Lessons from Penn State

1. Beware idolatrous cultures. Whenever someone or something--or both--is revered as godlike and beyond reproach, we ought to peer under more than one rock. Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lion machine reigned supreme for too long in too many people's eyes.

2. Beware paternalistic cultures. Societies with few or no women in power run the risk of grave gender and sexual imbalances. Does the presence of women at the top of an organization help protect children and others at risk? I would say yes.

3. Beware closed cultures. George Vecsey, in his New York Times essay "The Dangerous Cocoon of King Football," reminds us that the leading figures in the scandal so far have been at Penn State for years, practically born and bred there. With few outsiders to challenge the status quo, the culture perpetuated itself.

Penn State football, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America all share these traits to the detriment of the very constituencies they serve. Of the three scandals, though, this is the one that none of us can dodge. For just about everybody born in this country reveres either universities or football or both.

If we continue to elevate these two institutions, we must hold their personnel to the same standards that we hold other, less respected institutions. Surely Jerry Sandusky would have been long gone as a public school teacher or a United States senator, since we deride both teachers and politicians.

It's much harder to face the truth about those we love.