Open Letter to Lance Armstrong

Dear Lance Armstrong- I am sorry that we encouraged you to pursue an entirely fraudulent definition of success. Every time you mounted your bike we cheered. When you crossed the finish line first, we took your picture, threw money at you, and glued your face to billboards while your name blazed across the Internet continuously. The more you won, the more we loved you. In print and film you became one of the most easily recognized celebrities in the world. Your legend became synonymous with overcoming, surviving, and determination. As the mound of yellow jerseys collected in your closet, you increasingly personified the American aspiration to stand on top of the world, and to be number one. Your story, the young cyclist from Texas who overcame cancer, defied every odd and dominated the world of cycling for over a decade, was a fairy tale very few people could ignore. Your fame, and our affection, was an addiction too great. In pursuit of glory you risked your life and legacy, believing the lie that your identity was infinitely bound to your ability to ride a bicycle faster than anyone else in the world. We fed that lie, and I am sorry. The truth is, for far too long, we have been looking for heroes in all the wrong places. We may not have been squeezing the syringe, but our own lust for someone to give us hope tempted you to cross lines and visit places that, at one point in your career, you promised yourself you would never go. If you are guilty of anything, it is giving us all what we wanted. We wrongly defined success for you, and then pointed our fingers when you did what you felt you had to in order to earn our love and affection. You let us down because you were trying so desperately not to let us down. Maybe if our admiration was directed towards those who are actually changing the world we live in, you might never have needed to cheat. Maybe if we loved you more for helping people with cancer than how fast you could climb the Alps you could still be a hero.

As a nation, maybe the fall of a hero is an appropriate time for us to evaluate who we elevate, and why. In the absence of a plethora of leaders worthy of our praise, I want to recommend two of my own who will never be featured in a Nike commercial, sponsored by Visa, possess their own clothing line, or need to take illegal steroids to be told “well done good and faithful servant.” Steve and Shyrel Osborn sold everything they had and moved to Guatemala close to 15 years ago. Today they run a ministry called Love the Child that rescues orphaned and abandoned children with special needs. They have both risked their lives by standing up for justice in the face of a brutal and corrupt government who is bent on feeding America’s appetite for international adoption by any means possible. Get to know their story here http://www.lovethechild.org/AmorDelNino/About_Us-Steve_and_Shyrel_%20Osborn.html Likewise, my friend Cynthia Bauer is reaching out to “the least of these” on the continent of Africa. Born without one of her arms, Cindy’s heart broke for those with special needs that she saw begging on the streets in Kenya while conducting research for her graduate degree in Biology. She founded a ministry called Kupenda through which she has opened numerous schools for children with special needs and has begun to open the eyes of a continent who has always views such children as a curse. Get more information here, http://www.kupenda.org Real heroes. No performance enhancing drugs.