Ever since Donald Trump walked down an escalator a decade past, hyper-partisan idealogues have attempted to smear him with political labels that have no place in American politics. Their favorite of course is dictator followed by various expletives and descriptives such as “fascist,” “Nazi” or a reincarnated Hitler. Knowledgeable people know that none of those labels are appropriate and their free-wheeling use cheapens the true meaning of those words. Donald Trump is abrasive to be sure and quick with the personal insult, a result of decades living in New Yorks’ predatory business climate. However, words have meaning and sometimes produce deadly consequences.

In the 20th century, the word “Nazi” evoked fear and loathing for most decent people and rightly so. The National Socialist German Workers Party, the “Nazi Party” in Germany’s Third Reich under Adolf Hitler, was the very embodiment of evil, intent on world conquest while inflicting the most horrendous atrocities imaginable upon its victims. The Nazis were  socialists but also fascists, racists and imbued with a fascination with occult doctrine and practices. They especially hated Jews, along with any people, individual, organization or group that either opposed or potentially opposed their rule. When they took power in 1933 they immediately abolished all opposing political parties and labor unions, and controlled the press, academia and religious groups. The official state-sponsored churches were forced to adopt Nazi doctrine, replacing the cross with a swastika and controlled the message from the pulpit. Pastors and congregants that resisted found themselves sent to concentration camps or the gallows.

All of this was imposed by brute force, via the official police, the Gestapo (secret police) and eventually via special formations within the German military. The “SS” was composed of the most fanatically loyal supporters of Hitler and National Socialism, a military force within the German Army conditioned to be heartless in their brutality towards any perceived enemy of the state. The Nazis, (as does communism) believed “all is in the state and nothing human exists or has value outside the state.” Nazism was a totalitarian system that ruled by fear and extreme violence. Ultimately, the Nazis led the German people into a catastrophic global war that left the nation a pile of rubble at the end of WWII.

Few Americans are aware of fascism’s origins or understand that it is not a “right-wing” philosophy but a product of the extreme Left. After all, the first tenant of the Nazis was socialism followed by extreme control of every aspect of the individual. American conservatives are steadfastly opposed to large government and at least attempt to limit government’s intrusion into people’s personal lives. Conservatives argue for free speech, even speech that offends (but does not threaten with violence) and a robust freedom to create and build without overbearing government interference and free enterprise without overburdening taxation, permitting an entrepreneur to keep as much of the fruits of their labor as possible. America’s prosperity has historically been a result of its abundance of personal freedom and economic opportunity. That might explain why we build walls on our borders to control who comes in and not to keep people prisoners within as happens in totalitarian states. It is North Korea, Communist China, the former Soviet Union or Cuba that must spend billions on security forces to keep their people imprisoned within the borders of their “socialist paradises,” as their people risk their lives to escape to America.

Ironically, it is the American Left, the advocates of socialism, large government (necessary to enforce socialist dictates on economic policy), restricted speech, confiscatory taxes and relegating all to favored or disfavored social classes based upon racial or other social categories of victimhood that have adopted the tactics and policies of fascism. Their forebears, the Nazis, also came to power after a decade of social upheaval, street battles, political intimidation and dehumanizing their opponents.

So where am I going with all this? Donald Trump and conservatives have not taken over the means of production, regulated churches or any religious group, certainly haven’t stifled the media which daily and overwhelmingly expresses undying hatred of Trump and his supporters, nor has Hollywood or academia been censored. The Left is as obnoxious towards conservatives as ever, hostile in the extreme and pose the greatest threat to personal freedom via their one-sided presentation of history and political issues. Ask any conservative speaker or writer about what kind of reception they receive on college campuses even with expensive security teams required for their personal protection.

The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk is the logical outcome of decades of propagandizing and misinforming youth and mislabeling conservatives as “Nazis.” Politicians, especially the “left wing” of the Democrat Party have called Trump, his supporters and Christians especially every foul name in the book, assaulted them for the temerity of attempting to attend a political event, wear hats or T-shirts supporting a conservative cause or just existing. When things don’t go their way, “Leftists” have rioted, burned business districts down and engaged in unremitting acts of violence towards every institution that represents freedom, civil authority or our heritage, as the media makes excuses for their behavior. Even the highest courts in the land are not exempt from their tantrums. The ugly and repulsive behavior of “Leftists” towards the Kirk family after Charlie Kirk’s murder, further slandering his name and harassing his family as they mourned, reflects the darkness in their souls.

Al Fonzi is an independent opinion columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email him at ajfonzi2@hotmail.com