Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

In my college composition class we were discussing the question of plagiarism. The word means to kidnap another's work. I asked how many knew which current elected official had a plagiarizing scandal of his own. Their responses were entertaining but not the subject of this posting. The answer is, of course, Joe Biden. Biden, as you may recall, in his 1987 bid for president lifted the speech of British politician, Neal Kinnock. Oopsie. And if that were the only incidence we might assume an honest mistake. But it is not. He failed a law school course because of a copied paper (see www.famousplagiarists.com). A pattern of "kidnapping" others' work, a history of lapses in integrity. This from the #2 man in American politics.

We don't know about Obama's academic history. We don't know because all of his transcripts and papers are sealed. Which tells us a great deal about him but not exactly a great deal about his truth barometer. So we must draw conclusions from what we do know. The promises he has made since entering public life, since his election as president, stand in stark contrast to his policies and the reality of results. The correlation between what Obama says and what Obama does is frequently negative. In other words, his words mean nothing. Like the boy who cried wolf.

So as his health care soliloquy drags on, don't fall for the dogmatic accusations and falsehoods. Think logically. Know the truth.

It is time to stop listening because the boy has cried wolf just once too often.

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