The So We Might See Coalition’s Media Violence Fast encourages families to take a stand against violent media by making a conscious decision not to watch it — and to seek other methods of entertainment and intellectual stimulation.

An open letter to religious leaders, politicians, pundits and the public: 

In the last month, we have seen an alarming number of public figures use the Nazis and the Holocaust as metaphors in public debate on issues critical to this country. This development is but the most vile example of the disturbing language that has insinuated itself into our national dialogue. Examples of this divisive and ill-spirited rhetoric include: 

 • Richard Land, a leader and spokesperson in the Southern Baptist Convention compared some of the proposed health care reforms to ”what the Nazis did.” Actually, Land bestowed a “Joseph Mengele Award” on Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the president's chief health care adviser. After strong criticism, Dr. Land apologized for his comments, though he offered no apology to Dr. Emanuel. 

 • The Republican National Committee was asked to take down a link to a YouTube video parody where subtitles in a movie portraying Hitler were doctored to convey the impression that Hitler was criticizing the Democrats’ health care proposals. 

 • Fox News host Glenn Beck compared the treatment of Fox News by the Obama Administration to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. 

 • Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) referred to the failure to reform the U.S. health care system as a “holocaust.” Grayson later apologized stating that he in no way meant to minimize the Holocaust. 

The Holocaust was a tragic event in which the Nazis systematically murdered six million Jews. The Nazi regime that perpetrated this mass genocide was one of the most horrific in world history. There is no place in civil debate for the use of these types of metaphors. Perpetrators of such language harm rather than help both the integrity of the democratic process and the credibility of religious commentary. 

We, the undersigned faith leaders, call on our colleagues in all religious communities as well as elected leaders, commentators, pundits and others engaged in public debate to refrain specifically from using inappropriate Nazi and Holocaust references and, generally, to help restore civility to our national dialogue.