The Kingdom of Noise:
A Screwtape Letter for the 21st Century
In 1942, C.S. Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters, an imaginary collection of letters between a senior devil (Screwtape) and his neophyte pupil (Wormwood) on the techniques and tactics for harassing the Enemy (God) and seducing, distracting, and frustrating his followers (Christians). The following is an updated version on this theme.
… Good news! The latest commendations have arrived from the Council of the Pit. You impress the lower-downs, my zealous Wormwood. They have heard of your proposals to the Noise Proliferation Committee (NPC). Indeed, places of solitude and moments of silence grow ever more scarce in the Enemy’s vast and vulgar dominion. Oh, what euphoria to see his insufferable creatures constantly multi-tasking, rushing to fill the dead air with a cacophony of cell phones and muzak, leaf blowers and motorcycles, 24-hour news and ipods – not to mention car stereos cranked up full-blast and serenading the city-scape with the hellish sounds of hip-hop and heavy metal. Those nauseating humans cannot escape their self-made dungeon of din! My pride bubbles like brimstone, Wormwood.
