In a world where genetic modification is on its way to becoming the norm, are we really going to sit and scream at the TV because a guy gave into the temptation to do everything possible to become the god that we all propped him up to be?
“He’s Out!”
Alex Rodriguez finally admits to using steroids.
Yet another major headline from the professional sporting world. Another news cycle spent talking about the use of performance enhancing drugs instead of the real issues that ail our country. But let’s be honest. Do we really even care anymore?
After all, we are talking about the business of entertaining masses? The “purity of sport” argument has long since passed (at least in the professional arena) and now, all we are left with are large corporate machines that only care about selling tickets, driving advertising revenue, and presenting the allure of exclusivity.
Sure the athletes need training and talent, but if a technology exists that can make you better at what you do, then why wouldn’t you use it?
If your goal is to be the strongest, fastest, most home run hitting dude in the world then why wouldn’t you find every tool known to man to make that a reality.
After all…
the steroids didn’t make him a great ball player, they just amplified the skills he already had. I could take all the steroids in the world but if you put me at the plate and throw me a 90mph fast ball, the only thing I’m going to do is get the hell out of the way.
These athletes already have such an advantage in training, equipment, medical care, etc that the concept of restricting their access to a performance enhancing drug is like telling a diabetic that they can use insulin but not the pump that automatically regulates its flow into the body.
We let these athletes use injections to limit swelling and speed up the recovery process, even in the middle of a game. They study themselves in labs to focus on heart rates, breathing, and perfecting their techniques. Peak performance is presented as the only acceptable outcome and then we have the audacity to get mad when someone finds a shortcut to better performance.
How hypocritical of all of us.
Who among us is not looking for an advantage to do better in this game called life right now? We have become a society of cheaters, and as much as we want to pretend that we’re all goody two-shoes and living a perfect life, we are all guilty of looking for shortcuts at one point or another. We actually glorify it in business, politics and education, but god forbid we see it in sports.
In a world where genetic modification is on its way to becoming the norm, are we really going to sit and scream at the TV because a guy gave into the temptation to do everything possible to become the god that we all propped him up to be?
At the very least, we should be willing to be honest with ourselves about the hypocrisy of all of it.
Imagine if…
We told Hollywood actors that they were no longer allowed to be in another movie if they have undergone plastic surgery. Or what if we told all the magazine publishers that they are no longer allowed to Photoshop the images that they use inside of their publications.
Maybe next we’ll try to tell college kids who take Adderall that their test scores are invalid or the pregnant mother that she has to suffer through the pain of child birth because the epidural would artificially dull the pain. I know, let’s tell the banks that they can no longer lend money to anyone who doesn’t already have the same amount sitting in the bank as collateral. That way no one can gain an unfair financial advantage in the world.
It would be absurd to present any of these arguments on a massive scale and you might even get laughed off the map for doing so, but every one of these things is an artificial enhancement to our ability to perform . Not all narcotics but each of them important drugs on which our society is wholly dependent.
We love drugs. Especially the ones we’re not allowed to have.
We love the erotic drugs of pornography and hedonism, and we spend more money on legal drugs (coffee, cigarettes and prescriptions etc.) than any other country on the planet. We have statewide battles to legalize drugs from plants that grow naturally all around us and everywhere you look, people are gorging on something that is intended to either make them perform better or at the very least, feel better about themselves.
We live in a world where superficial is really all that matters to most of us, so why should we get upset when someone skirts the system to bring the best version of themselves to the surface?
Aren’t we all addicted to something?
Whether it’s technology, relationships, food, alcohol, or any of the other things we rely on to distract us from ourselves. We love it when our performance is enhanced. We love things that make us faster and allow us to do more with less.
Isn’t that the holy grail of life? Business? To gain a competitive advantage? To find something to set yourself apart from everyone else? Something that makes you better, more appealing and ultimately gives you some level of power over others.
Why then do we all pretend to be so outraged when we find out that one of our heroes is just like us? That he too is human and that in spite of everything we made him out to be, he turned out to be just another man.
Is it that we are disappointed to find out that even our heroes are fallible?
Are we incapable of admitting to ourselves that when we turn on the TV to watch a professional sporting event, we are tuning into the modern day version of the Roman Coliseum? Are we scared to admit that we have an unhealthy dependence on this drug called entertainment?
Furthermore, if we’re going to keep living with this societal addiction, then why not give in and let it be the best of all addictions? Why not lift the ban and watch someone hit a 700 foot home run? Why not let them run faster, jump higher, hit each other harder and score more points? Wouldn’t that be ultimately more entertaining?
In closing
I say go ahead, show me your surgically modified, genetically altered, steroid injected, best version of yourself. Why not hide the parts of your that are real? Why wouldn’t you show off the parts that you make perfect for public consumption. After all, the cool kids are already doing it.
And if we’re all going to keep pretending to be better than we actually are, then why shouldn’t everyone else have the same opportunity? Even a professional athlete.
Image credit and read more about the A-Rod news here.
I have never understood the big deal over steroids. They will not make your coordination become better. The don’t help someones ability to “see” the ball or be composed under extreme pressure in the bottom of the ninth inning and all riding on that last pitch.
Skill is the real difference a pro has over a amateur. Strength and endurance are great but if you suck at a sport it means on steroids you’ll just suck longer at it. The physical after-effects of these synthetic drugs is either very well documented or is some cases, maybe not known at all for years to come. People resort to “using” at one point or another crumble under the pressure to perform longer…not necessarily better. They loose trust and belief in their own unique skill and abilities.
Some believe, that these “performance enhancing” drugs will improve performance. Wrong, they only let you perform your best as longer than before. Not better. It’s kinda like a guy who can’t perform very long in bed and gets Viagra to cure the problem. Great …now his wife has to endure the next four hours of his amateur work instead of four minutes he could give her before and he has a nasty rope burn and can’t leave the house.
In the long run, these drugs may not let you do anything more than steal the very natural abilities you were born with and make you dependent on the synthetic results.
Mental willpower, control and confidence is the ultimate strength. For me to be able to say I have given “my best” no matter the outcome is powerful. Much more than “I have won at any cost” ever will. Fighting the desire to quit, to give up and accept defeat and succeeding is the ultimate high. You can’t get that from sticking a needle in your arm over and over again.
Win, loose or draw. What about integrity, character and principle? Lance Armstrong’s downfall was not in his legs, but in himself. Blood doping did not allow him to win the tour 7 times. It was his brain and his internal fight that did that. The legs are connected to the brain. He let himself and all of us down by forgetting this.
The faster you burn your candle the faster you exit this life.
Here’s to my slow burn.
Raymmar thank you for this remarkable post, you’re one of the finest brainstorms my brain has experienced.
Well thank you for the kind words. Glad you liked it. Would you mind if I use that comment as a testimonial?
Go for it!