"The good, the bad, the ugly, steroids"

Professor Aldridge English 1201 GF 29 November 2011 The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Steroids Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone. Steroids can be prescribed to persons who lost lean muscle mass resulting from cancer or AIDS, or persons who have delayed puberty. Sometimes, either athletes or non-athletes abuse anabolic steroids in order to enhance their performance or to improve their physical appearance. Although the use of steroids is beneficial for people who actually require them, prolonged use of anabolic steroids has negative effects. Also, use of steroids when a person does not need them has negative effects as well. Some examples of negative effects that occur from Anabolic Steroid abuse are shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness and an increased risk for prostate cancer. This is supported by Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs Is a Problem among Teens by Greg Schwab. This article provides an insight on steroid use coming from a firsthand view while also providing information on the abuse of steroids by teenagers. Four essays found in the anthology Reading the World Ideas That Matter depict and connect to steroid use in different ways. Hsun Tzus Mans Nature is Evil, relates to steroid use based on the fact that men continuously pursue them with full knowledge of the negative consequences as in steroid use that is the harm they are inflicting upon themselves. Leviathan by Hobbes connects to this topic by showing that naturally humanity is at war, in which men are at war with themselves. Meads work Warfare An invention-Not a Biological Necessity is about various cultures from this work it can be said that steroid use can be justified as a culture formed over time. Further support can be found in the Bibles New Testament, Chapter 16 by Luke. Men who use steroids may be dishonest with themselves, while also striving to duplicate the image and likeness of God. Although there are both positive and negative sides to steroid use, ultimately the negative, long term effects clearly outweigh the positive, short term ones. Hsun Tzus Mans nature is Evil is a persuasive work driving the point that naturally man is evil. Although this point is quite drastic, there is meaning behind it. In the work it is stated If he indulges his emotional nature, loving profit and desiring gain, then he will quarrel and wrangle even with his own brothers over the division (Hsun Tzu 103). By this he means by nature, men love profit and desire gain. Profit can be defined as the amount of surplus one has opposed to the amount they spend. Gain is generally defined as attaining more than one already has. The quote also states that the desire for such things will lead man to quarrel and wrangle even with his own brother. The desire for profit and gain seems to be more important to the man, than the bond between his brother and himself. This quote justifies and connects to the statement that men would do anything to better themselves, even if it entails cheating to get an unfair advantage. In the case of professional sports the unfair advantage is steroid use. Many people use steroids to gain an extra step on the competition. By using steroids, it enables a person to do less work and gain muscle faster. The steroid use relates to the work and quote used by providing an example of how man excessively is striving for gain while not considering how it will benefit anybody else. A man is always looking for the easy way out. In a sense, the man is acting evil, because he is cheating. A statement that links to this predicament is that although steroids are known to have negative effects, many people continue to abuse them. If man were naturally good, just knowing that a substance is detrimental and would not produce a positive outcome would drive the man not to consume that substance. But since man is naturally evil according to Tzu, man will continue to consume the negative substance. Though it is true, a short term effect of using anabolic steroids is rapid muscle gain, steroids will eventually take a toll on the body. Any man unwilling to take that into consideration is a fool or has no moral compass. Not only is man seen as naturally evil, but in Hobbes work Leviathan, humanity is seen as naturally at war. He makes the point throughout his work that naturally, humanity is at war. This can not only mean armed wars, but wars between ones interests. Stated in the work, Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war, and such war as is of every man against every man (Hobbes 121). This quote states the wrongs presented that allow the men to war, one against one another. One would expect that a common power would be the well-being of team. And, as a member of that team, there is many pressures to excel. Examples of some pressures could be to break a new record, to insure a re-hire, or maybe a rise in salary. This could explain why steroid use is so prevalent because not all men are purely evil. According to Hobbes, one team member might want to compete against one another. They might want to compete on who succeeds the greatest. This links to the subject of steroid abuse in a fashion that explains if there is no strict regulation on steroid use throughout the country, men will continue to abuse this substance. Although a man needs a prescription in order to attain anabolic steroids, there are various ways to beat the system and acquire the product. Smuggling steroids into the country via Mexico is the most commonly used means to acquire steroids illegally in the United States. After smuggling this substance into the country, it is distributed accordingly. The possession or sale of anabolic steroids without a valid prescription is illegal. Although it is illegal, a first time possession offender only has to pay a 1,000 fine. Perhaps if the punishment for possession of illegally obtained steroids was severer, less people would abuse it. Another way in which this subject agrees with the work Leviathan is the war in which men enter naturally. The essay Leviathan states naturally men will feud over conflicting interests. In terms of steroid abuse, it is interesting to look at it from the perspective of seeing men declare not on other men, but on themselves. Steroid abuse can be viewed as men declaring war on themselves by constantly poisoning their bodies in order to gain superficial features. If there is one thing to know about men who steadily lift weights and workout, it is known that they are never satisfied with their body. No matter what they get their body to look like, the man will strive for more to look better and to feel better about them. It is chasing an unobtainable goal of perfection. Although there are points along the way that the man feels good about the way they look, this feeling is only temporary. Constantly pursuing a goal of perfection promotes the use of steroids in a way that the men want to get bigger and bigger by any means possible. This leads to the miniscule point that steroid use promotes and enhances competition between bodybuilders. For the most part, in competitive body building there is a great amount of steroid use. These men are competing for the best looking, most muscular and defined bodies. Although there is steroid use, it enhances the level of competition to the next level. Even though there is a slim positive effect of the use of steroids in competitive body building, the negative effects outweigh the positivist by far. The abundance of competitive body building can relate to Margaret Meads work describing various cultures and the inevitability of warfare. In her essay Warfare An invention- Not a Biological Necessity Margaret Mead provides insight on various cultures. Her argument is whether or not humans inherent aggressiveness make warfare inevitable. Taken from the work is a quote that describes what might possibly be the reason for the culture of frustration, One may hold a compromise position between these two extremes one may claim that all aggression springs from the frustration of mans biologically determined drives and that, since all forms of culture are frustrating, it is certain each new generation will be aggressive and the aggression will find its natural and inevitable expression in race war, class war, nationalistic war, and so on (Mead 275). This quote states that frustration is a natural state spurred on by previous generations. Furthermore, man will never escape this natural state of frustration. In terms of steroid abuse, the culture that has gradually became more and more influential, that is the growing culture of steroid abuse. Over the years, use of steroids is increasing rapidly. This could be explained by the fact that over the years the competition among men has increased, and the level of performance is always increasing. People excel and push themselves beyond limits previously set. Some may feel that the only way to keep up with the rapidly moving skill level in any activity or sport seems to lead to steroids as the best answer. Although this so-called culture where steroid use is becoming more and more accepted, it is still short-sighted. One does not have to partake in it to be a success in sports. A benefit from this culture is that an anti-culture springs to life. From the increase in exposure to steroids and people on steroids, others can witness the positive and negative effects of steroid use. After seeing the peoples negative reactions to the substance, and legal prosecution and consequences, one would hope that others would decide not to use the steroids. A decision to take steroids to enhance performance is a moral, ethical decision. In the Bibles New Testament, Chapter 16, Luke tells a series of two parables of wealth and poverty. The first parable makes a point on the moral issues of wealth and the second parable makes a point about that material prosperity. In the first parable, Jesus uses the example of an unjust steward. This relates to steroid use because men are dishonest with themselves when it comes to their bodies. No matter how in shape a man is, he will always doubt himself in order to push himself to succeed. Little does the man know, he is fine just the way he is. A man does not need to have massive muscles in order to feel good about himself. In the second parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus tells of a reversal of fortunes that typifies many of his parables and other teachings, which emphasize that material prosperity does not indicate Gods favor that people should seek heavenly, rather than earthly, rewards and that wealth often presents a stumbling block on the way to salvation (Luke 316). The main point of this parable is that material wealth means nothing to God because God would much rather accept spiritual wealth. Man is made in the image and likeness of God, it must be taken literally. The use and abuse of steroids does not come anywhere close to the way one should act in order to act as godly, or as God would have him do. God would not cheat for benefit. No matter how sculpted and well defined a mans body is due to steroid use, the overall image of the man is greatly flawed from the lack of spiritual and heavenly rewards. Steroid use is unfair in any situation other than the proper use as prescribed by a medical doctor. God will not reward those who act selfishly for themselves. Another source of support on the topic of steroid use and abuse is an article from former NFL player, Greg Schwab, who had formerly been an anabolic steroid user. The article Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs Is a Problem Among Teens, is about the negative effects steroids have on teenagers. Stated in the text is the belief that the increase of steroid use amongst teen athletes is due to the shift in the focus of high school sports. Rather than teach the importance of teamwork and dedication, high school sports communities encourage athletes to excel at the highest possible level (Schwab 1). The role model influences teen behavior as to their use of steroids. The teens try to emulate whatever their role model does. In the case of the role model being a professional athlete, the teen will copy whatever the athlete does. If the athletes is succeeding and is later caught using steroids, the teen may or may not acknowledge the immorality of that choice that since the professional took the steroids, it must be something for them too. The role models and shift in values for the teens of todays society greatly influence the increase in teen steroid use. Negatively affecting the teens is the toll this takes on their minds and bodies. These teens are constantly pushing themselves to their limit in order to be like their idols or even live up to their expectations. Teenagers have enough problems without adding this unfair pressure. Many high school juniors seek university scholarships, and many stoop to steroid use to gain their advantage as seen in Schwabs article. Different sources from varied perspectives form the many different views of steroid use on the use and abuse of anabolic steroids. The overall message to youth ought to be that although it may seem an okay substance to consume based on the immediate results it is not worth it to consume it based on the long-term negative effects. Hsuns work agrees with that statement because if men are naturally evil, they would do anything to better themselves. That is still continue to abuse steroids despite the harmful effects. Hobbes in Leviathan states that men declare war on themselves while abusing steroids, while also providing a brief positive outcome of steroid use. Meads work about the culture of warfare provides insight on the view that steroid use is becoming a culture that our society is slowly adapting to and accepting of learning to accept. Also, The New Testament, Chapter 16, by Luke provides parables about dishonesty in men who have within themselves the need to strive to become perfect in the image of God. And, the article by Greg Schwab provides details on the dangers of teenage steroid use and the reasons why teenage steroid use is increasing. Steroids might seem harmless at first when the effects are only positive and cosmetic. After a couple of years the effects of the use of this substance will take a great toll on not only your body, but on your mind as well. Work Cited Hsun, Tzu. Mans Nature is Evil. Reading the World. Ed. Marilyn Moller. New York W. W. Norton Company, 2010. Print. (100-108) Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Reading the World. Ed. Marilyn Moller. New York W. W. Norton Company, 2010. Print. (119-123) Mead, Margaret. Warfare An Invention-Not a Biological Necessity Reading the World. Ed. Marilyn Moller. New York W. W. Norton Company, 2010.Print. (274-280) Schwab, Greg Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs Is a Problem Among Teens. Performance Enhancing Drugs. Louise Gerdes, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2007. Greg Schwab, Testimony from Greg Schwab of Vancouver, Washington, Hearing on Steroid Use in Professional Baseball and Anti-Doping Issues in Amateur Sports Before U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science Transportation, June 18, 2002. Reproduced by permission of the author. Fischetti PAGE MERGEFORMAT 1 Y, dXiJ(x(I_TS1EZBmU/xYy5g/GMGeD3Vqq8K)fw9 xrxwrTZaGy8IjbRcXI u3KGnD1NIBs
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