A New Godwin's Law?

There is an entertaining maxim about online discussion forums called Godwin's Law. It states, basically, that as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

That is to say, comparing something/someone to Hitler is basically signaling that you've checked out of the argument and are done making any real point.

I think there may be a new version of this law descending upon cyberspace. To paraphrase Godwin, it is that as an online discussion continues, the probability that someone will demand that you "read the Constitution" and/or "the Federalist Papers*".

Now, I'm a big fan of both sources. After all, if you're debating rights and governmental privilege and whathaveyou, the Constitution is pretty important.

But "read the Constitution" is such a stupid request that it pretty much kills the debate. There have been millions of scholars, writers, legislators, and armchair constitutionalists examining our government's founding documents, for more than 200 years. They have read it. Many know it by heart. And I would venture that even the most myopic among them would not assert that the Constitution is clear and unimpeachable in every aspect.

So there you are. If you argue about politics or policy, and someone tells you to go read the Constitution, you know the debate has ended (and, probably, you won).**

*The Federalist Papers are what people demand you read when they believe themselves to be experts in Constitutional law. Because nobody reads the Federalist Papers and those that do know they can be as open-ended in interpretation as the Constitution, with the added bonus of holding no legal weight whatsoever.

**Like Godwin's Law, there is an exception: if the person you are arguing with insists that, say, the freedom to assemble is in the 22nd Amendment, this is a reasonable response. However it would be easier to simply quote the Constitution, rather than direct others to it (and, ostensibly, away from the debate that you are apparently losing).

The Hitler comparison can also be used in very specific settings, such as comparing German leaders circa 1915-1950. That's pretty much it, though.