body politic
Okay we all know that plagiarism, the utterly reprehensible act of using the thoughts of another, reaping the rewards of that use, and then, not even providing the source of the info, is an official bad thing. But, let us look at it from the point of view of the plagiarist.
Here are some of the advantages of a career as a plagiarist:
Energy savings – ‘copy and paste’ uses far fewer resources than does thinking your own way around any subject. Any fool can see that.
Time savings – quite obviously, time not spent doing your own research and your own thinking, can be spent in other, more worthwhile pursuits. Finding other people to steal from, for instance. Esteem of colleagues – what writer could help but admire a person who can meet the assignment deadlines with efficiency and dispatch while being abreast with the latest Page 3 doings. What could be hipper? Professional friends – the long-term plagiarist is guaranteed, (thanks to CopyScape), to make close acquaintanceship with any number of lawyers and other such bottom feeders. Perhaps even get to hang out with them at their clubs and stuff. Evolution – the plagiarist will, after all, be teaching his/her children that it is perfectly acceptable to misuse the property of another, especially if you can do it without having to go through pesky details such as permission. Surely the advantages to the body politic of that child’s adulthood, is self-evident. There are, of course, many other advantages, but mention of them would simply be an unnecessary exercise in dealing with the bright shining justifications of the plagiarist.
However, we feel our charity slipping when we consider the concept of honor and honorable behavior. We hold this truth that honor is the lubricant that allows for a civil society. We further hold that plagiarism is a dishonorable act.
Profiting yourself at the expense of others is, and has been, an anti-social act and is, in its essence, viewed as stealing. The fact that it is a thought that is being stolen (as opposed to an object) cannot be offered as an excuse. An object, after all, is no more, nor less, than an original thought. The same can be said for the recorded thought, whatever the form of the recording. It doesn’t matter if that recorded thought may have been lying around for years unread until the plagiarists came along. The fact of an original author must be acknowledged. Most certainly, if that recorded thought is used, recompense must be made.
Having heard the justifications of the plagiarist and weighed against our concepts of civil society, it is our judgment that all convicted plagiarists should be made to listen to the troubles of the original author.
IED – Improvised Explosive Device
A cunning way to push vice
Meddle in international affairs
Stir up trouble and get in others hair
The Bush administration does it well
Ironically playing the neerdowell
By no means is Iran’s President swell
Ahmadinejad wants to annihilate Israel
Both he, many Muslims, and the devil
Perhaps America should come to level
The Iranian dictator and usher in democracy
Make the younger generation free and happy
Nevertheless there is a unique art to diplomacy
To ensure and secure long-term relations
Peace is an intangible commodity not easy
To obtain, mediate, neither negotiate
The enemy always wants to aggravate
Deviate, denigrate, alienate, and isolate
Timing is also crucial, lest we be too late
However moving prematurely can insatiate
The enemy’s ego and ravenous appetite
To start World War III and a furious fight
Thus we must navigate through this right
Involve and interact with nations nearby
Give it a go, bite our tongue, and try
To engage leaders in the Middle East
Stabilize borders, insurgents, and find peace
Bring to the oppressed liberty and release
While wisely welcoming and maneuvering
Fighting evildoers and nation building
Resist being self-righteous and idolizing
Our culture, concepts, and body politic
Stop, halt, harness, say no, and forego
Pushing on militarily like a mercenary
Guerilla warfare for making money
Regime changing for oil procuring
The Saudi royal family we protect
The price of oil we can’t neglect
Nor can we worship and be glued to it
IEDs are far more than military weaponry
Ideological economic devices rhetorically
Surface instinctually and harm us globally
Alienating friends for us internationally
These IEDs we must question incessantly
As without Iran, Iraq remains in instability
Let us not demonize influential Iran unnecessarily
This strategic enemy must be won with diplomacy
Because many Iranians agree with us ideologically.
Therefore let us deal with Iran’s president individually
On another front we can address its people collectively.
Corruption is, indeed, one of the biggest problems in Pakistan. The recent disclosures made by Wikileaks suggest that an Arab Prince does not keep good opinion about Pakistani head of state, Asif Zardari. The consistent defamation of the president of the seventh most populous nation on earth as corrupt Zardari needs thorough re-assessment. The body politic of Pakistan is, indeed, in an advance stage of collapse. But how much the so-called corrupt Zardari has to contribute to it?
I am not a die-hard fan of Asif Zardari or, PPP, his party. Rather, I was one of most ardent critic when his party resorted to dissolving the legislative assembly of the country’s biggest province to place it under the governor-rule. Neither am I an admirer of the way how PPP chooses its party leaders in which the only criterion weighed is the relationship of a person with the Bhutto clan. Certainly, a man who has not won a single vote in his entire life nor is even eligible to become the member of the national assembly, given his short age, has no right to lead hundreds of well-reputed legislators. But, the story does not end here with the aforementioned sicknesses with the party. The devil must be given its due and so should Asif Zardari be given credit for the improvement his party has brought under his co-chairmanship.
The country since Zardari took office has moved considerably forward, or at least arguably in right dimension. From a country which was power-starved when the said leader took office, Pakistan faces electricity load shedding for no more than a few hours now. The country if compared with the situation in Musharraf-era has also shown remarkable success in combating terrorism. Who can forget that terrorists had established their own justice system in Swat when the dictator was at the helm of affairs. Terrorists now stand defeated or at least it can be indisputably said that they have been dealt a serious blow to. The country has received major trade concessions from the European Union. The corrupt Zardari is one of few Pakistani leaders who have bothered to ask for trade instead of aid.
Though, no one can argue that Zardari, known as corrupt Zardari in Pakistan, enjoys lowest levels of popularity in the country. However, if looked at long-term achievement made by his country under his leadership, it can be argued that though ostensibly corrupt, he has provided the country with the required stability and much-needed success.