"Our Death Letters" Continued

Anne snapped back to the present and stared down at the paper that she was struggling to fill with words. When you are dead, what can you really say? Anne looked at the piece of paper and continued to brainstorm. Is it really possible that I can die at any time? She already planned her career as a data analyst, her wedding in Hawaii, and even her retirement in Fiji where she would definitely live a long healthy life But even with her life scheduled to the tee, the lives of her family were always a worry in the back of her head. Anne would wonder, “Do they worry about me as much I worry about them?” even though she knew the answer Her parents loved her, and she loved them Looking at the portrait of her parents on her desk, she panicked at the thought of never seeing them again. With adrenaline flowing through her body, she quickly reached into her book bag to find another piece of paper, to write them a different death letter they deserved. She would end up pushing the paper to the side of her desk and not writing a thing on it though because she did not want to have the same awkward conversation she had with Noah. Her parents would have loved to sit down with their daughter by the fireplace to comfort her, but there are some things in life that are simply not meant to be.

Anne finally had enough. I really need to just write down my thoughts, it’s not that deep With her pen in hand, Anne started to write down the first things that came to mind when reminiscing on her time with Noah Hey Noah I hope you are feeling better about what happened, but I hope my last words in this note can help you through a hard time, even if it's just by a smidge. You are my best friend, maybe my only friend at this point, and you have been with me despite all the rumors and bullying that I have gone through I guess that type of stuff doesn’t bother you, huh? You have been my stability in life and I want to thank you After writing a few short sentences Anne stopped, worried that she sounded too thankful. It was how she truly felt about Noah, but

To the people of the United States, it is undeniable that a similar predicament of the Salem Witch trials is upon us. People are being prosecuted for alleged "Un-American" activities and disloyalty to the American people. We emphasize the importance of our court system and the American values of justice, but citizens are being prosecuted for false allegations. If we don't stop these injustices now, we'll end up like Salem, with people wrongfully accused, imprisoned, and killed.

The witch trials suspected the devil was present in Salem, similar to how we suspect and accused good American people of being communists and a threat to the government (Miller, 1953). The Cohn case highlights this issue and emphasizes a conspiracy used to imprison people. McCarthy attacks Roy Cohn and attempts to forcefully draw connections between him and communism, although the court case was unrelated to Cohn's political views (American Experience | PBS, 2020).

And what physical evidence backs these claims? All available evidence is mere conspiracy theories. During the Witch Trial, witchcraft was said to be an invisible force disproving all evidence to further the case (Miller, 1953) McCarthyism made it a crime to have off-centered political views or associate with people who did (TED-Ed, 2017).

Are we, not a free country, given the right to freedom of expression, yet we continue to incriminate those who utilize these liberties?

If we continue with this behavior, we will end up like Salem, with 39 innocent people incriminated and many dead (Miller, 1953). In our country, innocent people have already gone to jail, been fired from their jobs, and even been blacklisted (TED-Ed, 2017) This false threat of communism has caused more damage to the state of the country than if this ideology were to take over the US.

Many have lost their employment as a result of the corruption in our own government and legal system. As the lack of due process and protection of one's civil freedoms is the primary cause of our current predicament; we must recognize their importance

Moving forward, we need to hold elected officials accountable to avoid any more political corruption. America is a democratic government, meaning the people have a voice and can ensure that elected officials use their power responsibly.

-Fayi Nshanji