| First Amendment Defence | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Category |
Common, American argument technique |
|
Function |
Misuse of a nation's history and constitution as backing for an argument with no relation to the nation. |
|
Logical Fallacies |
The First Amendment does not apply to the civilian population ie. the arguer |
|
Preferred Counter-attack |
Explanation of the First Amendment in relation to the arguer, links to this page and appropriate sources |
The First Amendment Defence is most often used by Americans attempting to prove an invalid point. It shows up most often when you are attempting to ignore an invalid point and they try to press the point home with mention of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
It is usually thought of as a 'win argument instantly, because my Constitution said so' technique and in reality, has little to no use on the Internet.
Logical Fallacy and Misconceptions[]
The amendment states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The key phrases here are "Congress", "make no law" and "petition the Government for redress of grievances."
The First Amendment only applies to the lawmakers, not the common man in an Internet argument with someone else who is quite unlikely to even be in the same country. The First Amendment limits the government's ability to infringe on freedom of speech, religion or press. Not only is the First Amendment invalid in an argument between civilians, the First Amendment has no jurisdiction outside of the United States of America. The full title of the amendment is 'First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Constitution.
Recommended Response[]
The preferred response to this argument technique is explanation of the First Amendment to the arguer, with links to appropriate sources such as an encyclopaedia or this page.
Example of a possible response.
References[]
http://www.cracked.com/funny-3809-internet-argument-techniques/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution