It's inappropriate to invoke Godwin's Law here, because discussion is regarding authoritarian governmental practices. Therefore the Nazi's are on topic. The pro

It's inappropriate to invoke Godwin's Law here, because discussion is regarding authoritarian governmental practices. Therefore the Nazi's are on topic. The problem with saying "There is a big difference between the US government and Nazis" is that when we think of the Nazis we think of everything that they did at the end of their reign, after they had a death grip on Germany. But the history of the Nazi Party doesn't begin in the late 30s. The groundwork began before 1920. Indeed, World War II is one of the most focused upon subjects in the study of history because it is a very important subject. If we knee-jerkedly banish all discussion of the Nazis until we are dealing with a government that is in fact like the Nazi party of the late 30s, then it's far too late. I don't think that anybody is saying that government spying on everyone is akin to the worst actions of the Nazis, but it is the sort of consolidation of power that could, in part lead to similar authoritarian regimes in the future. On the other hand, I'm not signing onto the "sheeple" comment. I'm just pointing out that discussion of the Nazis should not be off limits for this topic in general. [edited for clarity, and added the caveat at the end.]