Plagiarism /plājəˌrizəm/ noun: the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own. Synonyms: copying, piracy, theft, stealing.
The 2016 Republican National Convention was held this past week from July 18-21. This event is meant to choose an official nominee for the republican party, make endorsements, and in many ways, to show the people what the potential first family is all about. Of course, this year's RNC was heavily focused on the party’s frontrunner Donald Trump. Many newsworthy events took place during the convention, including Ted Cruz refusing to endorse Trump ( and being booed off stage), Stephen Colbert taking the stage in a "Hunger Games" outfit (and being escorted off the stage), and finally Donald Trump formally accepting the party nomination. However, perhaps the most criticized person during this event was not the disagreeable Donald Trump and his dark speech, his sidekick (and VP) Mike Pence, or Trump’s kids portraying the businessman as humble and near perfect, but his usually silent wife, Melania Trump.
Melania Trump is the third wife of Donald Trump. But, she is much more than a potential first lady, according to Melania’s professional biography, she is a former model, a fashion designer, a college graduate with a degree in architecture and design (which was recently discovered was a lie, she actually dropped out of college after her first year), and is the recipient of many humanitarian awards, such as the 2006 Woman of the Year award. However, at the Republican National Convention, the speech she delivered led many to question her credibility and intelligence. You don’t have to follow politics to have seen the many videos and funny pictures comparing Mrs. Trump’s speech word for word to current First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech at the Democratic National Convention. Watch for yourself (if you haven't already):
Before delivering her speech at the RNC, Melania Trump told Today News in an exclusive interview that she wrote the speech with as little help as possible. Taking full credit for another person's work is plagiarism. Something that if I even attempted could get me expelled, ending all my hopes of a bright future. Plagiarism gets people fired, ruins their careers, and can even result in legal actions. However, many people from the republican party (including Donald Trump himself) have been defending the Slovan designer and praising her speech, the same people who condemned Michelle Obama's speech in 2008. Also, shortly after, a staff writer released a statement that she was the one responsible for writing the speech. She said she wrote the speech because Mrs. Trump read her some passages from Mrs Obama's speeches, who she admires very much, and she ended up using the same phrases. The staff writer offered her resignation, however the Trump campaign will not be firing her and refuses to acknowledge the incident as plagiarism, instead blaming the media.
A first lady (or spouse of the president, if we have a female president one day) represents the United States, she should be honest, elegant, intelligent, and professional. Even though our current first lady Michelle Obama is bashed by many conservatives, she is not only beautiful and elegant, but she is also a powerful woman. She is an Ivy League Graduate and has influenced the nation in positive ways through her charisma and professionalism. I am not saying we should vote for our next president solely based on their spouse, but it is an important part of the decision. Everyone makes mistakes and even though I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump, I am a believer in uplifting women and I hope Mrs. Trump can redeem herself and show the nation that she is not just a trophy wife, but an intelligent female.
