Nowadays, people who claim to be witches advertise themselves as good people who want to help others. They join WICCA and appear on television. Usually, they point out that they are guilty only of practicing an ancient pagan religion, which seeks to control events and the weather with magic practices. In ancient pagan t

imes, when the weather was good and crops came in abundantly, this "proved" to the people that the pagan priest's magic was powerful. By 1730, however, witches had been strongly denounced by the Church as real and as the essence of evil. People were afraid of witches and what they might do. A whole body of belief about witches was attached to the fear-that they kept cats, for example, as "consorts" and were in league with Satan. Belief in a devil as the source of evil in the world was widespread then. Although some people today still believe there is an actual being called the devil that seduces people into committing sin, most people no longer subscribe to such belief. In fact, many people believe that evil comes from nowhere but mental suggestion. We believe in it, and as long as we do, it seems to manifest itself in our experience. If, as a result of childhood experiences, we believe ourselves to be evil, then we do evil deeds. The prisons are full of people who see themselves this way.

Recent events have shown that people are not quite ready to do away with accusing their neighbors. During the 1950s, for example, witch-hunts were conducted against people accused of being communists. There was fear of being accused, because it meant one's job would be lost and reputation ruined. Nowadays, the "witches" being hunted are terrorist suspects who are arrested and confined without being charged, tortured for information and confessions, and denied due process under the law. Like the spectators in 1730 who "were of the opinion, that any Person so bound and plac'd in the Water (unless they were mere Skin and Bones) would swim till their Breath was gone, and their Lungs fill'd with Water" (815), there are people in the United States today who point out that information obtained by torture is unreliable because a person will say anything to escape from torture. Things have not changed that much. Some people will believe anything, especially if they think others do, too, while others will be less gullible and less willing to jump to conclusions.

This is probably the way Phyllis Wheatley, the poet who wrote "A Farewell to America," was raised. In a very real sense, Susannah Wheatley, her mistress (owner, for the poet is a slave) is the only mother she has ever known. Although she leaves home to go abroad for a very good reason, to recover her health (and she longs to be healthy), she knows that Susannah is sorrowful ("Susannah mourns") because she is leaving, and she cannot bear to see her mistress cry as they

Some common words found in the essay are:
Susannah Susannah, Benjamin Franklin, Psalms Franklin, Obviously Susannah, Satan Belief, Farewell America, Children Murray, Skin Bones, Susannah Wheatley, Murray Wheatley, people believe, accusing neighbors, murray calls, narrator poem, vice crime, witch sorcerer, farewell america, child child, ancient pagan, fear witches,
Approximate Word count = 1714
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)