Scandalous Times

            I think that people are not particularly surprised at scandal and human frailty. I think that people are more incensed by lying and institutional cover-ups. The recent and emerging religious, political and sports sex scandals all have a few convergences. We tend to de-humanize our heroes and make them....heroic Superman wouldn't secretly use his superpowers to get trim on the side.

            It's not that the people involved are bad guys (why don't we hear much about women sexually abusing power?). Joe Paterno is a great leader. He not only won games, but is a great winner. He taught others to be great winners. But Joe messed up like other scandalous figures, caught up in a cult of personality within an institution that protects the cult leader.

            A major mistake made in these scandals is that the leaders turned to the institution to be informed of the appropriate moral response. At Penn State, abuse witness McQuearty ran to "daddy" rather than the police. This same culture exists in many hierarchical cultures, such as the police and the military. The institution will always protect and perpetuate itself. It insulates itself from external accountability. It will always protect it's "reputation". It will always enable scapegoating and cover-ups. Institutions inform a response converse to moral reasoning and in many cases legal reasoning.

            Leaders need a strong personal moral compass and great personal courage to do the "right thing" in the face of institutional pressures. But those that do are often not held up as heroes and exemplars. Why aren't these guys our heroes? How do we as a society contribute to empowering institutional coverups and lack of personal accountability? Are we part of the problem, and how can we become part of the solution?