Overusing the "Nazi" card
Comparing our political opponents to one of the worst evils in human history is not productive.
For much of my life, Americans have casually tossed around the label "Nazi" to describe political opponents. This is almost never justified, and I have used this type of rhetoric myself when I should not have. We all need to do better, and be much more judicious in how we choose our words - especially a word as loaded as "Nazi." Here are four problems with overusing the word "Nazi" in discussing modern American politics:
First, it shuts down discussion. Outside of a few cranks online (some of whom may be feces-posting rather than sharing their actual beliefs) people know Nazi Germany was a horrendously evil regime. When you call your political opponents Nazis, you shut down any chance of dialogue with someone who disagrees with you. If someone thinks you support genocide, you are not going to be open to any other argument they make.
Second, it is insensitive to Holocaust victims. You may not like this or that policy or rhetoric or political stance, but people are not being loaded onto trains and sent to camps to be gassed. Overusing the word "Nazi" can indicate you are catastrophizing, or historically ignorant, or just dishonest, but using the horrific suffering of millions of innocent people to score political points is morally wrong.
Third, it discounts the fact that that something can be not as bad as Nazis but still be really bad. This again falls into the "all or nothing" trap, where if you deny something is equal to Nazism you are seen as supporting it. You can explain why something is bad, or even needlessly cruel or violent, without turning the dial all the way up to 11 and accusing people of being Nazis.
Fourth, you are becoming the boy who cried wolf. There are actually genocidal war criminals to whom that word would apply. For example, the genocide in Rwanda was murderous enough to be compared to the butchers of Nazi Germany. There are actual genocidal terrorist groups. And yes, there are actual Nazis who have a following. Deranged anti-Semitism has exploded over the last ten years, finding a foothold on both the Right and Left. Overusing the allegation of "Nazi" risks giving these people cover.
Let's all take a breath. Comparing our political opponents to one of the worst evils in human history is not productive and it needlessly inflames tensions on both sides. There are plenty of other words that are more helpful and more accurate to describe things you believe are harmful without invoking Nazi Germany on a daily basis.