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Lance Armstrong finally admits he lied.
jll
Veteran
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lance-armstrong--arrogant-and-unaware--did-little-to-repair-his-image-in-mea-culpa-with-oprah-062222144.html
I am glad he decided to come clean.
I hope he will be able to find peace.
I am glad he decided to come clean.
I hope he will be able to find peace.
0
Comments
To me, it's a travesty that sports, any sport, can become so "important" that it can generate millions - if not billions- of dollars year after year after year, (for athletes, their owners and corporate sponsors) while people all across the country and the world go hungry, go homeless, go jobless, and go without health care and medicine...
What does our society gain from it all? Entertainment? Ego-pumping pride in a sports team?
What a waste. Lance Armstrong is a cheater- at sports. Big deal. No one made him my 'role model' or anyone's role model. So his own ethics and moral issues are his problem, not mine. I say take his medals away, his awards, his legacy and move on.
We've got politicians, bankers, and CEOs who cheat, lie and steal and do *real honest-to-goodness damage* to people's lives and our economy.... and we all shake our heads and look the other way. We should worry half as much about this as we do - collectively- about some sports 'star' being a cheater....
But I also think -- when looking at human behavior -- there are limits to how much one should excuse another person's behaviors. For example, make a mistake or two in one area...well, we all do. Because we're human. But commit that same act over and over and over, over a long period of time...and that goes more to serious intent...something we talk about here a lot. And then you compound the taking of banned substances by persistently lying about it over a period of many years. And you take awards away from others who made their efforts honestly...and that's stealing. And then you take money for something you haven't earned honestly...more stealing. And then you take the honor and glory and adulation of others under false pretenses. Gee...how much should we excuse?
Or let's put it another way. It's a bit easy to dismiss his behaviors because it's just sports. What if the crimes he was committing were more serious than just sports? Would we excuse him because he also did good in other areas?
I can only go back to what I would expect for myself. And frankly, I would not expect to be forgiven in a similar pattern of behavior. We sometimes point to a few good deeds someone does and think those deeds define him or her. Perhaps it's as fair to look at a person (including ourselves) and say that we're only as good as we are at our worst, particularly if that "worst" is a pattern of behavior.
as he confessed.
not only that, he betrayed n harrased n threatened
his closest firends n associates.
he used his power n influence to pervert justice.
he has a lot to answer for.
But, that is all in the past.
if i were in his position, i could have done
the same things.
it is now time for him to move on with his life.
perhaps it is time to ask for forgiveness
and make amends.
he has the money to still do a lot of good.
perhaps it is time to give back some
of the money he did not deserve.
as a buddhist, i believe in karma.
he is still in the position to accumulate tons of good
karma.
i wish him all the best in the future.
if i meet him, i will say to him,
' lance, i think you are one of the greatest cyclist
of all time. thank you for livestrong foundation.
form now on. put your pride behind you, live in truth,
and do lots of charity'
He is a man on two wheels. We are on one wheel. We can peddle compassion, wisdom and a change of heart. Time to cycle to the top of our own mountain with skilful means? We can not cheat ourselves . . .
The two insights that he verbalized was...
that there are things he can't control
(cancer and keeping the secrets under wraps)
and that his intentions must change.
A fellow teacher that I work with and I were discussing this atrocious matter of Lance Armstrong, today. We both agreed that even if he -was- doping, with a mountain of verified evidence against him, he should have denied, denied, denied. The reason why is because: when you become an icon such as he became, it's no longer actually about you. Lance Armstrong should have thought of all of the cancer patients that he inspired to survive, all of the people that he inspired to get in shape, and so on...they are who it's really about, not him or his conscience. When you reach the status that he reached, should something like this arise, he should have (for the sake of all of those who believed in him) stayed the course and fought the matter to the very end, never admitting defeat even on his deathbed. To use the word "icon" to describe someone is to suggest a question of faith; faith defies logic, and can be used to accomplish great things in the people who follow it. No evidence is indisputable.
This is why, I imagine, the Catholic church would continue its course, even though there are many things about The Bible that are scientifically disprovable, because at that point: it's not about fact, but faith. What matters more is the story of this person, rather than the actual fact. What matters more is how the story of this hero can inspire the human race to do better.
Like when Che Guevera spoke about how he became an icon of rebellion. He said that he never chose to be an icon of rebellion, and even though peace had been attained in Cuba, he still had to keep on fighting because what had become a part of was bigger than himself. He had become a symbol to the people. Che went to other countries (and eventually died) fighting simply because he knew that his life truly didn't belong to him anymore. The same is true of Emperor Qi'in, the first sovereign emperor of China (I suggest you watch the Kung Fu movie, titled "Hero", starring Jet Li or read about the actual history of the emperor); the emperor didn't want to kill Wu Ming (the assassin who plotted against him) because after sitting down and talking to the assassin, he realized the truth of what sometimes must be done for the sake of the greater good of the people. He had to kill the assassin, and bear that on his conscience for the rest of his life for the sake of all of China, the people who looked at the emperor as an icon to believe in and follow. The moral of the story with emperor Qi'in, Che Guevera, and Jesus is that the suffering of one is nothing compared to the suffering of all. Therefore, in my humble utilitarian opinion, I personally believe that Lance should have kept a guilty conscience to the death.
Even though there is an ocean of difference between Jesus, Che Guevera, Emperor Qi'in, and Lance Armstrong, what they had in common were that they were all icons, symbols to the people for greater things of greater goods, even if they never chose to be an icon.
Lance truly disappointed me, not because of the allegations against him (be they true or false), but how he reacted to them. He should not have thought of himself, his own conscience, but should have suffered inside until death...for the sake of the children. He should have thought of the children, and the others who believed in him, rather than allegations against him. The controversy just would have added to his legend, and inspired more people to do greater things for the human race in future generations.
I just that sometimes, in very key specific situations, the truth will do more harm than actual good. If you've ever read the book The Sunflower (http://www.amazon.com/The-Sunflower-Possibilities-Forgiveness-ebook/dp/B000SEH8U8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358741844&sr=8-2&keywords=the+sunflower)
...the true story of a Jew who was given the option to forgive a Nazi, a situation just like this arises.
The protagonist of this story was a victim of the Holocaust, who was pulled into a room by a dieing nazi who wanted someone to hear his story about how he became a nazi and asked for forgiveness.
I won't reveal what the Jew did or didn't do (just in case if you decide to read the story), but after, he tracks down the nazi's mother.
When he speaks to his mother, the mother is completely and innocently oblivious to her son's crimes. She's the only survivor of her family, and all she had were wonderful memories of her son.
The protagonist of the story is given yet another choice...tell the truth to the mother about what her son really became, or let her live on with the legend of her son in her mind for the sake of her own sanity?
He chose to lie to her, and agree that her son was a good boy, for the greater good of the mother's heart.
I personally believe that there -are- certain key...VERY KEY...situations when a lie would actually do better than the truth.
Even though the movie is a bit different than the book, in reference to the movie, Dr. Manhattan agreed to the plan, to continue the lie, for the greater good of all mankind. Dr. Manhattan -wasn't- the cause of all the deaths, but his reputation, his conscience, was a small price to pay considering all of the other lives that would be saved over time. War had ended.
Another example could be the Dark Knight. Batman. There are many, many examples when a lie can accomplish wonderful goods.
This does not mean that I condone lying generally; I only mean to defend the shadow-side of the true definition of one who follows the middle-path.
When the game is up, it is time to move on. Nobody believes politicians deep down because they are like lawyers and actors, professional 'liars'. We know this. What are we adult enough to hear? An athlete gets away with what they can. How many more like Lance?
Buddhism has many accepted truths. Which ones are skilful or abandoned is not about generating an inspiring mythology. It is about our integrity, authenticity and emotional forbearance.
Why in truth are we so keen on lies?
Utilitarians tend to have quite controversial opinions when it comes to moral dilemmas such as this, because one who thinks of the "greater good" for the "greater number" rather than the preservation of the "self" can be lead by this kind of thinking to do horrible things to ourselves for the sake of someone else's good. In one aspect, I would say, that one could look at it one of the highest levels of selflessness, or...one of the highest levels of selfishness (depending on the scenario and how one chooses to look at it). Utilitarians tend to take the bird's eye view on situations, rather than the first-person view.
I speak from personal experience that it is simply my nature to sacrifice parts of myself for the greater good of someone else's well-being, even if it means my conscience. Even in my own life, I've had to take hits on my own reputation in order to help others in their purpose in life. I know that I speak of this vaguely, but I really don't want to type anymore long of a post than I already have. I just speak from personal experience when I say...that it takes a -strong- person to think like a utilitarian, for there is much to bear on your conscience if you're a benevolent person at heart.
Utilitarians are not always politicians and false idols; this is merely the dark side of the philosophy. Utilitarians can also be wonderful big brothers, leaders, kings, revolutionaries, martyrs, parents, etc.
It seems that you speak against inspiring mythology, but was it not inspiring mythology that inspired Alexander the Great to conquer nearly all of the known world in his time? If he had lived to succeed and acknowledged a suitable heir...because of the lies of mythology, we may have already have entered an age of true world peace.
No one knows the true value we have in the universe, nor the how our actions truly echo through eternity. We just know that they do, and that's what I believe Lance should have stuck by, -not- for himself, but for future generations.
Icons and legends make the impossible, possible...in our minds. And this elevates the human race to evolve into higher and higher levels of being. To run faster, think smarter, fly higher, lift heavier, defeat cancer, defy the odds, etc. Icons and legends help to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. It doesn't matter if they are true or false; all that matters is that we believe in them--and those beliefs, how they affect our minds (and indirectly, our bodies) can give us the inner power to do wonderful and record-breaking things.
The yidams of Tantra, represent real internal qualities. The techniques and teachings of Buddhism are verifiable or compost.
Like Lance Armstrong, we are hypocrites, we follow the dharma that suits us. I understand sacrifice and I understand the pressure of his 'karma'. Lance has confessed. He is a Mensch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch
More inspiring than a man on a bike. :clap:
An opinion is not knowledge; it's a viewpoint, one of which I am completely entitled to. You're right. Undigested experience may indeed be constipation, but that feels like a slight literary attack on my vague expression of personal experience. There's no need for that. I merely stated my opinion without attacking yours. I kept my personal experience vague, because personally, it's none of your business.
This is a forum; we speak freely and respectfully. I would not slight your personal experiences as constipation, but revere them as great contributions to this forum for others to read and learn from, regardless of whether I completely disagreed with you or not.
To you, the man on a bike may have been nothing; to another, the man on a bike may have been everything, perceived as a total motivating hero and example...and unto many, he surely was. Even after all this, I'm willing to bet that there are still staunch conspiracy fans out there who still choose to believe in Lance, even after his confession. I say: let them believe what they may, so long as it inspires them to bring more positive energy into the world; let the people believe that Dr. Manhattan was the culprit, so long as there is still world peace.
People will always, through pride and other motivations, defend opinions. It would be disrespectful to not point this out to those well able to gain from a potential enablement. That is the spirit it is given in, I feel you know that.
Unskilful behaviour from me? Yes. Always guilty . . . Just like the heroic Lance.
He hurt himself, because now he'll never know if he was good enough to win without cheating. Maybe he wouldn't have won every single race, but then the people who didn't cheat would have won the way they deserved and earned their reward, so he hurt other racers. I don't consider the fans to have been among the victims. What does it hurt you no matter who wins?
And everyone keeps ignoring the fact that his cancer might be the result of all those drugs he kept pushing into his system.
There is more to being a winner than crossing the line first.
try watching interviews with his teamates,
tyler hamilton n floyd landis.
lance is the most selfish n powerful
cyclist on dope.
his confession came about only bcos
of the overwhelming evidence n he
has lost all credibility.
he was a very good liar and a bully.
he did it for understandable reasons.
money n fame n power.
he was on 1st name terms with pres
george bush n dating rock stars.
he has left a trail of victims.
and now he claims to be the victim?
having said all that, i believe in
forgiving him for all his flaws.
just admitting that he was extremely
selfish n vicious seems a step too far for
him to take right now.
i hope he learns from Hamilton n Landis
who confessed everything and seem
to have found peace.
has to say.
Sometimes there is no easy answer. Such as when the Sandy Hook shooting happened and my kids wanted to know if their school was safe. Do I lie and tell them yes so they are not afraid and anxious at school? Or do I tell them the truth as a lesson in life? Never easy to know.
As far as Armstrong, I too watched the interviews. I did not get a big sense of remorse from him, only that he felt it was time to tell the story to move on. The only time he appeared overly emotional was when he was talking about telling his son, and even then I wasn't so sure he was authentic. Either way, it's a sad state of affairs. Hardly a new one, and certainly not the last. ARod is now being investigated for the same type of thing. What makes me the most sad, is the possible damage these people do to their bodies in the name of sport, not thinking beyond what happens when they have to live another 40-50 years with that body. What about their spouses? Their children? Short term success in exchange for long term harm to the mind and body is a bad route to go. I hope that Armstrong has learned something. But I am not so sure he has.
I know I have hurt people by doing it too.
I pray for their forgiveness and that I can forgive myself.
I hope Lance and all the people he has hurt can find some peace too.
but he is a very good liar.