Giving Credit

Give credit where credit is due.  This was something I stressed to the students in business class year after year.  Not infrequently a student would want to use someone else's logo or byline or idea as their own or change just a small part of it to use as their own.  I would suggest that rather than plagiarize or "steal" what someone else had worked hard on or perhaps even paid someone to come up with, there were ways they could let it inspire them to come up with their own original creation.  And if nothing else, at least ask permission to use the part that they liked.  That would be the honorable thing to do. Oh yes it is true - there is nothing new under the sun.  And then there are legal ramifications to consider. In this day of internet, facebook, and all social media it is easy to take words, ideas and content from anywhere and present it as our own.  There is a fine line between what we have been taught, have learned, have experienced in life and want to share and pass it on in our own way with our own perspective, and taking credit for someone else's work, someone else's designs or words, or their intellectual property.  Just think about it. Before you do it. And if you find yourself on the receiving end of having your work being claimed by someone else, you need to politely and firmly address the transgression.  That may be enough.  I have been in this position a few times,and only once did I need to work with an attorney.  The other times the perpetrators apologized and did give credit where credit was due.  Two of them were innocent mistakes in that they misunderstood thinking my words belonged to someone else I did not credit.  They thought they were just passing on words that they liked.  I was indeed happy that my writing inspired them enough to share it but as a writer and a teacher I have spent many years and long hours, not to mention money, into my craft and earning a living.  It is just not right for anyone to claim any part of that as their own....unless they are listing me as at least part of the resource.  It isn't ego. It's integrity, accountability, responsibility, ethics.   I have seen someone take Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and post it on facebook as their own by rewriting it as "If you want the world to change, you must be that change."  with their name listed after it.   We all make mistakes. And not every one is living consciously.  Those of us who know or who have learned such lessons earlier in life do a good service by leading the way, shining the light, speaking up. And so I have.  And believe me, this has been a life lesson for me.  I have often "given away my power," and just allowed it to happen because I did not want to upset anyone or cause a problem.  Or let it go just to be happy that some helpfulness or knowledge was being passed on to help make the world a better place, even if it was a bit deceitful.  But then I realized that wisdom infused with deceit is less than helpful and only spreads the negative energy of it. So, better later to have learned and practiced this than never, eh?