Tod Kelly has some advice in the wake of the Penn State debacle, and other examples of people sacrificing their minds to the hive:

[A]lways be willing to take a step back and audit your beliefs. When someone you are supporting is being “unfairly crucified” by FOX or the lame stream media, take a step back and ask yourself: If this was happening to the other tribe’s team, how would I be reacting right now? If the honest answer is anything other than “the same,” it might be wise to go back through all of the facts you had previously dismissed to see if perhaps you’ve let yourself miss something. More important, though, is this:

Be an advocate for what your tribe stands for, not an advocate for your tribe.

Amen, brother. Well said. I would add this alliterative advice for how disgraced and discredited institutions can rebuild: through resignation (of the failed leadership), repentance (of the sins and failing that brought the institution down), remembrance (of what the institution really stands for), and real reform.

Half-measures fool no one, except the leadership that thinks business as usual is still possible, and the damned fools who are willing to be fooled.

UPDATE: Someone just e-mailed this Tom Roberts piece from National Catholic Reporter, comparing the Penn State trustees swift and decisive action with the Church’s lack of same. We’ve been talking for a few days on this blog about the comparisons, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone make the point that the lack of clear, decisive, and credible action on the Church’s part is why this horrible thing keeps dragging out for years, despite hopes and claims that it’s finally behind us. Roberts:

Penn State will live on with a new football coach and a new president. The community, however, will have been put on notice that placing children in jeopardy will be dealt with in the most severe way, and that those in charge will not be able to hide behind excuses. The lines are clear. The expectations unambiguous. The story in all of its detail will be known.

The church, too, will certainly live on. But under the lingering cloud of suspicion that bishops, no matter how incompetent or unresponsive to reports of abuse, will not face the prospect of losing their jobs or of having to be accountable. The community will have to continue to function with the understanding that it might never know the full story. It also knows that no board of directors will ever convene with the power to look beyond the interests of an individual bishop and take the drastic measures necessary for the greater good of the community.

What else does Penn State need to do to restore credibility (I mean, in light of what we know now; there will no doubt be more ghastly revelations to come)? Inquirer sports columnist Bob Ford says the team should forfeit this Saturday’s game and stay home and think about their sins:

There should be no cheering on Saturday. There should be silence in the enormous concrete and steel edifice built to deify a program that has now been revealed as a false god. Tell the people not to come. Tell them there is nothing here to glorify. Encourage them to spend the fall afternoon with their children.

That didn’t happen, and the people involved can invent a thousand plausibly correct reasons for why Penn State should play Nebraska on Saturday. They can cite fairness to the players, to the fans, to the spirit of competition, to whatever shredded hope there is that life should continue just as if nothing has happened.

It’s all garbage, and it proves that the people in charge up there still don’t get it. They still don’t understand that, even at Penn State, even now, the football program shouldn’t be the main focus of everything. That’s how they got into this mess. Football ran the university and now it is running it into the ground.