Series 12 of The Night School of the Faber Institute explores, Guest by Guest, month by month, how it happens that when evil has gotten into the fabric of a culture (e.g., American culture), the soul/a person instinctively “retracts” in revulsion (very often unnoticed by a person - this retraction). That is, evil is a toxin that corrupts things so central to the soul’s essence that the soul/a person “pulls back” and finds/ establishes a defensive position in relation to that evil (doing this most often without noticing that he or she has done this). The soul/a person seeks a “safe” spot (i.e., a way of understanding himself or herself) in which to hide, something which Becker powerfully describes as “the vital lie”. When this is happening on a broad front in the people of an unhealthy culture, those people/that nation (government, church, social class) will quickly lose track of what being a human being actually is. Not knowing who we are at this fundamental level of awareness leaves us too able to be manipulated to “conform” to someone else’s “safe” version - vital lie - of personhood.