THE PLAGUE OF PLAGIARISM

I read on the net today that columnist Maureen Dowd of The New York Times is accused of plagiarism or lack of attribution in using someone else's quotation. It seems in one of her columns regarding Dick Cheney and torture she quoted almost literally from another journalist and failed to note it. This is so easy to do in this Age of Information where we are saturated with a blizzard of information and sources. It must be exceedingly difficult to remember what and where you read something you like, as you mentally file it away, with the result that you may forget where it came from and thereby fail to make proper attribution.

I read Maureen Dowd and find her a perceptive columnist, although she does have a tendency to beat the proverbial dead horse to death, especially on the subject of W. and his cronies, especially Dick Cheney. which must drive the neo-cons to drink. I read a few blogs today on this act of plagiarism (or lack of attribution, take your pick) from neo-cons and they were having a field day. citing the liberal conspiracy to besmudge W. and Cheney, those great patriots, and swiping at the Obama crew who are giving the country away. The extremes of both sides. I'm sure, are having a field day.

Some years ago, a very capable History Professor had become President of my alma mater, Hamilton College, for a number of years and done an excellent job of guiding the college when they were going through the transition from a male college to co-educational by absorbing Kirkland College into Hamilton, plus phasing out the old fraternity system, which created a long and divisive struggle among the alumni, including my old fraternity which held out for years in futile resistance before finally acceding. This President resigned under pressure when he was accused of making a speech and failing to attribute some of his remarks. I think there was a bit of academician infighting going on within the faculty and someone was out to get the Pres, I've been told (although I've never heard it substantiated). The charges cost a college president his job.

Stealing ideas and parceling them out as your own is one thing---that is serious and dead wrong and should be publicized and punished, if provable. I strongly suspect, however, that this accusation can be overdone, especially for the reason I list above: that the plethora of information accrued today can confuse and confound anyone.

I think Maureen Dowd is a responsible journalist, strong-minded, witty, ascerbic and liberal. She will have her share of enemies on the right out to get her, but I think her integrity will prevail in this dispute; she's too savvy to have intentionally plagiarized. If I wrote as many columns as she, I'd probably have some critics snapping at my heels, too!