Studying Nazism is important, and there are useful analogies to our time. But the “Hitler card” is easy to play. When Hitler and Nazis are referenced, we need to interrogate the motives and assumptions behind the comparisons, which are often superficial and misleading.

What is presented as a uniquely “Russian” type of warfare, with high civilian casualties, is not dissimilar from attacks by the U.S. and its allies. Let us examine the facts that challenge our narratives in addition to those that confirm them.

Around the world, when cities are overcrowded, governments have orchestrated the building of new cities. In the U.S., this seems absurd or utopian. Why?

The U.S. National WWII Museum buries the gruesome realities and uncomfortable moral complexities. Until Americans grasp the reality of war, they will not be sufficiently committed to making sure wars do not happen.

The need to put extreme pressure on the Russian government over its crimes should not lead to the stigmatization and punishment of every person from Russia. Collectively blaming groups for the actions of their autocratic governments is wrong. Anti-war Russians are allies who should be embraced.

The Cold War ended but the threat of nuclear war has not. At least the Cold War generation actually took the threat of future world war seriously. It’s time for a renewed push for global disarmament.

We should simultaneously condemn Putin’s criminal war of aggression and be careful not to slip into arrogant insanity ourselves. Wars bring out the worst in all sides, and creating a world without war will require the United States to be self-critical rather than self-righteous.

We may not have a way to prove the meaning of dreams, but the bizarre, beautiful, and frightening world of dreams is worth paying attention to.