Citations for Lethem Essay

1. We have to remain constantly vigilant to prevent raids by those who would selfishly exploit our common heritage for their private gain. Such raids on our natural resources are not examples of enterprise and initiative. They are attempts to take from all the people just for the benefit of a few. Truman, Harry S. “Address on Conservation at the Dedication of Everglades National Park”

Jonathan Lethem quotes Harry S Truman when he is talking about the “cultural commons.” He uses the quote to emphasize the necessity of protecting the commons so everyone can use it, rather than having one individual control everything. I chose this citation because it was well written; I had underlined it during my first run through of the essay. I was surprised to find out that Lethem ripped it out from Truman.

2. The kernel, the soul--let us go farther and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances in plagiarism. For substantially all ideas are second hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources and daily use by the garnerer with a pride and satisfaction born of the superstition that he originated them; whereas there is not a rag of originality about them anywhere except the little discoloration they get from his mental and moral caliber and his temperament, which is revealed in characteristics of phrasing. Letter to Helen Keller from Mark Twain excerpted from Copyrights and Copywrongs by Siva Vaidhyanathan.

Lethem employs this quote to drive in one of his main points: we all plagiarize. Plagiarism can be found in all sorts of texts. I chose this citation because I thought it poignantly summarized his argument. Lethem’s citation section explains that this phrase came from Mark Twain’s letter to Helen Keller when he was trying to cheer her up after she was accused of plagiarism. I never knew that these two famous American figures were friends, so I wanted to find out more about this letter.

3. But Jefferson's vision has not fared well, has in fact been steadily eroded by those who view the culture as a market in which everything of value should be owned by someone or other. Boynton, Robert. “The Tyranny of Copyright?” The New York Times Magazine

Boynton doesn’t make any claims in his article, “The Tyranny of Copyright?” Instead, he illuminates the conflict between the government and the Copy Left. The Copy Left says that the government should loosen up on copyright laws because the copyright laws are hurting creativity instead of nurturing it. The internet is one area of contention because people disagree on how it should be used. Should the public have total access to everything posted on the web, or should a select few entities be able to regulate the public’s access to certain materials? This type of question is relevant to Lethem’s idea of a “usemonopoly” since he defines a usemonopoly as a “government granted monopoly on the use of creative rights” (64). Lethem asserts that monopolizing the rights to creativity hurts the public.

I chose this citation because I’m interested in how copyright laws apply to us and how they are enforced by the government. At times, it seems that a corporation arbitrarily sues someone for violating copyright laws. For example, the RIAA sues people who download music illegally. Yet, people continue to download music. Piracy of this sort is a cultural thing; it would be very hard for the government to prevent everyone from illegally downloading music. Should the government even bother trying to enforce these copyright laws? That was the question I had in mind as I read through this passage in Lethem’s essay.