“A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.”

- Socrates

This week’s unfolding events, precipitated by the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, have left me with an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.  During the quarter century I have lived in Pennsylvania, I have developed a deep admiration for Joe Paterno—not for his coaching prowess, but for what he has given back to the university.  “JoePa” not only gave back several million dollars in contributions to the university, he also gave those who attended the school an image of character they could strive to emulate.

Paterno’s sometimes irascible nature was often a thorn in the side of those who wanted more wins and additional national championships; but, in his near half-century in the coach’s hot seat, he produced an enviable record that counts far more than wins, losses and championships.  The graduation rates for Penn State football players who played for Paterno is far above the averages for most other football programs.  When the NCAA released its graduation rates report in 2009 for athletes who entered college during the 2002-03 school year, Penn State led all Top 25 teams with an astonishing 89% graduation rate.  Because of the way Paterno ran his program, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young men earned college degrees they might not otherwise have even sought.

But this week we discovered that “JoePa,” like most of us, is mortal and, as such, doesn’t always clear the moral high bar we like to set for our heroes.  At the time of this writing, there is no indication that Paterno committed any legal breech; but he failed his moral duty by not following through to ensure allegations of sexual abuse by a member of his staff were pursued to their necessary conclusion.  Because of this failure, Paterno has been removed as the football coach for Penn State.  To see that this move is appropriate, one only need reflect on the young boys that might have been spared the pain, humiliation and degradation that comes from being the victim of sexual abuse had Paterno been more diligent—the number of occurrences is not important for even one would be one too many.  From what I know of Paterno, I suspect he knows in his heart of hearts that his removal was necessary and that he will regret his failure of action until his dying day.  The cross he will force himself to carry will be far heavier for the decent person he is.

This incident should cause all of us to reflect on both how we measure morality and how all too often we conveniently allow it to be called into question in a manner that suits us at the moment instead of applying it with even-handed consistency.  Jumping on the bandwagon of those who would pillory Paterno, Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post wrote “Penn State football should be retired, permanently.”  I can find no record, though, of Rubin ever criticizing George W. Bush for lying about WMDs to help justify the invasion of Iraq, which, of course, resulted in the deaths of several thousand U.S. citizens.  Neither can I find an instance of Rubin speaking out against the torture of foreign nationals by the Bush administration.  It would be appropriate for us to hold the President of the United States to at least the same level of moral standard we hold the coach of a college football team.

(Author’s Note:  I’m not saying Rubin never criticized Bush, just that I have not been able to find an instance in which she did so.)

Self-serving appeals to moral standards when it is convenient do no one any good.  Any parent who has ever told their child it is wrong to do something like, say, exceed the speed limit, only to later have that child ask, “If it’s wrong to do that, why are you doing it?” understands the dangers posed by morality of convenience.

Moral outrage must be applied across the board.  If we can punish Paterno for failing his moral duty yet turn a blind eye to those who authorized, directed and committed torture under the Bush administration we are failing ourselves, our country and our children.

In the end, it is our morality that defines our individual worth.  Joe Paterno is not the only one who should be made aware of his deficiencies.