It's All Plagiarism

According to a quote attributed to Shakespeare, there is "nothing new under the sun." No new ideas, no new words, no new metaphors, no new imagery, no new nada. So what was Hillary's camp thinking when their best laid plans led them to hurl the charge of plagiarism over Obama's bow?

My scalp, raw from repetitive clawing, begs for relief. I've finally stopped scratching, but I am still stumped. The situation reminds me of some TV promotions, so slick, almost flawless in their cleverness, and yet I cannot tell you what product they were shilling.

I cannot recall what Obama was supposed to have lifted. What I do remember is a scowling Hillary trotting out both the allegation and the conviction with her characterisitic smugness. Obama, rallying his charm and honesty, cops to accepting the line (what was it again?) from his campaign co-chair and personal friend Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts.

Hillary should be ashamed, especially after parroting a rehearsed glib one- liner intentionally mischaracterizing Obama's slogan. The obvious lift from a million-dollars-a-month advisor who undoubtedly directed her to make sure she delivered that barb at some point when she felt she was in command did more to undermine Hillary's credibility than any fleeting titter of approval she received from her supporters in the UTA crowd at the debate.

We all blur the contours of so-called originality. I pass jokes off as my own all the time, having long ago lost the source. I have incorporated some of the best pedagogy I know from professors whom I admired for their style and substance. When I give solicited or unsolicited advice, who knows where that widom or detritus originated? Crediting the masters is a often fool's errand.

Let's be clear, there are times when attribution is mandatory. When we research, publish, or proffer oral or written work as our own for a benefit (grades or professional evaluation) or profit (financial or psychic), the obligation to fully disclose all our sources is our only ethical, moral, or legal option.

Now that I think about it, maybe Shakespeare did not shape the observation that there is "nothing new under the sun." Does Ecclesiastes ring a bell? As for that source...