Spring Break
Editorial: What happened to Honest Abe?
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
02/18/09 - Last week marked the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Ironically, just a week after the famous birthday of the man who earned the nickname "Honest Abe," a press conference was held yesterday with a public figure who was not-so-honest with America.
With the cat out of the bag concerning New York Yankees baseball player Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez's steroid use, the question one can't help but ask is: "Are there any honest people in the spotlight anymore?"
The public has seen corruption in government, the media and business, among other things. But it seems that cheating has also reached all four corners of the baseball diamond, with Rodriguez at the top of the list.
There've been claims of steroid use floating throughout Major League Baseball, but for Rodriguez, a three-time Most Valuable Player for the American League (the first being in 2003 while he was allegedly taking self-described energy enhancers,) to admit to taking performance enhancers is a sad day for America's favorite pastime. It sends a message to the people: not even the poster boy of the sports world is safe.
Rodriguez's great one-liner, the reasoning behind not seeking help with his steroid use, might be remembered for the rest of sports history: "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs."
Bravo. And like a weasel of a child, he tried to wiggle his way back into America's sympathies with: "The one thing that, I mean I can lay on my pillow at night is I entered this game when I was 18. I had my best year when I was 20, and then I had my other best year ... in 2007. So, I mean, foul pole to foul pole is pretty good. I understand the questions and the doubt. And I made my bed, I'm going to have to sit on it."
Between him and Michael Phelps, it's hard to find an honest role model for the next generation. When people look up to sports stars, and even politicians like Barack Obama, who has already made compromises to his original election platform, there's not much to be in awe of anymore.
It seems that students and members of the current generation are going to have to take the heat for their predecessors while trying to make their way in the world.
That's why it's important for students holding positions of power and working in the community to take a better look at their image. Sometimes it's hard to tell who looks up to one person and doesn't pay attention to another. But one false move, whether it be a large mistake (like the use of steroids) or a smaller one (like spending $25 million on renovations to the Ford Theater - sorry, Abe, I had to say it,) can be the determining factor in breeding another dishonest, corrupted player.
With the cat out of the bag concerning New York Yankees baseball player Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez's steroid use, the question one can't help but ask is: "Are there any honest people in the spotlight anymore?"
The public has seen corruption in government, the media and business, among other things. But it seems that cheating has also reached all four corners of the baseball diamond, with Rodriguez at the top of the list.
There've been claims of steroid use floating throughout Major League Baseball, but for Rodriguez, a three-time Most Valuable Player for the American League (the first being in 2003 while he was allegedly taking self-described energy enhancers,) to admit to taking performance enhancers is a sad day for America's favorite pastime. It sends a message to the people: not even the poster boy of the sports world is safe.
Rodriguez's great one-liner, the reasoning behind not seeking help with his steroid use, might be remembered for the rest of sports history: "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs."
Bravo. And like a weasel of a child, he tried to wiggle his way back into America's sympathies with: "The one thing that, I mean I can lay on my pillow at night is I entered this game when I was 18. I had my best year when I was 20, and then I had my other best year ... in 2007. So, I mean, foul pole to foul pole is pretty good. I understand the questions and the doubt. And I made my bed, I'm going to have to sit on it."
Between him and Michael Phelps, it's hard to find an honest role model for the next generation. When people look up to sports stars, and even politicians like Barack Obama, who has already made compromises to his original election platform, there's not much to be in awe of anymore.
It seems that students and members of the current generation are going to have to take the heat for their predecessors while trying to make their way in the world.
That's why it's important for students holding positions of power and working in the community to take a better look at their image. Sometimes it's hard to tell who looks up to one person and doesn't pay attention to another. But one false move, whether it be a large mistake (like the use of steroids) or a smaller one (like spending $25 million on renovations to the Ford Theater - sorry, Abe, I had to say it,) can be the determining factor in breeding another dishonest, corrupted player.
