Senator John Walsh, D Montana, is accused of flagrant plagiarism for his Master’s Degree from the Army War College. The findings of plagiarism are significant enough that the graduation status of the Senator is now under review. To be perfectly clear, the Senator didn’t borrow a phrase or idea here and there without citation. No, the Senator borrowed entire passages from other authors wholesale without changing a single word or punctuation mark.
The Senator is claiming that a prescription for the anti-depressant Paxil that his private physician prescribed for symptoms of PTSD is responsible. According to the Senator, he was not diagnosed with PTSD, he just showed symptoms. PTSD is a serious illness that needs to be treated. So the question becomes, if the Senator had “symptoms” of PTSD that were so bad that his prescribed medication allowed him to commit intellectual theft, how is he qualified to hold public office?
I’m not minimizing the plight of those that live with and deal with the symptoms and stress of living with PTSD. The Senator gained an advanced degree from a prestigious military college based on lies and theft. I’m sorry but not only should his degree be revoked, he should resign from office. Stealing the work of someone else is the lowest of the low in academia and does not qualify one to hold public office (unless of course you are Vice President Joe Biden).
Plagiarism is despicable, dishonest, and reprehensible. It is lying. It is theft. It is malevolent and intentional. No one accidentally copies the work of someone else and claims it as their own. Plagiarism is an intentional act to deceive and steal for personal benefit. Individuals who plagiarize are deceitful and untrustworthy to their very core. There is no excuse for a child to plagiarize, let alone an adult.
Democrats are of course supporting the lying, the thieving Senator Walsh but that doesn’t mean the rest of the country has to fall in line. The only honorable and morally responsible thing for Senator Walsh to do is to resign from the Senate immediately, give up his campaign for Senate, and allow the Army War College to revoke his degree uncontested. None of that will happen however, instead Montana voters are stuck with a lying, thieving man who claims a horrible illness made him do it despite no medical diagnosis for said illness.