Dan

Calabrese

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February 12, 2009

The Drug-Addled Fraud of Alex Rodriguez . . . and Millions of Others, Too

So you’re filled with indignation because Alex Rodriguez cheated and used steroids to help himself produce those gaudy numbers with the Texas Rangers between 2001 and 2003, are you?

I agree. Cheaters suck, as do these lame “come clean” interviews that only happen because the cheater was presented with evidence he couldn’t deny. Oh, look at me! I’m going to tell the truth now! So sorry about those roids and my DNA on that blue dress, but it’s all good now!

A-Fraud, as former manager Joe Torre says his New York Yankee teammates called him, explains that he was just caught up in the “loosey-goosey” nature of the times. Ever the leader, everyone else was doing it! So A-Roid couldn’t help himself.

Should his career stats be tainted with an asterisk? You bet. Should his future Hall of Fame candidacy be called into question? Absolutely. He is a cheater and a liar, and it makes no difference how many other people are cheaters and liars as well.

To hell with Alex Rodriguez. He’s just one more reason to hate the Yankees.

But as deplorable as A-Rod is, he is not as uniquely condemnable as you probably want to believe.

Baseball is a challenge, as is life. There are right ways and wrong ways of dealing with the challenges put before you. The right way to deal with the challenge of baseball is to work hard, get in top shape, practice practice practice and keep a sharp mental focus on how to do your best and keep improving.

The wrong way is to take drugs. It is not only dishonest, it is weak and pathetic. By doing it, you demonstrate that you don’t have enough confidence in the natural capabilities God gave you – or that you don’t care to make the effort necessary to optimize them. You also demonstrate that you have no regard for the people who actually follow the rules. You don’t care. Fair play is unimportant to you.

You are a piece of garbage.

The right way to deal with life is take care of yourself, respect your body, work hard and deal with the challenges that come your way by being at your very best. There is no shortage of things you can put into your body that help you in this mission, and even some of the things that don’t help (potato chips, chocolate, etc.) don’t present a problem if you don’t overdo it.

The wrong way is to ingest chemicals and substances that alter your mind for any number of reasons – most of them ultimately going back to the fact that you can’t handle life by relying solely on the natural attributes God gave you. You can’t relax and enjoy yourself. You can’t deal with aches and pains. You can’t deal with problems. Not unless you pollute your body with alcohol, tobacco, meth, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana or any number of other toxins you use to “recreate.”

What exactly is the difference? A-Rod cheated at baseball. Millions of Americans are cheating at life, and ultimately only cheating themselves. They are robbing themselves of the joy of experiencing life as it was naturally intended. Some of them are robbing others of life itself by drinking and driving, patronizing the violent illegal drug trade or sharing their indulgence with family members, friends and neighbors who ultimately become addicted and spiral into hell.

But they don’t care because they just want their high or their buzz. It is inconceivable to them that they can enjoy the fullness of life without it, which is the saddest thing of all about the choice they’re making.

Now we even give drugs to children to get them to pay attention in school.

So why are you so mad at A-Rod? He couldn’t handle baseball without drugs. Millions of you can’t handle life without drugs. Or does it just offend you more because you expect really important things – like home runs and RBIs – to be above suspicion?

In baseball, there are two kinds of players – drug-using frauds and real professionals. Just like the rest of life.

© 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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