Blissfully Ignorant

I think there's a part of all of us that would like to remain blissfully ignorant regarding the injustices of this world.  We'd like to take the Scarlett O'Hara approach and think about it tomorrow...or never.  It's easier to change the channel...to look the other way...to not get involved.  We have our own deadlines and schedules and responsibilities and goals and dreams.  It's difficult to make the choice to sacrifice those things for the sake of someone else.

Over the last week and a half, I've been thinking about the quote that is often attributed to Edmund Burke (though many are skeptical if these were his exact words):

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.


No matter who conjured it, this is a profound sentence.  I've heard it bounced around here and there in relation to the Penn State scandal.  It's relevance is unmistakeable.  You have a school that portrays itself as being just a little better than the rest.  A school where academics truly rival sports.  A school where a man presumed to be a great leader and a role model has presided for almost half a century.  A school that is fighting to maintain steady footing as evils hidden for years are bubbling to the surface.

The accomplishments of Joe Paterno cannot be denied.  I think it's terribly tragic that he will be defined by the disgusting actions of another person, actions that have not only led to that person's downfall but also the downfall of a huge part of Penn State's executive leadership.  While there is really no defense of Paterno's lack of response to the allegations that were brought before him, I suspect he was just closing his eyes and plugging his ears and hoping for the best.  He was, perhaps, hoping to remain willfully and blissfully ignorant, convincing himself along the way that it couldn't possibly be as bad as it seemed.

But if the reports are true, it certainly was that bad...actually, it was much worse.  And as information continues to come forward, it makes me wonder if Paterno wasn't just pleading ignorance but instead actively choosing to ignore the allegations for the sake of the institution...and possibly his reputation.  I've never met the guy, and I don't pretend to know what's going on inside his head; but I do know he had the opportunity to become a true moral hero, and he failed to act for whatever reason.

Evil triumphed when a presumed "good" man did nothing.

I don't write this to condemn Joe Paterno.  He and Mike McQueary and the Penn State leadership have already been hounded by the media and the rest of us alike.  It's too late to really think about what might have been.  We're to a point where we have to face what is and make what meager attempts we can to fix it.  And no matter who goes to jail, no matter who loses his job, no matter what financial payments are made, no matter what apologies are issued, we won't be able to give those boys back their innocence.

Perhaps the most meaningful thing that can come out of this whole situation is that the rest of us take a lesson from it.  We, ourselves, are just one averted gaze away from becoming Joe Paternos and Mike McQuearys.  At any give moment, we could be faced with a circumstance in which we are tempted to just turn our backs, walk away, and pretend it never happened.

In John 15:12-13, Jesus said:

My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.


Our friends may be next door or around the world.  They may be people we've known for years or complete strangers.  Still, the call to love is the same.  We have the greatest example of a friend's willingness to lay down His life in Christ's sacrifice for us.  Penn State should open our eyes.  It should be our rally cry, not to stand idly by while injustices swirl around us.  We must find our voice and speak up in love and respect.

Even a single tragedy such as this is one too many.  Unfortunately, this isn't the first time one person has taken advantage of another, and sadly, it won't be the last.  But we do have the opportunity to shed our blissful ignorance and acknowledge injustice.  We can't pretend it away.  We can't just hope for the best.  We have make the sacrifice required to act, to speak, to stand up, to intervene...to love.

And that should be how we move forward from here.