Paterno, Sandusky, and Mob Rule

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The difference between a republic, and a democracy, is the difference between the rule of law and the rule of man. Democracy is "mob-rule," a system where due process is set aside, and representative systems give way to the tyranny of the majority.

In a democracy a guilty suspect is hunted down by an angry posse, hauled to the highest tree in town, the members of the posse vote on the guilt of the alleged offender, and then he is hung by the neck with no questions asked.

In a republic the man is innocent until proven guilty - he is afforded due process, has a right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, is informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, has a right to be confronted with the witnesses against him, can obtain witnesses for his defense, and the verdict is based on careful consideration of all of the available evidence.

The system is not perfect, but it is the fairest ever devised.

Consistent with the system we have in place, when it came to the Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, I refused to jump on the bandwagon to fry Coach Joe Paterno before all of the evidence was revealed. I did not care to be a part of a witch hunt by a screaming mob demanding Paterno's head without all of the evidence available. Joe Paterno said he referred the Sandusky problem to his higher-ups, and he felt that was the best he could do at the time. Until evidence to the contrary was presented, I took him at his word.

Liberal Tom and Yellow Flag, now that evidence has surfaced that Paterno may have actively worked to cover up Sandusky's despicable crimes, are demanding that I go back to my previous writings and admit I was wrong for "defending a pedophile enabler."

I will do nothing of the sort. I will not become a part of the rabid mob. If Paterno did in fact purposely hide evidence regarding Sandusky, or refuse to pursue the truth for the sake of protecting the football program at Penn State, then the evidence will reveal such and Paterno will be remembered as a foolish man who was an accomplice to Sandusky's disgusting sexual acts against children.

Liberals like Tom and Yellow Flag were quick to jump on the mob-rule posse, and they did it before all of the evidence was available. They were willing to condemn a man before the rule of law had a chance to work through its processes.  They had the rope already tied in a noose before due process had a chance to proceed.

The liberal left did the same thing regarding George Zimmerman, and the death of Trayvon Martin. Before any evidence was available, and before due process had a chance to proceed, leftists like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Spike Lee (along with the entire leftwing media) had already determined Martin to be a poor, innocent, defenseless black kid mowed down by a vicious, trigger happy racist. Members of the media were even willing to alter evidence to achieve their goal of slipping a noose around Zimmerman's neck before due process even had a chance to commence - revealing their incomprehensible desire to label this nation as a racist one.

Now, evidence has emerged that Zimmerman was injured during the scuffle because he was defending himself against a very aggressive Trayvon Martin.

The mob terrorized Zimmerman, causing him to live in hiding, and even now while evidence is emerging proving the mob wrong, they continue to go after Zimmerman - calling anyone that dares to disagree with them "racist."

We are not a democracy, or at least we are not supposed to be.  We are a republic. We are not supposed to sway with the opinions of mobs. We are supposed to function under the rule of law - the law of the land being the U.S. Constitution.

From Paterno, to Zimmerman, to Justice Robert's decision to ignore the law of the land, we teeter on the edge of becoming a mob bouncing around refusing to pay heed to the law. We are supposed to be applying the law to our cases, and reserve judgment until all of the evidence is considered.

That is what separates us from the failed socialist nations of Europe, and the barbaric theocracies of the Muslim World.

"Democracy is the road to socialism." -- Karl Marx

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary