When I was in college I had a religion professor who once posed a question that is used frequently in ethical exercises: The Baby Hitler conundrum. If there was a baby that you somehow KNEW would grow up to become Adolph Hitler, would you be justified in killing that child?

We students debated and argued about this ridiculous hypothetical, but the consensus seemed to be that the slaying would be morally justified to save the lives of six million Jews.

There was only one Hitler, an unspeakably evil, antisemitic and genocidal man. Yet for years the left has casually equated politicians on the right with this murderous monster. For a time George W. Bush was Hitler, so was Romney, but the Hitler comparison became rampant and actually commonplace with the arrival of Donald Trump in politics.

This is a dangerous game the left is playing.

In their desperate attempt to retain control of the White House, Dems routinely say that Trump is, literally, Hitler. Once-respectable newspapers - The Washington Post, for instance - actually published this garbage argument. In fact, The Post first gave readers permission to call Trump a Nazi in 2015 when this same writer, Michael Godwin, penned a piece headlined, “Sure, Call Trump A Nazi. “.

You see, once you dehumanize your political opponent and convince your followers that not only is your rival wrong, but indistinguishable from one of the most heinous figures in history, bad things can happen.

Your preposterous comparisons may spur unhinged people into deadly acts.

Let me be clear: The gunman is soley responsible for Saturday’s assassination attempt. But wild rhetoric from the radical left, calling for the assassination, may have incited his act.

It’s the Baby Hitler theory in practice.

Remember Kathy Griffin with the Trump severed head?

How about Keith Olberman from just a few months ago pining for a Trump assassination?

Or this Tweet, released in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s shooting, from Rep. Bennie Thompson’s top aide. Remember, he’s the congressman who’s been trying to remove Trump’s Secret Service protection.

The odious Jacqueline Marsaw took down the Tweet, reportedly on orders from her boss on Sunday. Unfortunately for her screenshots live forever.

It’s worth noting that encouraging assassins to shoot-to-kill Trump next time was not a serious enough infraction to get her sacked from Thompson’s office. Like Biden, Thompson apparently fires no one.

Congress should immediately move to defund Marsaw’s job. Not a penny of tax dollars should flow to this vile woman.

Contrast that hateful Tweet with this emotional message released on Sunday from Melania Trump.

"When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron's life, were on the brink of devastating change," she wrote, adding that her husband is a generous and caring man… "The winds of change have arrived. For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide - thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family."

Melania also made this observation:

The attempted assassin was "a monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine" who attempted to "ring out Donald's passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration."

That’s the key. When you dehumanize your opponent to the point where they’re regarded as subhuman, all rules of civility are suspended. It gives crazies permission to act irrationally and violently.

That’s why Hitler analogies are so freaking dangerous. So is characterizing those who support Donald Trump as “ultra MAGAs” as if they aren’t quite human. So is calling Trump supporters “deplorables.”

A person I used to know who suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome began calling Trump supporters “Trumpanzees” on social media.

I muted him and quietly pulled away. If I am some sort of tree-swinging primate because of my political leanings, well, I will leave that conversation.

Every single person who threw some dried kindling on the fire that was Trump is Hitler and his followers are Nazis should reflect on whether they might bear some responsibility for inciting what happened on Saturday.

If Trump is a monster and his followers no better than Hitler’s brown shirts, why not kill us all?

Perhaps both sides do need to tone down the rhetoric. But that’s a subject for another day.

It’s not fanatics on the right shooting at congressmen on a baseball field, lurking outside of Brett Kavanaugh’s home, breaking Rand Paul’s ribs, attempting to stab Lee Zelden or shooting Trump in the head.

Yes, many of us on the right have mocked the president’s mental decline. This dementia patient has the nuclear codes, for God’s sake. His policies are destructive to the economy and American families.

Still, we don’t want the president dead. In fact, I pray the Secret Service is doubling down on Biden’s protection right now. Assassination attempts sometimes brings out copycats.

Trump’s near assassination should cause the radical left to take a breath and calm down. There are no laws against invoking Hitler, but common decency demands it.

Meanwhile, retribution from the right is coming.

On Election Day.