Reductio ad Hitlerum

As the L.A. Times' Brendan Bigelow points out in his blog, Rush Limbaugh's latest tirade on Obama's healthcare plan falls prey to what is known as Godwin's Law, or as a philosopher would say, Reductio ad Hitlerum.

The pictures do have a certain similarity to them. But if we follow the argument that anything that looks like Nazi symbolism somehow itself embodies the spirit of Nazism, we must accept that Buddha was a Nazi. Look at that, he ripped the Nazi symbol off of Hitler. Peaceful religion, my ass.

Actually, that argument is also fallacious. Rather, since Siddhartha Gautama preceded Adolph Hitler, it stands to reason that Adolph Hitler was actually a Buddhist because he adopted Buddhist symbolism.

But actually neither of these is true because the argument is inherently flawed. Different societies have used similar symbols throughout history to signify different things. Just because two symbols are similar does not mean they signify the same idea.

You know what is disturbing? Obama's branding. Check out BarackObama.com and everywhere you go, that little circle of hope, symbolizing the American flag, or fields of grain, or the Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. This thing is like HAL 9000, silently eying your every move, ready at any time to demonstrate that you are not actually in control of this Democracy. I'm afraid I can't let you do that, America.

2001 A Space Odyssey - Hal 9000 part 2
by non-humain

Right above I was starting down the slippery slope that Rush Limbaugh has already slipped down into the icy recesses of fallacy. But here's my problem: brand consciousness plays such a large role in this country, and it's scary to see that the president of the United States has his own brand image. We're not talking the Seal or something that every president has, this is unique to Obama himself.

Sure politicians run on brands, but their imagery is nowhere near as ubiquitous after the election as is Obama's. The Obama brand is the Starbucks logo of politics, just as easily recognized and just as easily lampooned. Branding is for the easy recognition of products, but presidents get the Seal. Obama's logo is unnecessary, unless he wants to license official Obama-wear products. And that should not be happening.