It’s never been proven that Barry Bonds takes steroids.”
That’s a statement I hear a lot in the San Francisco Bay Area and it brings to mind another statement I heard a lot a few years back:
“There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”
The connection between these two statements is this: depending on whether they were for Bonds or Bush, people rebutted them both with this declaration:
“All evidence points to the contrary!”
We can all be so clear sighted, can’t we? As long as we’re talking about ‘the other team.’ But if he’s one of ‘us,’ we’re capable of ignoring facts that are as obvious as an elephant on a bus. We don’t accept “reasonable doubt” when it’s not convenient for ‘us.’ We are a nation in denial.
Like the woman with the black eye who says, “He only hits me because he loves me,” we defend the guy we think is on ‘our’ team, because we think he’s on ‘our’ team.
Here’s the catch – the guy we’re defending doesn’t think he’s on ‘our’ team. He knows he’s on a team of his own, a team that benefits only one person – him.
But that’s something else we don’t 
want to believe and so when Ann Coulter calls ‘us’ “godless” ‘they’ go out and buy her books and when Al Franken calls ‘them’ “liars,” ‘we’ go out and buy his books. That’s why Coulter and Franken are both getting rich.
And when George Bush, who says he’s a ‘Republican,’ told us all that we had to invade Iraq, Republicans supported him, because they think he’s ‘theirs.’ That’s why The United States military is still looking for those weapons, whilst piling up thousands of dead, more than a few of whom, I bet, were Republicans.
And when Barry Bonds denies any wrongdoing, ‘we’ support him, because we think he’s ‘ours.’ Have Giants fans been watching Bonds carefully, or are they too dizzy from following all those baseballs flying into the stands? Barry Bonds hasn’t done one thing for The Giants, but he’s done everything he can get away with, for himself. That’s why we’ll have more and more of our young athletes taking steroids. Because every cheer for Mr. Bonds is a shout to our kids that we think any lie is okay, great, in fact, as long as it’s for ‘our’ team.
Lastly, now that our nation is so fragmented, it’s a good time to remember that breaking up into teams and fighting with each 
other, is how the Native Americans lost the country to the white man in the first place. The natives had many teams. The English had one. And everybody learned the hard way, that going along with whatever ‘your team’ does, is not just bias, it’s lazy and deadly.
Instead of choosing teams, why don’t we ever choose facts? I’ll start:
‘Your’ emperor and ‘mine’– whether Bonds and Bush, or Bush and Bonds? They’ve both been walkingaround NAKED for a long time.
Photos- Barry Bonds ‘before,’ G.W. Bush and Iraq war veteran,Sgt. Dobbs,Chris Benoit, wrestler and Kostas Kentelis Greek runner. Credits listed at www. patriciavdavis.com
"Here’s the catch – the guy we're defending doesn’t think he’s on ‘our’ team. He knows he’s on a team of his own, a team that benefits only one person – him."very well said. you know, that is so often the case in so many scenarios. in fact, that particular truth is most probably the reason so many people today have their guard up. they've been burnt one too many times by a 'team member' that they trusted – so – they revert to solitary pursuits such as 1-person sports, blogging, and singletom. i can't say i blame them really. i've done the same in a few areas.
My gosh, you're so right. I meant it specifically to the issue,but it's true that it can happen personally, too. I've also gotten more cautious with people over the years as a result.
Patricia, this is true. Thanks for reminding me of the fragmentation that makes up our country. We need to be stellar examples to others, especially to kids by not touting athletes who take steriods thus making it okay to do so. Moreover, President Bush made the biggest mistake in invading Iraq. But those who refuse to see might as well be looking at the "emperors" with new clothes. Or better yet, "no" clothes at all.
I wonder how George Bush and Barry Bonds would look if they did walk around naked, literally, I mean. Maybe not as bad as we think.
Very astute post. Much of what we deem to be true in life depends on a combination of the facts available at the time and our point of view.
Icarus,
Have you ever felt yourself so sure of something, that you're completely passionate about it, only to find you had an important piece of information missing that changes everything? It scares me every time that happens to me. It 's even sacrier when people stay with an idea, even after it's been proven false, just because they have championed it for so long.
On another subject entirely, how do you stay in shape for running? Do you strength train, too?