I have to be honest. I am not a history expert. It was probably my least favorite subject in school, and I avoided it altogether in college. So, while my "data" may be less than exact, the general trends and actions are accurate.

Throught history, in many parts of the world, there was often a village wise-woman who knew herbal remedies and other lore. Young girls would study with her to learn her skills, and take them into the next generation. Everyone went to the village healer for nearly everything, including the healing of a broken heart. She was wise, as well as learned. The system worked well for centuries.

Until the brand new Roman Empire wanted things to be different. They used their brand new religion, and the fear of "hell" to justify taking what they wanted from the people. It started with accusing the wise-women of consorting with the "devil" to do their healing. It ended up with the murder of many, many people. Some got accused of "witchcraft" because they smiled at someone, and the wife got jealous. Some because the government wanted their property. Greed, jealousy, lust, and coveteousness were motivations to get rid of someone, and the witch trials were a good vehicle to use for their murder. Their evil and hatred lasted for many hundreds of years.

Thankfully, that is behind us. With the rise of Christianity in our country, and the general bigotry toward non-Christians that many of them exhibit (not all, thankfully, maybe not most, but they are very loud) I fear it could go that way again. Not any time soon, but if we put any one religion first, and allow it into our schools and government offices, we are risking our religious freedom. If we take those baby steps back in that direction, well, I could see non-Christians being murdered again, simply for not being Christian. I hope it never comes to that again. I think once was more than enough.

This is my personal plea to all who read this: Please let's live in harmony with one another, and if not love, at least tolerance. There are good people in all religions, including no religion at all. Hatred and intolerance only breed more of the same, and nobody wins in the long run. Let's never forget what religious intolerance can do. A lot of people were murdered in the name of God over the course of the "witch trials." We can't undo it, but we can vow to never forget, lest it happen again.

Many blessings,

Calli