When Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron in the record books and took ownership of the most coveted record in American professional sports he should have received reams of adulation for that home run, a defining moment not only in his stellar career but also in baseball history as well. Instead, that record-setting homerun – as well as the last 150 homers Bonds blasted – brought with it heaps of criticism and outright hatred as a majority of sports fans firmly believe that Bonds’ achievements are without merit, he being a charlatan and the poster child for baseball’s Steroids Era.

Because of his late-age onslaught on the record books and muscled physique Bonds has been associated with steroid use, and therefore, cheating. Sports enthusiasts are now decrying the muscled appearance of many of today’s sluggers and pitchers saying that the chemical alteration of their biology puts them at an inappropriate advantage over their peers and the accomplishments of the storied ballplayers of long ago. This is only recently the case, for the hypocritical assessment of today’s game comes just a decade after the homer-happy era began in 1996, one that reached its dramatic pinnacle in 1998’s home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, a race that jumpstarted fan interest because it gave them what they had always desired, home runs in bunches, many of which traveled epic distances. Professional baseball gave the fans what they wanted and now, much like the feeling of guilt after a gluttonous meal, the fans and the writers are having second thoughts over the realization of their one-time dreams.

The hypocrisy over steroid use doesn’t end there, either. It’s so much greater in scale because, in the whole scheme of things, Barry Bonds doesn’t just represent baseball’s chemically-altered cheating culture, he represents America’s chemically-altered cheating culture. All who are up in arms over Bonds’ achievements really shouldn’t be casting the first stone for they, too, are definitely not lacking in sin, also using chemicals to get by.

We have a culture that relies far too much on chemicals to "correct" or augment what Mother Nature gave us. Rather than changing their diets to prevent heart, blood pressure, and diabetic ailments people consume vast quantities of prescription drugs to correct the imbalance. Rather than changing their lifestyles or working their way through life’s difficulties many choose to lean on medications and alcohol to improve their outlook on life, quell their depression, or increase their motivation. Rather than relying on biological mechanisms to face the day many more rely on caffeine’s pick-me-up to get going.

These situations represent only a sampling of our cheating ways for chemicals are anywhere and everywhere, utterly pervasive in today’s world. Basically, like steroids have for athletes, chemicals represent the easy way out for Americans. We all to a man are no better than the baseball players we vilify. We like them supposedly need chemicals to enhance our performance and pursue our life’s goals.

So, before you go about criticizing Barry Bonds for cheating look in the mirror. Bonds’ achievements are a slice of Americana…not only for their role in America’s Pastime but also for their exemplification of America’s chemical culture.