In his new book A Nation of Wusses, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell decries the lack of courage and conviction among American politicians today. This weekend three leaders deserve recognition for standing up for what's right:
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for challenging both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to explain their plans to address gun violence in America. "What do they stand for and why aren't they standing up?" he asked on Face the Nation. "It's time for both of them to be held accountable."
Penn State President Rodney Erickson for ordering the removal of the Joe Paterno statue from the university campus. Leaving it up, he said, would be a "recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse."
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren for speaking out in the Washington Post about the Libor scandal and the rigging of interest rates. "With a rotten financial system once again laid bare to the world," she writes, "the only question remaining is whether Wall Street has so many friends in Washington that meaningful reform is impossible."
All three of these people stand to lose for taking a stand--whether they lose stature or alumni support or votes. How refreshing to hear their voices rise above the timidity we've come to expect.
Showing posts with label Penn State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penn State. Show all posts
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
"So foul and fair. . .
. . . a day I have not seen." These are Macbeth's first words in Shakespeare's tragedy, a play that captures the contradictions in human nature. I thought of this line on Friday night when I learned that Jerry Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of sexual abuse charges. So foul a day--of such unspeakable crimes--and so fair a day--of long-overdue justice.
It's been a hard journey, our willingness to believe that adults--especially those who look and behave like the rest of us--can harm children in such heinous ways. And though the abuse of boys is no more heinous than the abuse of girls, we've had an especially tough time facing it. But finally we have on file a jury that believed the words of children--young men, yes, but children stuck forever in a hell that never should have come their way.
Let's go forward now and resolve to believe the words of children, even--and especially--when they tell us something that's hard to believe. Let's resolve to teach children to speak up when something's wrong and to speak up ourselves when something's wrong.
And let's resolve to make Penn State a watershed moment, a time in our collective humanity when we committed ourselves to a higher level of protection for our children.
It's been a hard journey, our willingness to believe that adults--especially those who look and behave like the rest of us--can harm children in such heinous ways. And though the abuse of boys is no more heinous than the abuse of girls, we've had an especially tough time facing it. But finally we have on file a jury that believed the words of children--young men, yes, but children stuck forever in a hell that never should have come their way.
Let's go forward now and resolve to believe the words of children, even--and especially--when they tell us something that's hard to believe. Let's resolve to teach children to speak up when something's wrong and to speak up ourselves when something's wrong.
And let's resolve to make Penn State a watershed moment, a time in our collective humanity when we committed ourselves to a higher level of protection for our children.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Sex Scandals
Regardless of what happens to Herman Cain's presidential aspirations as he fights off the latest accusation, the real sex scandal of our time has nothing to do with him. Nor with any of the other politicians--pick your favorites--who have slept with someone other than their spouse. Really, we ought to grow up. These are dalliances.
The real scandal is something altogether different and goes far beyond sexual indiscretion into the deviant world of child predation.
Though Penn State football has moved off the front pages for awhile, the men's basketball team at Syracuse is poised to take its place. There, long-time associate coach Bernie Fine was fired on Sunday for child sexual abuse allegations, and we await the fate of others around him.
We have a curious relationship with our children. On the one hand, we adulate them, celebrating their every accomplishment however insignificant. On the other hand, we desert them, averting our eyes from the reality of predators among us.
On Monday night Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim defended his support for his friend. Then he added, "What people do outside the program, I have very little if any control over adults." This is a sorry statement, whether or not Bernie Fine is found guilty. It's the thinking that has gotten us where we are today.
True, we may not be able to stop the impulsive behavior of predators. But surely we can find ways to keep them away from our children.
The real scandal is something altogether different and goes far beyond sexual indiscretion into the deviant world of child predation.
Though Penn State football has moved off the front pages for awhile, the men's basketball team at Syracuse is poised to take its place. There, long-time associate coach Bernie Fine was fired on Sunday for child sexual abuse allegations, and we await the fate of others around him.
We have a curious relationship with our children. On the one hand, we adulate them, celebrating their every accomplishment however insignificant. On the other hand, we desert them, averting our eyes from the reality of predators among us.
On Monday night Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim defended his support for his friend. Then he added, "What people do outside the program, I have very little if any control over adults." This is a sorry statement, whether or not Bernie Fine is found guilty. It's the thinking that has gotten us where we are today.
True, we may not be able to stop the impulsive behavior of predators. But surely we can find ways to keep them away from our children.
Monday, November 14, 2011
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
