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Collective Fear and Tragic Events

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What is fear? Fear is an emotion that protects us from the threats in our surroundings which has evolved to become more complex. Imagine when a group of individuals fear something together. One person resisting to government’s policies can become a huge conflict with many people. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 Puritan New England is one example. Hundreds of innocent people were accused and convicted of being witches because of collective fear created by grotesque evidences. “I-I cannot tell how, but I did. I-I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, I-it were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I-I promise you, Mr Danforth, I only thought I say them but I did not.- (Miller, Act 3. page 107).” According to Marry Warren in the book The Crucible, the whole world feared evil and started to cry spirits after a few girls screamed during the witch trials. At the end of the trials, nineteen people lost their lives because of presumed fear. In other words, collective fear can change the world by tragic events. One real life example is Pearl Harbor in World War 2. Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed 18 American ships and nearly 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most important, almost 2,500 men were killed and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. In the meantime, the United States feared another attacks by the Japanese. As a result, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, ordering all Japanese Americans to leave their houses with a suitcase of belongings and report to a concentration camp within 48 hours. These concentration camps were

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