[Stardust]

^ WAYYYY Off base here LWC, but I certainly went through the exact same line of thinking. But my whacko line of thinking summed it up like this!

A man could be a pillar in the community. He could be the Rock that makes the community whole and sound. He is the moral leader and the one whose parents say to their children "I want you to grow up to be just like him". This man could be the financial foundation for the community, bringing in jobs and security to families all around. He could be the pillar that provides all sound spiritual, ethical and political structure that benefits all of the families in the community. This individual has touched thousands, maybe millions of lives, in such a way that all that he comes in contact with has made those individuals better human beings! This man has been a blessing to all those who have come in contact with him for 80 years.

Then, one night, while spending a wonderful evening with family and friends, he drinks one glass of wine too many. Nothing purposeful negligent, just a night like any other. But on this night, his senses were skewed just enough that he makes that one error in judgement on the road. That error causes an accident. In that 2 seconds that caused the accident, a mother and her newborn child are killed. In a mere 2 seconds of poor judgement, 80 years of good has been wiped clean!

OK, so it may be way off kilter to this incident. But I view this in a similar vain though. There is no doubt, Joe was all those examples that I explained in the first paragraph. But due to his inaction (not 2 seconds worth - but 12 years worth), lives have been taken that can NEVER ever be repaired.

Joe did not do the deed, but as I have contended, he was the single-most ENFORCER that could have stuck this evil Demon known as Sandusky in his place! Joe could not have changed what happen to all of those lives that were essentially destroyed up to 1998 - But he could have eliminated those lives that were destroyed after 1998!

No, I do not blame Joe for what Sandusky did! But Joe did not blame Sandusky for what he did either. And to me, that has now trumped all the good that Joe has done over his lifetime.

LWC, you preach to a congregation. You hope that your message is heard by ALL. Your prayer is that all will be brought closer to spiritual healing through the words that God places on your tongue. But, you know that it's typical that your message is heard by ONE, and it makes an impact on that individual. We live our lives hoping to impact just one person in a way that saves that persons life in some way. Joe, definitely impacted lives in a possitive way, but does saving a million lives weigh to letting just one life be destroyed? I'm not a perfect man, and this whole scenario has been a living parable for all of us, one that surely will open our eyes and give us the strength to never let this happen on "OUR WATCH"!