Sports Heroes?

I've been reading about the baseball steroid scandal, and how damaging this could be to our perception of these national heroes. This is something that has always annoyed me. That athletes are revered as heroes. I have trouble dealing with the fact that athletes get such adoration and such outrageous salaries.

Firefighters are heroes. Policemen are heroes. Teachers. Nurses. Parents. People who work for the benefit of others, for the benefit of society, of the future, often for little or no pay, and often at risk to their own well-being.

The scientist that cures a disease or finds a new vaccine is a hero. The inventor who finds a way to save energy or pollution is a hero. Toiling away in obscurity to leave the world a better place. Not lifting weights and hitting a ball. Not by making themselves the best they can be, but by making the world the best it can be. These are the people we should be idolizing and holding up as role models. The victims of circumstance who rise from poverty or ignorance or infirmity to do great things are heroes, people who set an example for others.

The other thing that troubles me is the erosion of standards. In this age of permissiveness, of forgiveness, I think we go too far and forgive too much. We're saying it's okay to cheat on your wives, to cheat on your taxes, to cheat at sports, to cheat consumers and to cheat the legal system.

There's something called the "Broken Windows" theory that says if a building has a broken window and it isn't fixed, it invites vandals to break even more windows, and soon they're starting fires and destroying the building. The reason is that when people see a neglected facility, they assume that nobody cares and they can do what they want without consequence. There's a breakdown of the system. That's why Rudy Giuliani began by cracking down on the small crimes, and soon there were fewer big crimes as well. When standards are upheld, it sends a message.

It may seem like a small thing to walk against a red light, or to be rude to people, but the acceptance of these small violations leads to bigger ones. Some may scoff, but when you see a building tagged with a piece of graffiti that isn't cleaned up, watch and see if it isn't soon joined by a gang of further graffiti. First people are rude, then they start throwing garbage, and the next thing you know there are brawls breaking out. We should demand more of our sports "heroes".


Blog Tag: Opinion