Prosocial forms of escapism, then, have their uses. Right now, though, anti-Trump Americans are at risk of embracing a less productive form of retreat: Rather than deepening our social connections to others, Americans withdraw by spending more time at home and on their own.

Fascists despised the small truths of daily existence, loved slogans that resonated like a new religion, and preferred creative myths to history or journalism. They used new media, which at the time was radio, to create a drumbeat of propaganda that aroused feelings before people had time to ascertain facts. And now, as then, many people confused

While we still seem to be caught in the treacherous segue between stories, those cast as victims in old master narratives are writing themselves anew.