The Penn State Scandal is tragic, shocking and upsetting. A few weeks have passed since the revelation that Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach for the football team, had been sexually abusing young boys for decades.\u00a0The grand jury report suggests that many individuals had direct or indirect knowledge of this abuse and didn’t do enough to stop it. Consequently,\u00a0the head football coach, the athletic director and the president of the university were fired.\u00a0While all the facts of the case are not known, there seems to be several lessons that we should take from this tragic story.<\/p>\n
Lesson # 1 –<\/b> Bad People Do Bad Things<\/strong>: There are people in this world who are committing heinous crimes.\u00a0 It happens everyday and it will happen tomorrow.\u00a0 There are people like Jerry Sandusky all over this world who carry out evil acts with forethought and intent.\u00a0Despite all of our collective wishes to the contrary, bad people will continue to do bad things. The Penn State Scandal is tragic, shocking and upsetting. A few weeks have passed since the revelation that Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach for the football team, had been sexually abusing young boys for decades.\u00a0The grand jury report suggests that many individuals had direct or indirect knowledge of this abuse and didn’t do enough to stop it. Consequently,\u00a0the head … <\/p>\n
\nLesson # 2 \u2013It Takes Personal Responsibility to Stop Evil:<\/strong><\/b> There is a\u00a0quote by an English philosopher that fits this situation well,\u00a0“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Based on the grand jury testimony, there were two eye-witness accounts to the graphic sexual abuse in the showers on the campus of Penn State: 1) a custodian (Jim Calhoun)\u00a0in 2000 and 2) a graduate assistant (Mike McQueary)\u00a0 in 2002. The custodian told his supervisor and his supervisor in return told him that if he chose to report it, he would support him.\u00a0The custodian did not report the incident. The graduate assistant chose to call his dad for advice. The next morning he reported the incident to head football coach, Joe Paterno.\u00a0 The next day, Joe Paterno told the athletic director.\u00a0The next day, the athletic director told his boss.\u00a0 Eventually, it made it up to the president of the university.\u00a0 Unfortunately, no one told the police.\u00a0 No one even found out who the victim was or initiated an investigation. In total, at least 16 people knew something wrong was going on and didn’t go to the police. The lesson here is that we have a moral responsibility in addition our legal responsibility. We cannot pass the buck or mistakenly think that someone else will handle it. The janitor was too worried about his job and the graduate assistant froze under pressure. Others might\u00a0have minimized, rationalized or thought it didn\u2019t fit into their job description. The irony is that if anyone of these people had simply called the police or made a public statement to the media, they would now be called heroes.\u00a0Instead by bystanding, they allowed evil to flourish and go unchallenged. Why good men did nothing is the true fascination with this case and the reason the media covered this story non-stop.
\nLesson #3 –<\/b> Prepare Yourself to\u00a0Handle Difficult Situations<\/strong> – Everyone who talks about this case says that he\/she would have called the police, confronted the perpetrator and protected the child (me included). The research suggests otherwise.\u00a0 People freeze, people get scared, people rationalize. The brain takes longer to process information in a crisis and we struggle to make good decisions. Here are two metaphors to explain this point.\u00a0First, 56% of passengers involved in a serious plane crash, survive. The survival favors people who were smart enough to develop an escape plan before the plane took off (read the safety briefing cards, located exits and listened to the flight attendant\u2019s safety briefings).\u00a0These people\u00a0use their plan to override fear and denial, thereby\u00a0responding quicker and with more wisdom.\u00a0 Disaster research suggests that less than 10% of us can actually excel in an emergency situation.
\nThe second metaphor is something\u00a0most of us\u00a0can relate to and a lot more common.\u00a0All driving experts say that\u00a0drivers should never swerve for an animal that darts out in front of a moving vehicle. Rather, drivers are told to hit\u00a0the animal. http:\/\/www.autoinsurance.org\/how-to-avoid-deer-collisions\/<\/a>. This includes cute little squirrels and innocent\u00a0“Bambi’s.”\u00a0The reason is simple – swerving to avoid an animal often injures and\/or kills people.\u00a0One day, I asked my wife is she could\u00a0resist the\u00a0natural instinct\u00a0to swerve in such an instance.\u00a0She said that she didn’t know if she could. I reminded her of our four children and innocent people in oncoming traffic. She said, “Wait a minute…I just made my decision.” It’s important for all of us to\u00a0make our decisions and develop plans before they occur. While\u00a0it’s impossible to prepare for every situation, it is more than possible to say, “I will confront people acting unethically or who are breaking the law or at the very least report it to the police.”
\nLesson #4 –<\/b> One Bad Decision Can Override 100 Good Ones<\/strong>: This is a very tough lesson. I remember a local news anchor who was a pillar of the community and was very well-respected. One night after a charity function, he got into his car after drinking and killed someone by running a red light.\u00a0He was fired from his job and he is still in prison today.\u00a0How tragic for all involved. All the good deeds he had performed\u00a0&\u00a0all of the good decisions he made before that moment\u00a0could not override that one bad decision.\u00a0The consequence was final and irreversible. In this case, Joe Paterno had lived an exemplary life filled with virtue and integrity. He was respected by everyone in his profession. He spent 61 years at Penn State University trying to do the right thing and to be a positive role model. He donated enough of his personal money to build a new library on campus.\u00a0With all of that said, he was fired less than a week after the grand jury report came out\u00a0documenting that he did not call the police. He made a poor decision. We still don’t know why, but even he acknowledged, “I wish I had done more.” This is a tough lesson to learn and not altogether a fair one.\u00a0No one is perfect and we shouldn’t be expected to be. Unfortunately,\u00a0every decision, whether it be small or large, has real consequences.
\nLesson #5 –<\/b> Reputation and Legacy Matter<\/strong>: If you don’t believe me, ask President Clinton, Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds\u00a0or Joe Paterno. Society mistakenly\u00a0places such a high emphasis on material possessions, but in the end, it doesn’t matter how much money you make or\u00a0what kind of car you drive. We will ultimately be judged and remembered based on how we treat other people, take responsibility for ourselves, live with integrity and contribute to society.\u00a0 That is how we build a reputation and create a legacy to leave behind when we leave this earth. It is important not to lose sight of this important lesson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"