Idealistic Americans who hope for something better in their culture were hit with a double-whammy letdown last week.
Two of our most revered institutions—major league baseball and the U.S. Army—confirmed widespread lying and cheating in their ranks.
As for baseball, more than 80 players were named as users of illegal chemicals to improve their performance.
And after being confronted by The Washington Post's findings in a months-long investigation, the Army admitted that thousands of GIs working on promotions in rank had cheated on tests by obtaining answers in advance.
The grandees of baseball have yet to say what penalties, if any, will be imposed on violators. Americans who're cynical about professional sports won't be surprised if little more than slaps on the wrist are inflicted.
It's unlikely the manpower-strapped Army will retest or demote cheaters. So men and women who've been promoted with insufficient knowledge of their responsibilities will move on to new positions of command.
Getting ahead by cheating and lying has become a notable American cultural characteristic, embedded in virtually every career calling. Lying and cheating have darkened the clergy with scandals involving sexual molesting, adultery, embezzlement. Wall Street titans have gone to jail for cheating companies and customers. Need anything be said of politics? The iconic symbol of truth—journalism—has also endured the humiliation of professionals concocting "facts." Medicine, classroom teachers, science—all have suffered the shame of men and women lying and cheating to improve their professional standing and wealth.
At the heart of this national dishonor are credos that embody the compulsion for victory no matter what.
There's the quote attributed to Packers coach Vince Lombardi—"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing"—although it actually was said in the 1930s by Vanderbilt and UCLA coach Henry "Red" Sanders while coaching earlier at a Georgia prep school.
Maybe the quote closest to the new work ethic came from golfer Lee Trevino, who said, "Winning isn't everything. It's the money you make doing it that's everything."
So, whether steroids help improve the earning power of baseball players or improve the pay grades of GIs promoted because they cheated on tests or add millions to the bonuses of CEOs who cook the company books, money once again is the goal for so many who cut corners.
There's another quote so many should remember and is the real test of life's work ethic.
It's the familiar biblical aphorism from Matthew 16:26—"For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?"
