As individuals we often look to create heroes. We want someone to look up to that inspires us. Men and women that accomplish great achievements. People like Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, David Patreus, Joe Paterno, Vanessa Williams and Ray Lewis.
We also love to watch them fall. We then tear them apart in public and private conversations. We mock their shortcomings and failures. We cry foul and how could they make such a stupid mistake. We accusing them of lying, fraud and cheating. We say we have lost our faith in mankind.
The reality is they are human just like us. Each day we all make mistakes. Heroes are no more immune to poor judgement than anyone else.
So, today Joe Paterno’s family released an alternate report regarding the child abuse scandal at Penn State. Somewhere between the Freeh Report and the Paterno Report lies more of the truth than either are willing to admit.
The problem with this whole situation is that we have taken a man who lived on a pedestal for 40+ years and castrated him without taking the time to really understand the story. Clearly child abuse is inexcusable. It is a horrific abuse our society should seek to eradicate. Once any endangered children are safely removed from the situation, we should make sure that we are holding the correct people accountable for their roles. The wheels of justice usually turn too slow, but lynch mobs usually kill too fast.
So with JoePa, we have it wrong. We have a man that gave his life and money to helping the Penn State community. He gave his life to making boys men. He made a mistake in not doing enough. He believed too much in a former colleague. He struggled to believe he could do such a horrific act. He trusted others to address the situation. He was asleep at the wheel. He was not a predator or an enabler.
How many times have we allowed something wrong to continue around us? How often are we afraid to speak out, to ruin the status quo? How much do we fear what others will think, or worse, say about us? How often do we trust that others will take care of a problem so we don’t have to get our hands dirty?
Are we as a society willing to look at others the same way we want to be viewed? Are we willing to gather the all the facts to make good judgements? Listen to both sides of the story, even if we don’t like what we hear? I fear for our society and our heroes if we are not.