A topic I found to be of particular interest within our ASTU discussions was that of academic dishonesty in the “real world”. Specifically, its effect in politics.
University students all across the globe are impressed upon about the importance of academic integrity. Very often, academic institutions uphold severe repercussions for instances of plagiarism and dishonesty; including, but not limited to, failing a class, and even expulsion. If these ideals are so strongly impressed upon entire generations of students year after year, one would expect these values to be fairly strongly upheld within society. Why is it then that there is such a prevalent epidemic of plagiarism in the political sphere? Why are political figures constantly facing backlash for “borrowing” the words of another? Do those that pursue a career in politics simply begin to disregard the ideas of academic integrity that they were previously taught? Or is there simply just a finite number of sentiments politicians are attempting to express therefore it is almost impossible to never have any crossover?
One argument regarding the presence of plagiarism in modern politics is that society often has an inaccurate perception of what should qualify as plagiarism in the first place. Those running for political office often have speech writers to aid them in their process and therefore there is a much broader grey area between one’s own words and the words of others.[1] If it is acceptable to hire someone to write your campaign speeches why is it not acceptable to use a similar sentiment or two as your predecessors? As well, are many politicians simply looking to express the same sentiment and there are only so many ways to do so? Politicians often want to create a “better America” and a “better world”. They want the economy to thrive and believe in the importance of hard work. Perhaps there are only so many ways to say this.
This was a sentiment that was expressed and contested strongly throughout the “Malania Trump speech scandal”. This scandal involved what appeared to be her issuing a speech with segments nearly identical to one given by Michelle Obama only a few years earlier. Although she very obviously lifted full sentences from Obama’s speech, many Republicans argued that the similarities were merely coincidental. One very prominent spokesperson on this issue was White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Spicer claimed that the sentiments expressed by both Malania Trump and Michelle Obama were extremely common values held by many people (“you work hard for what you want” etc.). He states that sure, although one could draw strong connections between the speeches by the two first ladies, one could also find those same connections on an episode of “My Little Pony”.[2]
Although Malania Trump has an important role as First Lady of the United States, it could be said that she is not an elected official and therefore need not be held to the same standards as say someone running for president. However, issues regarding plagiarism in formal speeches are not exclusive to those who hold no formal office and come from a non-political background. Former Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul was recently put under fire for taking parts of his speeches from the movies “Gattaca” and “Stand and Deliver”. Even former Vice President Joe Biden faced major criticism in 1987 for delivering a suspiciously similar speech to one given by British politician Neil Kinnock.[3] In addition, the argument that plagiarism in political spheres is merely accidental holds less traction when we continue to examine the track records of many politicians. Political figures with large roles, including Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin, and Hungarian president Pal Schmitt, have been accused of plagiarizing large portions of their dissertations. This calls into question whether it is the field of politics that breeds problems with plagiarism, or whether it is the people. This is not to say that all politicians are corrupt and evil, but there is a definite trend in the field that raises many ethical questions.
It is possible that a lack of academic honesty does not develop as a result of entering a political career, but rather it is an issue that stems all the way back to one’s undergraduate years. Does political plagiarism occur because universities are not nearly stringent enough with regulations on academic dishonesty? Or are the universities enforcing these ideas to their full capabilities and some dishonesty is simply inevitable in every field? Or perhaps there will always be a certain proportion of the population who are dishonest, and some fields attract more of these than do others. Regardless, academic dishonesty and plagiarism is an issue that is prevalent in many areas and to many different types of people beyond the confines of a university, and it seems that the political arena may have more than its fair share.
[1] LaBossiere, Mike. “Www.blog.talkingphilosophy.com.” Talking Philosiphy, 27 July 2016, www.bing.com/cr?IG=0707B50684F84182869A7904E02A54B5&CID=38EC05A7E51369D202160EAFE4156880&rd=1&h=m1GMcrv-h7JBs0QG8v0IPVslNFIznNBKf9vg5Js-DRU&v=1&r=http%3a%2f%2fwww.blog.talkingphilosophy.com%2f%3fp%3d9757&p=DevEx,5063.1. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
[2] Krieg, Gregory, and Eugene Scott. “No one to be fired after Melania Trump speech plagiarism episode.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 July 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/melania-trump-michelle-obama-speech/index.html. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
[3] Krieg, Gregory, and Eugene Scott. “No one to be fired after Melania Trump speech plagiarism episode.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 July 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/melania-trump-michelle-obama-speech/index.html. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.