The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts, a play by Arthur Miller, detailed the stories of the residents of Salem, Massachusetts, in The Time of the Salem Witch Trials. The witch trials had many causes, the majority of Salem residents being Puritans, jealousy and family feuds being just a few. The most important of these causes is that the people of Salem all thought the same thing, without ever going against the norm. In the United States, the idea of ​​accepting what others say without thinking for oneself has been the societal norm since the growth of mainstream media. Listen to what the media says and never question it; that's what many Americans do. Ignoring your own thoughts and blindly following what the majority says is the dangerous concept of groupthink. Groupthink was the origin of the witch trials; the people of Salem did not think independently of their hive mind; this meant that outside motivations could control the outcome through manipulation of what the group thought. Groupthink is still alive and well in America today, in the form of cancel culture and reckless media consumption. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Groupthink, usually a subtle dissolution of society, has become a career-ruining topic in American society and is becoming increasingly popular. was even revealed to be fatal during the Salem witch trials. . When ulterior motives, in the form of family feud and intense jealousy, entered the group, it acted like rot, causing life to collapse and structure to decay. Today, this rot manifests itself in the practice of Cancel Culture, the act of ruining a person's career because of something they have been proven or rumored to have said or done. In The Crucible, this rottenness arose from John Proctor's rejection of Abigail Williams, his former servant, after the affair. Abigail developed bitter jealousy towards Elizabeth, John's wife. She lied out of jealousy, but when John pointed out the obvious flaws, the court refused to accept them. Driven by lies and religious fervor, the group had decided that those who accused others of witchcraft were undoubtedly true. Judge Danforth, when he begins to question Abigail's veracity, states: Abigail, realizing that her hold on the court was diminishing, responded by feigning being bewitched. This action made Judge Danforth and the group as a whole to trust Abigail again. Those who denounce the absurdity of such statements are either silenced or made to deny their own thoughts. This blind trust is still present in modern America and is what makes the existence of groupthink a dangerous thing for society. During the Salem witch trials, people could effortlessly carry out selfish desires and plans by poisoning the thoughts of the group. Lies, tricks, false evidence, stories and unprovable statements could easily manipulate people's beliefs. In the aftermath of the Salem witch trials, American society became even more prone to groupthink. Groupthink is a very volatile phenomenon, and in the years following the Salem witch trials, its size and scope have only grown. Just like the courts trusting Abigail, modern American society is too quick to trust.