Paragraph of the day

I was thinking about close-knit communities built on trust and how they are prone to abuse. Think of the abuse scandals in the Catholic Church for example. Or how Bernie Madoff was able to so easily manipulate the Jewish community. So I went look for some research that I thought be out there. Instead I found this:

The full toll that Madoff took on golf may never be known. The tally so far registers in grim estates: a staggering $1 billion-plus purportedly swindled from the membership of Palm Beach CC; a reported $100 million from those at Hillcrest and Oak Ridge country clubs in Minnesota; and on. But the damage to the game can't be measured in dollars alone. In his wide-ranging betrayal, Madoff not only stole a fortune, he frayed the social fabric from which golf is stitched. His still-unraveling scheme has left some players questioning the sense of trust supposedly inherent among golfers, and others contemplating the cruel irony of having joined clubs that were built to keep the riffraff out, only to discover that the worst kind of riffraff was already in.

Read more: Golf.com