In our ninth episode, we try to wrap our minds around the duality of man, specifically the enemy, who is both weak and simultaneously too strong. The fascist tells us that the enemy is not only different from us, lesser than us, but that their differences—race/ethnicity, religion, political affiliations—are overwhelming. Furthermore, they are too many, they have too much, and they want to take more. They are, according to the fascist, “poisoning the blood of our country” and they must be stopped—if not by law, then by force.

Our eighth episode reminds us that the plot is all around us. Like the ancient god-kings they try to emulate, fascists are obsessed with the external and internal conspiracies that seek their ruin. From secret assassination cabals to the burning Reichstag to the sad fate of household pets at the hands of immigrants in suburban Ohio, there seems to be no limit to the forces arrayed against the fascist. Revealing the plot is crucial for his success, so he needs the people to see it to. Prepare the propaganda.

Allegedly, the greatest danger these dangerously different folks present is economic, and in episode seven, we will take a close look at how fascists play the middle class against both the elites and the poor. Espousing and exploiting the strange notion that there is simply not enough for us all to share with one another, fascists declare that the middle class is squeezed out by the greedy elite and the needy poor, especially if the poor come from somewhere else. Middle classes are the bedrock of a society, fascists say, and must wage war on the forces that would deny them their due.