The Effects of Fear at Penn State

On November 13, I preached on fear and how living in fear leads to violence.  We fear losing what was never ours to begin with and we will do anything to keep it.

I mentioned the Penn State sexual abuse scandal as an example of people afraid to damage a beloved institution and to lose personal fame and power.  Having read the November 21 Sports Illustrated issue with its coverage of the scandal only reinforces my belief that fear was at the heart of the scandal--fear overrode even a most basic sense of morality--e.g. protecting children.  Also, this week's episode of this American Life does an excellent job explaining the mindset of Penn State's culture and how misguided love for that culture allowed the scandal to happen.