“As I learned anew in crossing Antarctica, the only limit to achievement is the limit you place on your own dreams.” From the book Crossing Antarctica..
“Your word is your bond.” Melvyn Douglass
Pnz1, there really are much, MUCH more important issues people should be focusing on.
For instance, I just posted a thread showing that CNN’s version of an amateur video of the Alton Sterling shooting was apparently altered. The sound of the gunshots was moved to an earlier place in the video. THAT is very serious, if CNN did that.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3450819/posts
But in the case of the two quotes you mention. Take the part about “your word is your bond.” That’s a common expression, and no one thought Michelle Obama created it. We all use such common expressions all the time.
The other quote, from “Crossing America,” is still comparing apples to oranges. It’s a common thought to say that one’s only limits are the ones one places on oneself, and even to use the word “dreams.” It’s the common inspirational jargon.
The difference between that and the Melania or Michelle line is that there is more to the line than just the part about limits on dreams:
“Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
And,
“Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
They are good thoughts, and commonly expressed ones by First Ladies and politicians in general, but the speechwriter responsible for Melania’s speech didn’t do enough to change up how to express them.
It can certainly be a challenge when you want to say very similar things. The THOUGHTS expressed are common ones, so not original in and of themselves.
It’s like how similar greeting cards can sound to each other.
So for that reason, this is really minor “borrowing,” and not at all like paragraphs being taken from the speeches of others.
But just doing a little bit more work would have accomplished expressing the same thoughts but without the obvious borrowing. And you have to do it since seemingly borrowed lines in a First Lady’s speech are likely to be discovered quickly, as they were, especially with a Republican candidate.
Supposedly, I heard, there were several parts of the speech that were “very similar.” I’d want to see the others. Those charges could be false.