Audio
Video
Can we pay respect to Joe Paterno?
Posted
by
on Jan 22, 2012 in Life & Style | 1 comment | 279 views 
Photo by Via Tsuji
I will never defend the actions of Joe Paterno.
However, I will never pretend to understand what it’s like to dedicate the majority of my life to one organization. To live and die by that organizations rules and disciplines. To allow myself to be so far removed from the “real world” that lines become blurred and priorities become misplaced. To love a team so much it consumes my every thought and my ever decision.
I don’t know what that would be like. I don’t know how it would feel and the panic that would come when I see my only true passion in life being compromised.
I don’t think he was an inherently evil human being. I don’t think he was a monster. I believe he was just a human being who lost control of reality. Who allowed himself to lose sight of what “really” mattered. I believe he focused his life and vision so completely on football that he could not see the things going on in his peripheral.
No, Joe Paterno might not have been a “great” man, but not many are. He still deserves respect. He still deserves to be remembered for his success and the positivity he brought to so many lives.
Well said:)