How can people get away with revealing secrets?

[MysticCat]

IvySpice's response pretty much sums it up. I would add one thing, and that has to do with copyright protection. While some argument might be made that rituals are protected by copyright (that would be debatable and would depend on specific circumstances related to each individual ritual), the idea of going to court to protect that copyright wouldn't fly. By filing a copyright protection suit, a fraternity or sorority would have to make its rituals public, since the court is a public forum. Going to court to protect the copyright would be contrary to the main goal -- keeping the ritual secret.