Silence is (Not) Golden
The old adage, “Silence is Golden,” seems a lot less true with news reports of all the silent enablers that have come to light in the last ten years. Consider the many claims of pedophilia against Catholic priests, and how church higher-ups kept their collusive silence and covered up the truth. Harvey Weinstein stands credibly accused of a number of sexual assaults, or at least sexual harassment, and for many years his behavior was “an open secret” within the corporation.
“Higher education” was not exempt, either, as “leaders” at Michigan State University were willing to remain quiet and allow continuing pedophilia by Dr. Nasser, who had, allegedly, molested more than a hundred young female gymnasts in the U.S. Olympic Program.
The young women who came forward deserve special moral credit for having the courage to speak up. Those at Michigan State that swept the “open secret” under the carpet were within their “rights” to keep a safe distance, but we can only shake our collective heads. Of course, overlooking and staying silent about sexual transgressions is not just a “Big Ten” thing, but at Penn State, another “Big Ten” university, a remarkably large number of people were willing to look the other way regarding Jerry Sandusky’s behavior.
Somehow, the “public image” of the Church, the University, or the Weinstein film company was far more important than either the truth of what was going on or treating the victims with respect.
Those who knew, and were silent, have broken no laws. In the U.S., there is no legal duty to tell the truth unless summoned to a witness stand, help someone in need, or to help someone in peril. Coming forward has its own perils, as Christine Blasey Ford found out when she spoke up when it appeared that Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination was going to sail through. To this day, Professor Ford receives death threats for coming forward with her claims of sexual assault by our newest Associate Justice when they were both much younger.
As those who follow the whistleblowing phenomenon in business, those who speak the truth will often pay a high price for telling the truth about corporate wrongdoing.
Speaking out can take considerable moral courage, especially where those close to powerful people and institutions are willing to look away, to not be involved, and to think that silence is golden. In many situations, silence equals complicity, and is perfectly legal, but quite wrong.