Plagiarism and What It Means About the Trumps

Addendum: Since this piece's publication, this mea culpa appeared. Does that explain away the below?  I think not.  Perhaps you don't agree. 

Second Addendum to Readers: This piece is not a piece about politics. It is about leadership and how leaders handle mistakes. (So since this is a professional site and most of you are leaders or aspiring leaders, this is a teachable moment.) Those involved here happen to be political leaders or those in political arena because of a Convention and impending election.  The situation with Melania is what prompted a set of reactions by an organization and its people to the allegations of plagiarism.  What matters most is NOT the cheating; it is how it was addressed (or actually NOT addressed well).  I was not writing a book on political, academic or government plagiarism.  There were plenty in the past and others in the present. For some, LINKEDIN did not exist.  

This piece is about the response to mistakes.  If there are comparisons, the question would be how Biden or Doris Kerns Goodwin or Tom Brady and the Patriots responded to their mistakes. Or Eliott Spitzer or Owen Labrie or Johnny Football.

One more point here: how leaders handle mistakes or leadership organizations (like Trump organization) is important. Deeply important.  This piece is all about responses to inevitable mistakes.  See this below linked prior published piece on this topic --- it is something I have written about before.  So, before concluding this is just "liberal hit politics" -- very sad use of language by some commentators to this piece given real hits in Dallas, Munich and Orlando and Baton Rouge among other places -- read this:

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/06/03/gross.

Original Text:

Educators and speechwriters seem to have no problem identifying the plagiarism in Melania Trump's speech at the RNC convention.  In fact, both groups talk about software that detects copying, something that is commonly used before papers are turned in or speeches given.  It's well worth being careful to insure one is speaking (or writing) one's own words. https://turnitin.com/en_us/resources/blog/421-general/2553-melania-trump-trumped-by-plagiarism.

How one responds to students who plagiarize depends of course on their age. We treat this error differently in elementary school than we do in college or grad school.  How we respond to established and well regarded authors/ scholars/ college presidents is different too. At a minimum, at every age and stage we want people to know that plagiarism is a serious no-go; it can be excused by ignorance or innocence or absence of intent perhaps among kids and a few other notable situation.  But, even age and lack of knowledge or intent do not change the reality: someone stole some else's words.

Here's what bothers me most about this situation (what intrigues me is the irony of an immigrant copying the words of an African American woman in a world where her husband decries immigrants and minorities): own one's mistakes. For sure and for real.

We have read and heard 1000 excuses from Camp Trump.  The proverbial buck has been thrown around and landed on various people (including Melania), and others are ducking for cover.  Here's an idea and one that works with kids too: acknowledge the mistake, learn from it and with kids, we have them re-do the paper and share with them how to quote ideas that appeal to them.

I am not necessarily suggesting that Melania give a new speech but that might not be such a bad idea. Now she is in hiding.  If she has the courage, have her apologize howsoever the copying happened and give another speech that is all hers (with or without the help of speechwriters and her children).  Imagine the impact of that?  Powerful indeed.

This is not the Trump way.  The Trump way seems to be to pretend the issue is going away or to get angry over its presence.  Neither approach works in school, in speechwriting, in life.  The idea that the best defense is a good offense has merit in football.  In life, how about the saying: No Excuses?

Owning one's behavior, one's decisions (good or bad) is key for quality leadership.  The Melania saga suggests how far away we are from the presence of that quality in the Trump family.  That's too bad.  It's poor role modeling.

And, leaders need their own ideas, spoken in their own voices, with conviction and passion. An ideology of fear is not the offering of ideas.  It is the latter we need, not the former.  The Melania plagiarism, sadly, demonstrated vastly more than stolen words. It signals the absence of fresh ideas and the inability to admit error.  

Yipes.