine times out of ten if a black citizen is killed there won’t be a thorough investigation to find the cause of their death; however if a white citizen is killed it is always the top story in the news. In a recent article in The New York Times, reporters found out that black people get discriminated when it comes to getting an uber driver. “In Seattle, the researchers found, African-American users had to wait as much as thirty-five percent longer for some Uber rides, while in Boston, people with African-sounding names were more than twice as likely to have their Uber rides canceled compared with people with white-sounding names” (Scott 2). This article that was published on October 31st, 2016 reiterates how racism in the American society is still a common and heartbreaking way of life. Along with racism still being a common theme in today’s society, women are also still fighting for equal rights.

During the evolution of the United States the role of women has changed dramatically. Although the women have gained many rights over time, their gender is still thought of as “unequal” to men. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the men believe that Hester has lost her sense of being a women and remark, “She who has once been a woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a women again, if there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation” (Hawthorne 92). In this scene from the book the narrator describes Hester without the qualities of a woman until she gets the ‘magic touch’ from a man for her to become a woman once again. This is an example of how the women in the time period had no power and people in the society did not believe that women could do anything or be anything without having a man by their side. Although since this point in history women have risen up in society and have become much more independent, this gender still deals with criticism on the daily. In a recent article about Donald Trump the citizens of the United States read about what he thinks of women and how he treats them. One example of these insults was after the first Republican primary debate where he said that the Fox journalist who was one of the debate moderators, Megyn Kelly, had questioned him so forcefully because she was menstruating. Trump said, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” Here citizens see that although women have more rights than they did in previous centuries, they are still treated as property with the same amount of disrespect.

Lastly, society has become less moral with the religions and religious rights and beliefs in the world. Back in the days of the Puritans, religion was very strict and people were not accepted into communities if they were not part of the strict Puritan religion. In The Crucible the people accused of witchcraft were asked to recite the ten commandments to prove their innocence and loyalty to God. This is another example of craziness because if the person couldn’t remember the last one, they were suspected of worshipping the devil. Nowadays religion has become more diverse and free in the United States of America. However, citizens still discriminate against other religions that are not theirs which causes hate crimes in the country. Most recently one of the candidates for the next president of the United States bashed the Catholic religion and their beliefs. This shows the public eye how religion still deals with discrimination on a daily basis.

Overall humanity in the United States of America is not looked at at a high quality because of the discrimination throughout the country. Even though the Salem Witch Trials was an all time low in the history of America, society since then has not gotten any better. Although many people now know what is right and wrong and many follow those ideas there are still those people out there who think they are the best race, gender, or religion out there. Those people are the dangerous ones and they are the reason that the American society is less moral than it was in the 1600s. The golden rule that I have been taught since infancy is “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Everyone in the world should follow this saying and once that happens society in America and in the world will be filled with respect and morality.