Parakalein

The system of punishments and rewards often punish the wrong people and reward the wrong thing.  Inherently a system of reward and punishment has an internal fundamental flaw.  It believes by rewarding the good and punishing the bad good will ultimately triumph.

If we asked the proverbial question, "How is that working for you?"  We would answer not so much.

In the Joe Paterno case many want the university Football Program to be punished with multiple sanctions.  The reality is that that only perpetuates the problem, masks the issue, and punishes the innocent.  Most of the athletic programs at Penn State are funded by the football program.   The act occurred in the football program so the punishment needs to be of the football program.  The cover up by the head coach Joe Paterno.

Had he down his job and turned his friend in to the authorities he would have even doing his job.  If this had been discovered months later he would have lost his job.  So he fraudulently continued to collect a pay check from the moment he was aware of the sexual abuse and did nothing until he was relieved of his duties.  The same thing is true for the President of the University.  So if we fined each of them the equivalent of their collective salaries from the moment of the cover up until each of their dismissal, those funds could be set aside and used to fund the rest of the athletic programs at Penn State.

The offenders are punished and the innocent unpunished.   I really this would be what the family of Joe Paterno and the President would offer if they were able to look at the whole issue with remorse and restitution.  Remorse on the part of the offender and desire for restitution are the more effective qualities to develop in a society that reward and punishment.  The latter are a societies way of trying out of frustration to effect what true responsibility and respectfulness would offer.

The family of Joe Paterno would serve their legacy better by offering this than by spending probably more money on lawyers attempting to defend and protect rather than accept and respond appropriately.

I and all of us need to take this to heart.  To not wait to be punished or seek rewards but to live with responsibleness for our actions and make restitution in whatever way is honorable and honest.  Honor and honesty would then be a wonderful legacy evening the face of wrong.

Honor and honesty are high moral values.