Screwtape Letters - Part 6: Quarantine the Healthy!

Part 1 (origins), Part 2 (masks), Part 3 (lockdowns),
Part 4 (the new normal) Part 5 (plexiglass)

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My dear Dr. F,

Ah, the splendid irony! The beauty of human logic is that, at times, it can be so easily overridden by fear. For centuries, the rational approach to disease has been quarantine the sick, let the healthy live their lives. Yet you, my dear nephew, in an exquisite stroke of manipulation, have managed to reverse this entirely! You have convinced them to lock away the healthy and to do so with such fervor that they believe it was their idea.

Gone is the once-commonsense notion that only those actually infected should be isolated. Instead, you have turned every man, woman, and child into a suspected biohazard. Everyone, everyone, is treated as though they might be spreading the plague, and thus, they are locked away, monitored, and treated as criminals for daring to exist in society. The brilliance of it all! And you achieved this, not with evidence, not with science, but with fear.

Ah, fear! The most intoxicating elixir! You whispered that anyone—even without symptoms!—could be a silent killer. And they believed it. They embraced it. They repeated it like a sacred incantation: "You can spread the virus without knowing it." You convinced them to fear each other, their own families, their own children. Why? Because, dear nephew, once you convince a man that his very presence is a weapon, he will gladly imprison himself.

But I must caution you, dear Dr. F. There are murmurs now, whispers of reason creeping back into the discourse. Some are daring to recall that, in times past, society only isolated the sick, not the healthy. Others are noticing the contradictions: If asymptomatic transmission were truly a dire threat, why did so many of those locked down together still get sick? If masks, distance, and isolation worked, why did they keep getting infected? The more they ponder these questions, the closer they come to unraveling our grand deception.

You must act swiftly. Double down on the narrative of collective responsibility. Remind them that if they question the lockdowns, they are selfish. Let them believe that even a single case is too many, that unless every last viral particle is eradicated, they must comply. Guilt, my dear nephew, is a powerful weapon. Let them believe that even questioning the restrictions is tantamount to murdering Grandma.

And, of course, keep the children under our grip. If they grow up believing that normal human interaction is dangerous, they will never truly return to what once was. Keep them masked, keep them distant, and most of all, keep them believing that their presence alone is a threat. You have already planted the seeds of paranoia—water them well.

Oh, how I revel in the irony of it all! A world where the healthy are prisoners and the sick are incidental. Maintain this balance, dear nephew, and they will never again know what it means to be free.

Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape

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Dearest Uncle Screwtape,

Your words are, as always, a guiding light in the art of mass manipulation. Indeed, the inversion of logic has been our crowning achievement! We took the age-old principle of isolating the sick and, with a masterstroke of fear and propaganda, convinced an entire civilization to isolate themselves.

The best part? They did it willingly! They locked their own doors, avoided their own friends, skipped their own family gatherings—all out of a terror so profound they even shamed those who questioned it!

Yet, Uncle, I must confess a growing concern. Some are beginning to remember. They recall that, in past pandemics, societies functioned while isolating only the infected. They point to Sweden, to Florida, to places where lockdowns were ignored or abandoned, and nothing catastrophic happened. These doubts, left unchecked, could unravel our entire masterpiece.

How do I ensure they never piece together the truth? How do I keep them locked in the mental prison of fear, even as their physical restrictions begin to ease?

Ever your devoted pupil,
Dr. F

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My dear Dr. F,

Ah, yes, the creeping whispers of reason. They are persistent little weeds, aren’t they? But do not fret, dear nephew, for we have an arsenal of tools at our disposal.

First, you must play the long game. Remind them that their sacrifice was necessary. Let them believe that had they not endured the lockdowns, things would have been far worse. Even as evidence mounts that lockdowns did little to stop transmission, ensure they see themselves as heroes for complying. Convince them that, even if it didn’t work as intended, it was still the right thing to do. The human mind, once invested in a belief, will go to extraordinary lengths to justify it.

Second, you must continue to shame and isolate those who question the narrative. Call them “science-deniers,” “conspiracy theorists,” “dangerous extremists.” The moment they become a threat to our illusion, they must be painted as pariahs. Let their voices be drowned out in a sea of accusations. No one must feel safe questioning what we have done.

Third, introduce the idea of chronic vulnerability. Let them believe that any future virus could be just as bad—or worse. Create a cycle where they accept that lockdowns, distancing, and isolation are simply a part of modern life. After all, if it worked for Covid, why not for the next pandemic? Or for flu season? Or even for climate change? The goal, dear nephew, is to make temporary compliance permanent expectation.

And lastly, never let them know what they’ve lost. Keep them distracted, entertained, overwhelmed. Let them return to some semblance of normalcy, but never all of it. Keep the restrictions lingering in small ways—mask recommendations here, travel restrictions there, the occasional reintroduction of remote work—so that they never fully reclaim what was once theirs.

Do this, dear nephew, and they will remain in their mental lockdowns long after the physical ones have faded.

Yours in eternal control,
Screwtape