We shouldn't.
In a recent sermon from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Davidson Loehr provides the symptoms and historical context behind the word. It is not just a mud-slinging label, not merely a buzzword or a sound byte. It is an accurate definition, and it behooves us all to understand what the word really means, what it has meant in the past, and what it means for our future.
While the Church's own website, including the transcript of the sermon, is now mysteriously incaccessable,
I defy anyone to read the first thirteen points of his description, and continue to rationalize the actions and policies of the group currently holding power in this country as anything but fascism.