Re: “The commencement speech plagiarism is indeed a teaching moment; but for whom?”
Plagiarism is tricky. From the examples given in the newspaper yesterday, I wonder if the speech was legally the product of plagiarism. It was not a direct copy, even though the spirit of the speech appeared to be completely stolen.
I was surprised at famous plagiarism examples from the past including Kennedy’s “Ask not what ….” and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Perhaps we should all make use of Issac Newton’s (probably borrowed) quote “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” And remember Bonaparte’s (modified) “The truth of history is that it is a fable that has been agreed upon.”
Ah yes, moral relativity. Stop splitting hairs. Avoiding plagiarism is quite easy. You give the prior author the credit they earned. The End.