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The world is made of deadly secrets. We are surrounded by them, enveloped in them, yet are seldom able to see them for what they are … and when we do see them, it is a scarring, revolting, horrifying experience of revelation. The child rape scandal still unfolding at Penn State University is a case in point. I have friends and family who attended that school, who love the place with all their hearts, and when the gruesome secret of Jerry Sandusky's alleged barbaric behavior exploded on to the front pages of every newspaper, a little piece of their hearts died forever.
It scalds when you find out you've been deceived, when something you loved and trusted is revealed as being rotten straight to the core, but it is better to know than to be in the dark. Jerry Sandusky's power over the children he allegedly molested came from the secrecy he operated in. As soon as that secrecy was removed, his power over those children was ended. No matter how sickening the details may be, how heart-wrenching it is to hear and read what is nothing more or less than the stuff of nightmares, it is always better to know.
The world is made of secrets, kept by powerful people as a means of maintaining their ascendancy, but removing that secrecy removes their power. The illegal machinations on Wall Street, the inside baseball of corrupt politicians, the true motives behind “mainstream” news media manipulations, all are insulated behind a wall of secrets. Our job at Truthout is to breach that wall, find out the truth, and shout it from the rooftops. The truth can often burn, but it is always better to know, and that is why we are here.
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[Correction: This piece has been updated to add “alleged” to the allegations agains Sandusky.]
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