The Nikabrik Election
As a C. S. Lewis admirer, I recently read an article in a Christian magazine entitled, “The Screwtape Election,” with great interest. “Screwtape,” of course, is the name given to Lewis’s expert demon in the masterful classic, The Screwtape Letters. The book comprises a series of letters from Screwtape to his novice nephew, Wormwood, instructing the younger demon in the fine art of temptation. The author of the article zeroed in on Screwtape’s advice to exclude reasoned argument from his temptation tool box because argument “moves the whole struggle on to the Enemy’s own ground.” Of course, the enemy referenced here is God. “By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason,” Screwtape opines, “and once it is awake, who can foresee the result?”
As I read these words, I couldn’t help but agree that Screwtape’s plan seems to be working quite well in American politics. Reasoned argument is hard to find—not even featured in presidential “debates.” Our politicians rely instead on the rhetoric of fear and owning their opposition with clever putdowns. We cheer over one-liners from our side with no concern over the truthfulness of what’s being claimed. “Truth” is now whatever keeps my side winning.
But the article didn’t go the way I expected. According to the author, only one side has forsaken argument. Referring to the Harris campaign, the author asked, “Has there been a ticket in recent history that abandoned argument so thoroughly and so rapidly?” It’s the Harris campaign exclusively that has brought us the “Screwtape election.” Did I miss the substantive arguments Trump has been making for the past nine years? Is that what he was doing at a Philadelphia rally last week when he spent forty minutes on stage dancing like a madman to a playlist of his favorite songs? Irony of ironies that Donald Trump, the media star and showman, is somehow now the standard-bearer for rational debate on substantive issues.
The sole blame for our “Screwtape election” can’t be placed on either side of the partisan divide. In fact, I don’t think we should blame Harris or Trump at all. It’s us—the American public—that’s to blame for this circus. We crave entertainment so desperately that we’ve turned politics into spectacle. We wouldn’t tune in to reasoned debate even if it existed. Argument no longer occurs because we don’t demand it. In a culture driven by ratings and clicks, both parties are competing to give us more of what we want. A population that spends most of our conscious time swiping for the next eight-second dopamine hit probably doesn’t have the capacity to listen to a substantive policy debate.
Harris can afford to avoid articulating her policy agenda because her supporters don’t care about policies. They care about beating Trump. Trump can dance around like a loon for forty minutes at his rally instead of delivering substantive remarks because his supporters don’t want substance. They want a symbol who embodies their frustrations with the Left.
We’ve certainly got ourselves a “Screwtape election,” but I believe Lewis provides us with a better characterization of our situation. In Prince Caspian, Prince Caspian leads his army of Narnian misfits into battle against the more powerful false king, Miraz. In a moment of desperation, a member of Caspian’s army—a dwarf named Nikabrik—suggests that they call upon the White Witch for help. Incredulously, Caspian asks Nikabrik to explain his rationale for wanting to enlist such an evil personage to their side. Nikabrik responds, “We want power: and we want a power that will be on our side.”
Isn’t that what this election is really about? Power. From one set of Christians, I hear arguments to support Kamala Harris. Ignore her radical abortion position and her willingness to fund sex-transition surgeries for convicted felons. Forget about her previous anti-police rhetoric. She will beat Trump, and that’s all that matters. From the other side, a larger cacophony of Christian voices claims that we should enthusiastically support Donald Trump. Ignore his rhetoric about using the power of his office to take vengeance on his political enemies. Disregard that he no longer even feigns to be pro-life. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear his Nazi-sounding rhetoric about immigrants “poisoning” the blood of Americans. He will stick it to the Left. He will ensure that our side wins!
Each side relies on Nikabrikian logic to strike their own respective deals with the White Witch. Each side only seems to care about power.
This election isn’t easy for Christians, and I would never claim otherwise. But I’m concerned that so many of my fellow Christians act like it is such an easy choice—like there is a clear and obvious Christian course of action. If we’re seeking power, then maybe they’re right, survival of the fittest and all. But we don’t claim to live in a Darwinian zero-sum world where all that matters is winning. We follow one who is “the way, the truth, and the life”—one who came to set aside his power to save the weak and the sinful. Truth should matter to us, and we should be willing to apply its demands equally to all sides, even our own. But more than that, love should concern us more than power. Afterall, we believe that sacrificial love is the strongest manifestation of power this world will ever witness.
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