The tragic events at Penn State have captured the nation’s attention.  The question that is at the center of it all seems to be: “Did they do enough?”

Did the then graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, do enough by bringing the incident of abuse he witnessed to the attention of his coach?  Did Coach Joe Paterno do enough by telling the Athletic Director?  Did the Athletic Director do enough? Did the University President do enough? The list goes on and on.

Like much of the country, I read about the scandal and assured myself that I would have acted differently.  I would have intervened; I would have called the police and pressed the University to respond.  But before I give myself a firm pat on the back, I wonder about the times in my own life when I have been a witness and chosen not to act.  When have I been a bystander?

Reading the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Biblical response to intervening when one witnesses an abuse seems clear.  In the story, a traveler is robbed, beaten, and left battered along the side of the road.  Two men walk right by ignoring the wounded traveler.  A Samaritan ultimately offers the traveler compassion and helps bound his wounds.  The basic lesson here: Don’t turn the other cheek to another in need.

Two Princeton researchers, John Darley and Daniel Batson, decided to put this message to the test.  In their 1978 study, they asked a group of divinity students to give a presentation to another group of students.  They divided their subjects into two groups: one group was told to present on employment prospects for divinity students, the other was asked to talk about the Good Samaritan parable.

To add additional pressure to the situation, Darley and Batson told a portion of each group that they were already late and would need to run across campus if they hoped to make their talk in time.  Now the real experiment began.  As the students bolted through campus they each passed a man who was leaning against a wall, coughing, and clearly needing help.  Whether the students were speaking about the Good Samarian story or not, had no effect on if they helped the seemingly ill man.  However, the students that were told they were late and had to rush were significantly less likely to help than those who could leisurely walk to their presentation.

I am sure the coaches and administrators whose names we have come to know in recent days were in a rush.  There were football games to win and a university to run.  Still, the young survivors of abuse at Penn State needed a Good Samaritan.  They needed someone to recognize the helplessness of their age and to take charge.  Sadly, no one came.

I am also in a rush.  We all are.  There are always a million activities, meetings, and errands on our plates.  In the rush to get from one to place to another, running from one goal to the next, I am sure there was a time I missed a wounded traveler.

Much of the finger-pointing going on in University Park is well deserved, given the brevity of the abuses being discussed and the power dynamics involved.  But in the midst of looking out, let us also take some time to look in.  Before we pat ourselves on the back, lets practice keeping our eyes open – even on the busiest days – to the wounded travelers in our midst.