The battle against cancer

There has been a great discussion thread in the clinic on Cyclingnews.com going on. It is above 2500 posts now on little lies that a certain Tour de France champion has been telling, and the web of deceit that surrounds him. I was appalled this weekend by Bill Maher saying who cares on his HBO show. As a journalist, writer, cyclist, cancer survivor and sporting enthusiast I care. Quite a bit actually.

Perhaps Bill can get away with being a hypocrite. However someone that supposedly raises millions in the name of cancer research, and curing the disease can't afford to be. Being a poster child for any cause takes a certain purity, anything less is exposed, and leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth. Our hard earned dollars are not for someone's folly. We have expectations in this world, and that isn't of some Texas homeboy playing the Euro game and beating them at it while living a lie.

In my own point of view, whatever we endeavor in life, should be done to the fullest of our own abilities, without artificial sweeteners, and be based on our available skills, talents and perspiration. To be the best at anything isn't about injecting the right drug into your hip on a regular basis and not being caught. There isn't a shortcut to being a genius, an intellectual, an effective leader; and those that rely on artificial means to prop up their performance in athletic means are living such a falsehood that they should be ashamed. It is one thing to have an injury, and receive treatment. Long live drugs to aid the body in what it cant conquer on its own due to injury or disease. However to take the same and exploit them, is a rape of sport.

Apparently money is also a disease, it acts like illegal performance enhancing drugs. Those with money can afford to act intelligent, to get many of those around them to cover their tracks, and to build a thin veil around what is less than stellar. Money is power, and with it you can prop up your performance, the same way that steroids or other enhancers can make you the athlete you never were. We now have rich people that try to fake intelligence because the have money and notoriety. Our society is becoming polluted, and where the cream used to rise to the top, we now have poisoned pools of humanity relying on lies, money and drugs to fake their way through life.

Bill Maher is part of a posse that is way too selective in it's power to hold people accountable. His bully pulpit becomes less tasteful, removes itself from power and becomes bitter on a weekly basis. It is a shame that what could be a powerful voice, is now less respectful of those viewers that it holds so dear. Perhaps it is a brand of entertainment, but that is going by the wayside, since the show can't figure out if it has something to say, or just wants to offend for ratings. Intense scrutiny of so many figures exposes them all to the reality of life. Be it a yellow jersey liar, a less than effective comedian, a talking head on the news, or our elected officials. Maybe the world isn't motivated enough to spend the elbow grease in peeling back the layers of these fools that rise to the top of the collective conscience and insult us.