The Atlantic: ...Leave Lance Armstrong Alone!

Both the press and the government selectively create heroes and soon thereafter crucifies them. It's a narrative that has played out since 44 BC when Caesar crossed the Rubicon but met with a violent assassination at the hands of the Roman Senate.  From "hero to zero" to speak.

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan are present time examples.

Perhaps philosopher Betrand Russell is right: "...Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales." Lance Armstrong was that comforting fairy tale. A fairy tale which said a cancer survivor can rise up, dust themselves off, and win the Tour de France. Gosh, what were we thinking? 

From The Atlantic:

".... This entire sordid saga is complicated on every level, and pretending it's simple serves no purpose. We made a young Texan into an impossible hero because we love heroes and he seemed just perfect. All too perfect, of course.

So now we need a villain, and a not-so-young Texan seems just perfect. Again, all too perfect.

Which brings us back to the Department of Justice suing Armstrong. When Chicago's children are slaughtering one another in gang-driven violence, and a licensed compounding pharmacy is turning out a contaminated vaccine that kills instead of cures, is this really the best use of our precious government resources? I'd rather the DOJ be focused on busting gangs and the FDA to do a better job on protecting the public than trying to clean up a tainted European sport or help Floyd Landis settle an old score.

So yes, Lance Armstrong lied, cheated, and doped. But like the old saying goes, do we really have to make a federal case out of it?  ..." 

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