January 16, 2018--Hitler

When I get an email from a friend who mentions Hitler in the subject line or makes reference to him in the first paragraph, I invoke Godwin's Law.

This is not classic Godwin's Law--an Internet adage that asserts that as a discussion grows longer the probability that someone will invoke Hitler becomes virtually certain--but a version of it: invoking it at the beginning of a hot interchange for the sake of preserving tender relationships.

The Law is not that evidence-based but still it has the ring of truth. 

In fact, nowadays, with autocratic Trump as president, in many encounters that involve him it is virtually certain that Hitler will be invoked by any or all parties early in the conversation. Or, more appropriately, since Trump resembles him in posture, behavior, and policies, he is compared to Benito Mussolini.

The latest example--

With a subject line--"Bring Him Down!"--a friend wrote just this to me:

"I think again--like Hitler he may be nearly indestructible until it is ALMOST too late."  

People most frequently invoke Hitler when backed into a corner and their argument begins to run out of gas. It's as if when evidence and logic fail, to have the last word they nuke the discussion, claiming Trump is just like Hitler or it's the same here as it was in Nazi Germany or fascist Italy.

In my view, when this occurs, since I do not see Trump (yet) to be our homegrown version of Hitler or Mussolini we are so irreconcilably not on the same page it's better to cite Godwin's Law and change the subject, log out, or ring off.

Tempted to say little in return, since this came from a close friend, I wrote back--

It will be about how self-correcting our system is. Trump's not quite Hitler (just a pathetic racist, which is bad enough) and conditions there and then versus here are not comparable.  

Among other things Germany had a collapsed economy and ours for most now is doing well for many. Then there are the critical differences between our histories and commitment to democracy as well as the structure of our traditions, institutions, and governing bodies. 

Our system of checks and balances should (hopefully) work to confine anyone with strong authoritarian tendencies or aspirations. 

On the other hand, there is also the thick centuries-long underlay of national racism and unfettered, predatory capitalism. And we have a disturbing history of know-nothingness, mass miseducation, and a saturated and banal popular culture that includes experiencing news as entertainment.

Halfway through I assume my friend nodded off but I thought, reprised here, he might like to read the whole thing.