“The masses have never thirsted after truth... . Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”
The Crowd, Le Bon
Propaganda must be continuous and lasting—continuous in that it must not leave any gaps, but must fill the citizen’s whole day and all his days; lasting in that it must function over a very long period of time.’ Propaganda tends to make the individual live in a separate world; he must not have outside points of reference. He must not be allowed a moment of meditation or reflection in which to see himself vis-a-vis the propagandist, as happens when the propaganda is not continuous.
Propaganda, Ellul
Words and symbols have no real meaning to these people. They are more like mantras, or incantations, to elicit conditioned feelings and demonstrate whether one belongs to the group or not. Fascist has no emotional meaning tied to the term, it’s just a meaningless noise “the others” make.
Under the Dark Enlightenment philosophy adopted by Trump’s financial backers, they do indeed plan the destruction of the US.