Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is widely considered one of the greatest American 20th-century playwrights. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Marilyn Monroe's third husband (who she jilted Joltin’ Joe Dimaggio for), and a Communist Advocate (until he grew up after visiting the Soviet Union). Most relevant to today’s discussion, Miller authored The Crucible in 1953.
The play is an allegorical depiction of the 1692–93 Salem Witch Trials that conveyed a thinly veiled allusion to the communist witch hunts of the post-war era that lasted from roughly 1946 through the downfall and demise of Joseph McCarthy in 1954. The fact is, however, some of those 20th-century Communist witches were real… Did anyone ever hear of the Rosenbergs?
The Crucible takes place in the 17th century Massachusetts Bay Colony in the village of Salem. As the play unfolds and the characters of the dramatis personae are exposed, we see the same hypocrisy, lust, greed, and self-interest that has plagued mankind since the dawn of time. Those being falsely accused of practicing witchcraft in the 17th-century were morphed into the 20th-century American literary imagination as the innocent victimhood of a modern American Communist hunting J'Accuse. That was Miller’s premise for the creation of his allegorical transfer from Salem in the 17th Century to America in the 20th.
The term “CRUCIBLE” is literally defined as a vessel containing substances that are heated to extremely high temperatures to be melted or otherwise forged for alternative use or application.
However, unless you are a chemist or physicist, the term is used more in poetry than prose. In literature and common parlance, the term is used to describe a formative process of great challenge and character.
During this period the lives and careers of many innocents were destroyed. However, but it is much forgotten that this was also the time of the Rosenbergs, Whittaker Chambers, and Alger Hiss. These men were homegrown Soviet spies who stole and sold vital strategic information to the Soviet Union.
Miller, in writing The Crucible, conveys his contempt for the manner in which those falsely accused of blasphemy and witchcraft are persecuted and prosecuted without Due Process and for having thoughts that contravene the complete orthodoxy with the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Miller by intention used his 17th Century Salem locus to convey the message that everyone, even those who harbor unpopular and blasphemous ideas, are entitled to Due Process and protection under the law.
When was the last time you heard anyone with a Left-wing platform defending the First Amendment right of a Trump supporter?
The Crucible has become a core piece of the American literary canon. However, the Left has used it as their own proprietary instrument in shaming only those who fail to see or protect their interests of point of view.
Dwight Eisenhower, as President of Columbia University, was faced a potential career wrecking decision. That was, whether he should allow Communist Student groups on campus to peacefully organize and protest. Eisenhower, no friend of the Communists, made clear that the First Amendment applied to all Americans, not just those he agreed with.
In today’s America, there are very few places or spaces in the American Public Domain for honest open conservatism. There are few places in Corporate America, Higher Education, or in the Public Domain where conservatives can be candidly and openly conservative without the fear of sanctions or cancelation.
How many people in a corporate or academic setting can ever even admit that they were a Trump Voter? Those of us who are true conservatives largely exist in a vacuum of social anonymity at best claiming to be "non-political" or "moderate". There is no place for us around the water cooler.
Miller’s putative "masterpiece" The Crucible could have been a powerful tool in its statement to the world that Due Process and First Amendment protection are for everyone, not just Communists and their fellow travelers.
Arthur, you stole Marilyn from Joltin’ Joe and got her to become Jewish. Too bad you couldn’t have used the power of your intellect to show America the universal lesson of The Crucible to protect and defend the rights of free speech and thought to all… Not just those with a politically correct point of view.
-Emes