Barry Bonds and Cafeteria Catholics

He did it. He finally did it. Barry Bonds broke the home run record. For weeks the chase was worthy of exhaustive news coverage even when nothing occurred.

The home run record is the most important record in all of sports. It’s been interesting to see the coverage and how understated it is. The news is covering the heck out of the story but their hearts are just not in it. There is no joy in it. The media just doesn’t know how to act. Its’ like we’re attempting too see cheaters as another group worthy of respect and above criticism.

Here’s the thing –everybody knows Barry Bonds has used performance enhancing drugs. Worse than steroids. Probably pig hormones. The man’s head is a zeppelin. His eyes are yellow for goodness sake. But the coverage has been absurd, with everyone acting like Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig going through the motions. He followed Bonds around the country for a week or so delivering underwhelming but factually true quotes. He wasn’t even there when Bonds broke the record last night. He knows. We all know something’s wrong but we’re not allowed to define it.

It’s not just Bonds or baseball. Compare Bonds to how most Americans treat religion. Hey, Bonds follows most of the rules. Bonds loves baseball. He runs around the bases the right way. He plays the field. So he doesn’t follow all the rules, so what? He follows the ones he thinks are important.

As a country, I think we’ve stopped living for things outside of ourselves. Too often, we are all like Barry Bonds picking and choosing which rules will help us and which rules are inconvenient. Its’ tough to play by the rules. Let’s face it, rules are not about “me.” Rules are about “us.” The world rewards picking and choosing. It’s Heaven that doesn’t. But here’s the thing. God is not Bud Selig. He’s not going to look the other way. He’s not going to pretend everything is OK.

NBA referees are betting on games. Cheating in school is an epidemic. Adultery is now a lifestyle choice. It’s a Barry Bonds world. It’s a “me” world with little room for “us.”