How Satan Desires a Society of “Equality”

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We turn today to an ancient trick of Satan whereby he seeks to create a society of pure “equality,” without any distinctions whatsoever.

[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]The Giver – Walden Media[/featured-image]

Here is how Screwtape frames the ideal situation,

“Democracy is the word with which you must lead them by the nose…You then make a stealthy transition in their minds from this political ideal to a factual belief that all men are equal.

…[This then leads to the patient] resent[ing] every kind of superiority in others; denigrates it; wishes its annihilation. Presently he suspects every mere difference of being a claim to superiority. No one must be different from himself in voice, clothes, manners, recreations, choice of food.….‘If they were the right sort of chaps they’d be like me. They’ve no business to be different. It’s undemocratic.’

…What I want to fix your attention on is the vast, overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence–moral, cultural, social, or intellectual…..For ‘democracy’ or the ‘democratic spirit’ (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men…morally flaccid from lack of discipline in youth….and soft from a lifelong pampering. And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be. (The Screwtape Letters, 198, 199, 201, 206, emphasis added)

This type of “equality” that Satan enjoys is not the type of equality we do in fact all share. All of us are equal in dignity, deserving to be respected and loved as children of God. What Screwtape is referring to is an exterior type of equality, whereby all differences between you and your neighbor are obliterated.

It is a quest for “sameness” that eventually trumps our freedom.

The claim becomes, “everyone must be the same in order to preserve ‘democracy.'” 

It is very easy to see this influence in today’s society in America. State education in particular is increasingly fixated on this idea that every child should be exactly the same. Each child is judged by the same standard and individuality is eliminated.

Religion and all other systems that promote virtue are targeted for elimination. The State prefers that “no religion” be promoted in the public sphere, imposing a general standard upon everyone, not allowing differences in viewpoints to be discussed.

Culture and the arts are increasingly discredited as they differentiate people. This idea of “Americanization” goes back in our own family tree. How many of our grandparents and great grandparents abandoned their heritage in order to become more “American?” Most Americans do not care if their ancestors came from any particular nation and most have no idea what type of traditions or customs their ancestors held onto.

Shortly after our ancestors entered this great country of “Opportunity,” they lost their identity and were taught to be more “American” (often losing their unique last names because they were different).

Sameness

Most recently in the film adaptation of The Giver, we see the results of a quest for “sameness.” In a quest for security and a desire for a perfect society, everyone is required to be the same. Even feelings are repressed and everyone is vaccinated from feelings of anger as well as feelings of love. Society goes so far as to protect everyone from seeing color or hearing music.

In reaction to all the hurt, war, and suffering in the world, the “Elders” of society make a choice on behalf of humanity to “protect” it. In their eyes, security can only be maintained if everyone is the same.

What is lost in the shuffle is our individuality and our uniqueness as human persons. We all have something to contribute to society in our own unique way. We should not be forced to fit a particular “mold” so that everyone who graduates from High School are identical to each other. We all have particular gifts and talents that are meant to be used for the greater good of society.

If everyone is the same, as C.S. Lewis points out, excellence is stifled. No one can be virtuous in a society where we are told to fit a particular mold. Virtue is then persecuted, because it makes other people appear better than us. Everyone gets a medal. There is no difference between bad and good children. All are the same and receive the same praise.

Let us combat this quest for “sameness” or “equality” by asserting our uniqueness and striving to be virtuous. Culture and religion go hand-in-hand and both should never be suppressed. We are all unique and have something different to offer the world. Let us beware of temptations that try to convince us to “be like everyone else” or to follow “the crowd.” 

So as we go forth into the battle, let us beware of the devil and his many tactics. He is out there, “prowling like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith.”


***If you would like to follow-along reading the The Screwtape Letters, I suggest to purchase your own copy of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. If you don’t like reading, I highly suggest buying the dramatization of the letters by Focus on the Family, called The Screwtape Letters: First Ever Full-cast Dramatization of the Diabolical Classic (Radio Theatre). It features Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and is well produced.

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