Jan. 20, 2018

My dear Wormwood,

I agree, many things about the current situation have worked tremendously to our benefit, and in some cases have exceeded our expectations. I would urge you, however, to keep a calm head for two reasons. First, even though our pleasure is over lost souls, too much pleasure of any kind comes perilously close to what the Enemy would call “joy,” and is strictly forbidden by Our Father Below. Second, if the Calvary incident taught us anything, it showed us that our moments of greatest triumph can be abruptly followed by the most crushing defeat. So we must constantly be vigilant.

As you noted in your last message, the way that your patient argues with his peers on his electronic device has provided much entertainment. Originally the creature went to this device as a means of relaxation after a busy day; now the interactions with others on the device cause him greater stress than his work, and yet thanks to our endeavors, it never occurs to him to stop going to this device for leisure. Of course, while the technology that the vermin use is unique to this age, the means to the end are not important to us; the anger, frustration, and backbiting that create such a pleasant aroma for us are all that matters.

Note how we can take a bit of truth and twist it to our benefit. The Enemy knows all things, and since the patient considers himself a child of the Enemy, we can easily convince him that he knows all things. Thus, even when his perceptions are clouded, he will often stubbornly insist that he speaks the truth and that anyone else is a liar. And when he actually does speak the truth, the arrogance with which he tells others about it will prevent them from accepting it.

One would think that the absurdity of the lie could not escape your patient. He loses his keys constantly; he cannot remember the names of cherished songs; he forgets important anniversaries . . . and yet, with the right amount of coaxing on our part, he can be convinced that he understands all the complexities of history and economics, that he can discern the private motivations of all politicians, and that any policy that positively affects him can have no bearing, good or ill, on anyone else.

You can see the effect that this thinking has had on the news outlets. Absurd chattering between celebrities and politicians on their technological devices—insults and petty arguments—that would have been easily identified as “gossip” in an earlier age now becomes the top headlines for the creatures’ nightly news. And I have seen some of the creatures viciously decry anyone who chooses not to engage in further stirring of the pot as though they were engaged in moral compromise. Those who made no stand over many serious issues now demand that everyone share in their outrage over the idea, “Did you read what he wrote about her?” We have turned the discourse of an entire nation into a junior high schoolroom.

Make sure that your patient lives in a constant state of agitation about the future of his country. Since unbelievers explicitly think that their only chance for a “paradise” is what they create here on earth in the current political arena, and since the creature lives in this world with them (for now), you can convince your patient to subconsciously accept the same idea. Be sure that fear for his provision does not open his eyes to the need of others to find their provision; just keep him anxious enough about his treasures on earth that he verbally attacks anyone who seems to threaten them.

But let us consider the other possibility. Let us say that, at some point, the Enemy helps the creature to become aware of the foolishness of his ways. If the creature then becomes humble, still holding firm to what he believes but speaking with grace towards others, that would be disastrous for us. If he starts to move in this direction, then we should trip him up so that he falls head first into Relativism.

Relativism has been one of Our Father Below’s greatest triumphs. Convince a creature to use a phrase such as “My truth is not your truth,” and a cloudy haze will eventually distort all his thinking. What creature could possibly be motivated to work tirelessly for the Enemy if he means no more by saying “my truth” than he means when he refers to “my socks”?

If we can convince the creature to hold these contradictory ideas in his head simultaneously, that can provide endless amusement for us. Your patient will rail constantly against news outlets that manipulate and distort the truth, while unconsciously giving himself permission to disobey the Enemy based on a lack of belief that any such thing as objective truth exists.

Whatever else happens, do not lose sight that the ultimate goal is to get your patient into one of our Father’s cages. Temporary suffering in this life does us no good in the long run if he can shake off those bonds in the next life, and if his suffering drives him to seek the Enemy’s presence all the more, then the game is up for us.

Your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape