The Germans were not genetically predisposed to mass murder. Germany, during the rise of the Nazis, was an educated, intellectually thriving nation. If they could be lured by a man like Hitler then it could happen here, if the conditions were right. Such a horrifying realization ought to always be on our minds. There is a reason we must never forget: so that we never repeat.

Has the U.S. murdered a million people? No. They never will. Yet it was a sign of a healthy democracy that when Bush signed the Patriot Act after 9/11, people began to mention that Hilter had also called on emergency powers after the burning of the Reichstag. (Interesting that conservatives immediately saw parallels to Bush in Star Wars when the evil emperor called for emergency powers - Lucas had always modelled the Empire, in part, on Nazi Germany). Those who reminded us of that period of history might have engaged in a bit of hyperbole, but they also reminded us that we often regret what we do in the hysteria of the moment.

There is a reason Michelle Malkin sold her soul by scribing a book in praise of U.S. internment camps. Conservatives recognize how Hitler associations have a tendency to stymie your imperialistic designs. Remembering might make us a bit more wary of Abu Ghraib or ashamed of rounding up Japanese. But by the new standard, we have nothing to be embarassed about so long as we didn't gas Malkin's grandparents.

But isn't the lesson of Hitler that we should see the signs before we march into insanity? Hitler didn't gas people in the beginning. First he had to dismantle Democracy. He did so by manipulating people's fears. Studying humanity at its worst moments gives us lessons for less extreme times. Hyperbole forces us to ask where we draw the line. What should we NOT do for the sake of the War on Terror?  Not torture. Not nuking Fallujah, as the likes of Volokh have suggested. Then what?

The answer, as far as the right wing is concerned, is quite clearly nothing. Nothing is off the table. To even suggest otherwise is akin to treason, something we weak-kneed liberals do to undermine America. By pointing out the extremes, we suggest a limit, that there are things you can't do and still call yourself a moral being. By silencing the discussion, they're in the clear as long as the death count under our watch is less than seven figures. Excuse me if I don't pat myself on the back.

How could the Germans honestly claim they had no idea what was going on with the concentration camps operating next door? It's a good question. It appears to have no explanation. But if you'll permit me an analogy: What if those pictures of Abu Ghraib are the ashes issuing out of our smoke stacks? What if the death and torture of sometimes innocent people in the camps we know about are the stench that should tell us what's going on in the secret camps still holding prisoners off the books?

Nope. Not supposed to think about that.

And there's your answer.