:quality(90)/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.12min.com%2Fbooks%2Fbooks_new_cover_experiment%2F63630_cover.original.png%3F1791404144)
The myth that never truly existed
Every fascist movement begins with a story of a lost golden age—pure, strong, unified—destroyed by outsiders. Mussolini admitted in 1922 that this myth didn't need to be true, only believed. Poland's 2018 law criminalizing mention of Polish complicity in Nazi crimes, and Marine Le Pen's denial of France's role in deporting Jews, show how nations erase their own history to protect this fiction, turning ordinary forgetfulness into state policy.
Virtuous words hiding deeply ugly intentions
Propaganda rarely names its true target. Nixon's "war on crime" used the language of public safety while his own aide admitted privately the real aim was controlling Black communities. The same trick repeats whenever "states' rights" or "free speech" gets twisted to defend exclusion rather than liberty. Once a slogan sounds noble, the real question becomes who specifically loses if it wins.
When privilege lost feels like persecution
Sharing power can feel like losing it entirely. Surveys show many conservative voters believe whites face more discrimination than any other group, and simply learning that the U.S. is becoming majority-minority increases support for right-wing policies. Stanley warns that real historical suffering, as Milošević exploited before the Kosovo genocide, can be twisted to justify domination rather than the equality it once sought.