|
|
|
|
Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. John Kennedy, right? At his inaugural address. No, afraid not. John F. Kennedy is credited for saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” But it was really his ghostwriter, John Kenneth Galbraith, who wrote it. And Galbraith may have lifted the idea from Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “We… recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.”
So is that so important? That a famous president…or to be more accurate, a famous president’s speech writer, borrowed…or stole the words of a famous American Poet? I mean, who’s going to remember in one hundred years. Or care?
Plagiarism is a common thing these days. When a student is faced with a deadline on an essay, there are thousands of essays on the internet. And surely most teachers don’t have the time or patience to check each essay against the vast collection on the web. When a minister needs a good sermon and the divine deity hasn’t properly inspired them, they can easily find books, or go to their computer and find hundreds of thousands of moving words, thoughts and phrases that others have used before them.
And when a candidate for President of the United States, one who is known for his oratorical skills, goes public to defend those skills and borrows…word for word… someone else’s words…well, it’s just what everyone else is doing. She does it…he does it…so that makes it okay.
Sorry, Senator. I make a living with my words. I write advertising copy, I write short stories, I write books, I write songs and yes, I write speeches. I take words, thoughts and concrete ideas very seriously, both mine and my fellow writers. The time and effort that I spend creating with words is as valuable as any manufactured product. When I utter it, it is mine. Oh, I may use other writer’s words, but I have the moral obligation to credit that writer. When I speak, write, or sing the words of another, and give anyone the impression that they are my own, I have plagiarized.
Look inside the soul of someone who blatantly plagiarizes. Someone who would have you believe that they are the author of, the thinker of these thoughts. It’s shallow, it’s unethical, it’s immoral, and in many cases illegal.
And his defense when caught? “She did it too. She used some of my words.” There’s an emptiness in Senator Barak Obama .He has proven himself to be, even in his own defense, full of someone else’s ideas and not his own.
-
Actually, Obama’s comments were not word for word. He cited different quotes than his buddy, the governor. He did use the same pattern of the quote, then the phrase “are those just words?” followed by another quote, and the phrase.
Of course, Obama’s speechwriter was also the buddy/governor’s speechwriter at the time of the first quote/phrase/quote/speech.
So… I’m guessing the speechwriter is in a wee bit of trouble for… perhaps plagiarizing from his own work, rather than coming up with something original for his new boss?
Also, the governor from whom this word pattern was borrowed was fine with it and came out with a statement that he and Obama talk often about campaign strategies and talking points.
This is not exactly like reprinting someone else’s work as your own. This is someone who was speaking extemporaneously, and used a talking point he’d been given by a speechwriter… and ALL the politicians do that. Clinton’s and McCain’s speeches/talking points may be what they truly believe, but of course they have speechwriters crafting those points into clever comments. You don’t think Clinton really came up with the phrases about “speeches don’t pay your bills, or buy your groceries,” etc., etc., do you? Or that McCain has come up with his slogans/talking points? As someone who also writes copy and speeches, I KNOW they didn’t.
So… it’s an embarrassing moment for Obama that his speechwriter goofed up, but that doesn’t exactly make him shallow, unethical, immoral or illegal. Other things he says and does, in your opinion, might do so. But not this gaffe.
Sharon
by Sharon
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:06 am
-
They all do it, Sharon, so that makes it okay.
by Don
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:16 am
-
I was judging a youth writing contest last year, with the honor of choosing the “Best of Round” essays, which means I got the cream of the crop — about twenty or so essays to read out of hundreds. A week later I was reading a two-week old edition of Sports Illustrated and found basically the same article that one of the kids had written. I was appalled.
I wrote to the regional coordinator, who was also appalled, and she took it to the next step. Unfortunately, since the essay hadn’t won (which is a good thing) there were not disciplinary actions to be officially taken, except the hope that the kid’s coach would talk to him.
It starts early, this thought that we can use each other’s words, and that it’s okay.
For my second book, I used part of the phrase “Three can keep a secret, if two are dead” for the title. I attributed it as a Hell’s Angels motto, because that’s what I knew at the time. Turns out it was actually coined by Ben Franklin. Quite a disparity there!
by Judy
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:25 am
-
All campaings are full of little, un-important gaffes. Things that the other candidates jump all over. That the media wrings its hands over. But it’s important to keep our focus on what’s realy important:
Which candidate is going to keep the economy humming so I can sell a lot of books.
by C.R.
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:29 am
-
That’s not what I said, Don.
Judy’s illustration is clearly an example of plagiarism. Obama didn’t steel an essay from a publication, slap his name on it and called it his own. As I said, during a stump speech, he used talking points provided by his speechwriter… who used to be his buddy’s speechwriter… who provided said buddy with very similar talking points. That’s not a plagiarism problem. That’s a management problem.
by Sharon
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:30 am
-
P.S. I agree with C.R.! Lol.
by Sharon
on February 19th, 2008 at 7:30 am
-
And what candidate will talk about our books and make us a national name, like Clinton helped to do with Walter Mosley. : ) (Not that Mosley didn’t already have a huge following, but that’s how I first heard about him!)
by Judy
on February 19th, 2008 at 8:41 am
-
Boy oh boy……I’m with you Don on your thoughts, which is all about integrity and honesty.
And I can’t help but to slip into the thought….who do we vote for? Again, it the lesser of two evils…now I think someone coined that phrase over time. But its been around for so long, it surfaces each and every election, that its difficult to foot note it anymore!
Anyway…..do we vote for Mrs Clinton, the clone of BigMacBill?….or McPain, the hero of the world who can’t figure out if he’s a Dem in Rep costume, or just a plain old Dem…..or do we vote for a new face, a change for the Beltway?
Hmmmmmm….I think the new face is just more of the same, just a different color.
So….what was that old phrase and who said it????? the lesser of two evils!
Oh boy.
z
by Zorro
on February 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am
-
Oh, by the way…I’m not pulling for the Dems or the Reps, or even the Independents or any of the other party wanna bees. I don’t want to be labeled with any of the terms. Why, not a tenny tiny bit of difference in any of them. And I don’t want anyone to associate me with one or the other.
Z
by Zorro
on February 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
-
Judy . . . a little known piece of history . . . Benjamin Franklin, in fact, started the Hell’s Angels. He invented a lot of other stuff, too.
by Casey
on February 19th, 2008 at 9:13 am
-
I know we’re not supposed to get into political or religious discussions on this blog but it seems that the cat is out of the bag here today. I think maybe I started it yesterday by admitting that my wife is a satanist.
But seriously, we all have our political views and preferences, and to me, the big thing to rememeber is just how historic this year’s election is going to be. One of the candidates running in the fall is either going to be a woman or an African-American. And either will have a very good change of winning the presidency. And the neat thing about it is that race and gender are not that big a deal anymore. For all our squabbling — and it’s a healthy thing that we Americans squabble — the American dream is alive and well.
And something else pretty wonderful is happening: young people are getting involved and actually voting this year. They understand the historic importance of this year’s election even if we old poops don’t.
Amen and amen.
Oh, and my wife is not really a satanist. Like Casey, she’s a wiccan.
by C.R.
on February 19th, 2008 at 9:35 am
-
Remember when Geraldine Ferraro ran as the vice presidential candidate? For you youngesters out there, believe me when I tell you that the media made a big deal about it. A woman!!! Vice president!!! I haven’t heard one bit of that nonsense in regards to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and for that, if for nothing else in this election season, I am grateful.
by Casey
on February 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am
-
And speaking of important women –a big brown truck pulled up in front of my house yesterday afternoon and left three big brown boxes on my front step. And guess what was inside? The new Morgue Mama books!
by C.R.
on February 19th, 2008 at 9:53 am
-
Okay, one last comment and then I have to babysit three children, two dogs and two cats for the afternoon, all of whom I’m registering to vote this fall.
Don, I think Ted Sorensen wrote Kennedy’s inaugral speech and the “Ask not” line. (Which was indeed lifted from Holmes). Sorensen is also alleged to have ghost-written Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage.
by C.R.
on February 19th, 2008 at 10:07 am
-
And one last comment from me, since I’ve already been so outspoken today… an editorial regarding Obamaniacs: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/opinion/19brooks.html?ref=opinion
I have a feeling it’ll make Don smile. (It made me actually laugh out loud… even as an Obama supporter. FWIW, I really admire H. Clinton, too, and will vote for either in the fall.)
by Sharon
on February 19th, 2008 at 10:56 am
-
I’m doing a write in……CR for Prez.
Z
by Zorro
on February 19th, 2008 at 11:30 am
-
Congrats on the book, C.R.! Always an exciting moment when they show up.
by Don
on February 19th, 2008 at 11:54 am
-
Sharon, C.R., you miss the point. The man chose someone else’s words ( same words, Sharon…positioned differenty), and almost the identical delivery…to tell us that he was a man of words and delivery.
If I tell people I am a good writer, I DON’T do it using someone else’s writing. If I brag on my cooking skills, I don’t do it serving someone else’s culinary masterpiece. If I claim to play the guitar, I don’t refer to Eric Clapton.
And if I am defending my ability to write and deliver a speech, I certainly don’t borrow someone else’s material…even if I have their permission. I stand by my statement. It’s not a political statement. It’s just that when you say WORDS MEAN SOMETHING…then make them mean something. Don’t plagiarize.
by Don
on February 19th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
-
Don for prez……CR, would you agree to be Don’s running mate?
Z
by Zorro
on February 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
-
I don’t disagree with you Don.
And Zorro, quit your fip-flopping.
by C.R.
on February 19th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
-
Actually, I heard it was a Catholic priest in the 30’s or 40’s who actually originated the quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you…” and not, as you know, Kennedy. I am wanting to find that out. I am doing some research. If I find out, I’ll let you know.
by KT Marshall
on July 1st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Leave a Reply
|
|
|
