Cheating Is NOT Winning!

They say, “All is fair in love and war!” But that hyperbolic statement is neither true nor is it a pathway to success. Cheating in order to win, whether in sports or in life, will eventually get you severely penalized or outright disqualified from the game. In civilized society where people abide by rules and laws in order to participate in a competition of any kind, there is a tacit agreement to follow the rules of the game. There is a standard that everyone agrees to and a way in which judgements will be made and penalties or punishment handed down for non- compliance or adherence to the rules. As a competitor, we all want an assurance that the competition will be fair and fairly evaluated. We come to the contest bringing our best and expect that the players on the other side of the competition will also bring their best and in the end, we will be fairly adjudicated. We do NOT expect to be cheated out of a fair and equal contest. We believe, that in the end, the person or team who wins the competition is the “best” on that particular day. We assume they won on their own merit and NOT by putting their hand on the scale, or by lying, cheating, paying someone off, or blocking their competitor from even being able to get through the door in order to have access to the game. When you cheat, you are NOT legitimate and cannot claim the victory even if the scoreboard may say you have the higher score. You Cheated and what you have proven is that you cannot win a fair race. You can ONLY win if you Cheat! In the “good old days” people used to care about truth and integrity being imperatives for the individuals they chose to be their leaders. This was true whether in politics, education, sports, business or community affairs. Today it appears that many people have lost sight of the standards that call into question an individual’s fitness, integrity , honor, and basic decency for leadership. The bar has dropped so low that foul language, self-dealing, name calling, brashness, and outright deceitfulness are no longer disqualifiers when considering who one chooses for a position of leadership. A leader can be amoral, indecent and cruel and so-called “good people” will ignore all of that, because they are focused myopically on a single issue. In politics, for example, for these folks, there is only ONE thing that they want this candidate to accomplish. Nothing matters more than that singular issue. Whether or not they have any agreement about economics, power, religious or social agendas, ethnic, racial or gender concerns, for them it’s just not important. NOTHING matters as long as this candidate gets that ONE particular issue addressed come hell or high water.  The clear and present danger that this candidate’s behavior presents, are evident to ALL concerned, but the singular issue remains MORE important. No matter that relatives and friends, children, the health and safety of large segments of the American population will be adversely impacted to the point of death or life- altering consequences, just because of the actions of this particular candidate leader. These ONE Issue individuals get exactly what they want but the losses for everybody else are catastrophic! Now, throw into the mix that the “chosen” candidate begins to cheat by using every instrument of suppression, intimidation, disenfranchisement, misinformation, disinformation and outright violence to STOP anyone who disagrees with them from casting a legal and rightful ballot. They use their position of power to manipulate the game. That is CHEATING! And THIS candidate knows THAT is the only way they can win! What these people of “good will” and “good conscience” need to ask themselves is this; “Is your ONE issue worth following a cheater, a liar and a thief?”  Because, Cheating is definitely NOT winning.