Cast in Bronze

Statues are a strange way to celebrate people.  Today at lunch, I was approached by our communications director outside our building doing a fluff piece on statues that flanked the entrance of our building.  They were Indian goddesses, one so particularly well-endowed that it was awkward to bring visitors to the building without hearing a comment about the guardians of our building.  Frank (our communications guy) asked what statues should flank the doors of our new buildings.  Immediately, I thought about officials that have left our organization (some have left in disgrace), but thought that joke might not be received particularly well.  I fell on an easy joke about Frank himself and my lunch companion.  The truth is, it would be really strange to have people go up as statues at a learning institution.

But tonight, Joe Paterno still stands in bronze at Pennsylvania State University.  The finger raised is supposed to signify his football program.  Tonight, it is a representation of the number of mistakes it takes to shatter lives and tarnish reputations.  Joe Paterno was a man.  By most accounts, he was a very good man, but it turns out that some decisions he made were deplorable and led to the shattering of lives.  His long-time rival Bobby Bowden thinks they should remove the statue.  I don't know for sure, but I bet Joe would agree.  People don't belong in bronze or marble.  They aren't that simple.  They are a culminations of their decisions and their experiences; their opportunities and circumstances.  Most of all, I think Joe was different depending on who you ask.  He stands in bronze to some who he led out onto that field.  He stands in rubble for those who were counting on him standing up for their innocence.  Let it be a lesson to us all.  We have to try to be good people all the time.  All the accomplishments in the world do not make better our worst moments.  We will be judged by those.