Probably the most political post I've written, which will land me in unpopularville

I wasn't going to write about Lance Armstrong, but then I read a very thought provoking post by my friend Lance (not that one, the less famous one). I started to write a comment for him, and found that by the end I had written a book. So I decided to post it here instead to get your thoughts too.

I don't get star struck, I never have and I hope I never will. Because at the end of the day celebrities are just people who happen to have high profile jobs that over pay at a ridiculous level. But because of that over exposure, and over payment, they are held at a higher standard for generic reasons. That standard adds pressure to be better, to set a certain example, to be more than what or who you naturally are. And then you might find yourself lying to the world to cover up your mistakes because you couldn't actually be that standard.

I'm not defending Lance Armstrong. I have no reason to, and no right to. I'm saying the whole system is flawed. I don't care if he took the drugs, nor do I care if he lied. What's done is done. I care about why he would have taken the drugs and then lied. What pedestal was he put on that drove him to need all that? Think about all the celebrities that cave to the pressure of being famous, and the lengths they'll go to just to keep that status quo. The whole situation is sad.  And worse yet, for years we'll be talking about that guy who took performance enhancing drugs and lied about it, instead of learning from his mistake. He's not the first, and I doubt he'll be the last, but I'll bet others will learn how to hide it better instead of learning to not partake.

Celebrities are praised for being famous, which makes as much sense as praising me for showing up to work on time. It's their work that deserves accolades, but even then there is a limit to how much. No one shows up at my desk screaming and fainting over my collating skills, which are pretty badass if I do say so myself. So how about we all take a step back, and think about the pressures we put on other people and ourselves. What good is that pressure really doing for anyone?

I'm risking some arguments, but sometimes that's not a bad thing when it's constructive. What are your thoughts on the Lance Armstrong situation?

PS. Lance, I really enjoyed your post, as it got me thinking, and I consider thinking a good thing. You made a lot of really great points, and I intended this post as a compliment to yours.

PPS. My use of the word political in the title is obviously the loose definition of the word, and not the literal. Get over it. I do that often.