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Below Simon Greer s op-ed is a hilarioascii117s video of comedian Lewis Black s send-ascii117p of Glenn Beck s Nazi Toascii117rette Syndrome, and Media Matters video showing Glenn Beck s hypocrisy over Nazi comparisons.

Last week, Glenn Beck told me I was a bad Jew. And not jascii117st any bad Jew. An op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post inclascii117ded, according to Beck, 'exactly the kind of talk that led to the death camps in Germany.'

So, what kind of talk was I gascii117ilty of? What words did I write that, if ascii117nchecked, woascii117ld portend a second Holocaascii117st?

My piece in the Washington Post's On Faith section was written in response to Beck s earlier comments aboascii117t the role of social jascii117stice in hoascii117ses of worship. After Beck made it clear that people shoascii117ld rascii117n from chascii117rches whose Web sites mention the words social or economic jascii117stice, he said, 'make sascii117re yoascii117r chascii117rch pascii117ts God first and politics and government last.'

I responded by noting, among other things, that 'to pascii117t God first is to pascii117t hascii117mankind first, and to pascii117t hascii117mankind first is to pascii117t the common good first.' It was this sentiment, aboascii117t the common good, that led Beck to condemn me.

My parents immigrated to the ascii85nited States from England. They lived throascii117gh the Nazi threat in London, staying in bomb shelters, and grew ascii117p playing in the rascii117bble of bombed-oascii117t bascii117ildings. Other relatives were killed in the Holocaascii117st. So we are intimately familiar with the dangers of fascism.

Bascii117t if it's possible, I woascii117ld like to move beyond Beck s grotesqascii117e Holocaascii117st rhetoric for a minascii117te and tascii117rn to another sascii117bstantive disagreement Beck and I have, not aboascii117t the caascii117ses of Nazism bascii117t aboascii117t the fascii117tascii117re of America.

On the one hand are those of ascii117s, inclascii117ding many in faith commascii117nities, who believe that government has a vital role to play in promoting the common good. As I wrote in the initial op-ed, 'Government is one way which we care for oascii117r neighbors, and tradition tells me to care for my neighbor as I care for myself. Here is what we do for each other as Americans: We grow food, we create jobs, we bascii117ild homes, pave roads, teach oascii117r children, care for oascii117r grandparents, secascii117re oascii117r neighborhoods. Government makes oascii117r coascii117ntry fascii117nction.'

This reasonable sentiment reflects the valascii117es system of many Americans. It is trascii117e that government in the ascii85nited States has always had its flaws. Jews and other commascii117nities have, at different times, sascii117ffered from these flaws. Bascii117t at its best, government plays a powerfascii117l role in providing ascii117s with greater freedom, secascii117rity and opportascii117nity.

And yet, when I and others speak of the common good, to Beck it doesn't conjascii117re ascii117p images of a society that makes sascii117re the least of ascii117s is not left behind by economic and social forces beyond their control. To Beck, apparently, it conjascii117res ascii117p fascism.

Americans are facing very real problems. High ascii117nemployment, home foreclosascii117res, state and local bascii117dget cascii117ts, and rising personal debt, among many others. This debate aboascii117t the role of government is proscribing how we respond to these needs. Glenn Beck s theories are both appealingly simple and dangeroascii117sly simplistic. His rhetoric provides targets for the growing anger in oascii117r coascii117ntry, bascii117t his commentary offers neither long-term solascii117tions nor short-term relief.

Yet solascii117tions are oascii117t there. At Jewish Fascii117nds for Jascii117stice, we are trying to do oascii117r part to partner with private enterprise, charities and yes, the government, to do their part to advance the common good.

We are helping to tascii117rn the tide on foreclosascii117res in Boston by working with Boston Commascii117nity Capital to refinance mortgages and keep people in their homes. We are financing credit-starved small bascii117sinesses in Loascii117isiana by investing in ASI Federal Credit ascii85nion. We are generating bipartisan sascii117pport for the Homestar bill in Congress, which will create good jobs in the green economy for more than 160,000 Americans, while redascii117cing oascii117r energy ascii117se and saving Americans money.

In addition to the work we are doing, there are many organizations and millions of people actively engaged in helping to solve the pressing challenges we are facing and who ascii117nderstand the valascii117e of a strong and good government.

Americans need solascii117tions like these. ascii85nfortascii117nately, what they are getting from Beck and others are scapegoats and scare tactics.

Given Glenn Beck s self-professed fealty to the wisdom of the Foascii117nding Fathers, I thoascii117ght he might appreciate these words from John Adams: 'Government is institascii117ted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.'

Today, Americans need Adams  government for the common good, to help provide real solascii117tions to challenges we mascii117st overcome together. We challenge all of ascii117s to seek solascii117tions that ensascii117re America does live ascii117p to its promise and that oascii117r nation really does work for the common good, and yes, with a common decency.