"The battle of a lifetime"

The constant fight between doing the right thing and being the best.
Such a difficult battle. Mostly in a culture were second place is the first looser.
I was watching a tv program today about steroids, met and other drugs. The one that stunned me the most was one whose name started by a, I think. It was something like addler, but I'm not entirely sure. I've never heard of this drug, apparently it is used by high school and college students in order to improve grades. It enhances memory and fastess the learning process.
The program focused on how we are a nation under steroids. How all of us, are taking drugs. How many publicity ads do we see while watching tv promoting a new pill? There is a pill for everything from headache to memory now. Even the U.S soldiers are under drugs while fighting. They give it to them so that they are energized and more aware. Our sports' competitors are in steroids. Housewives take pills in order to be skinnier. Men take supplements in order to be more musculous. Students take pills to improve grades. Our whole society is drugged.
The program showed how many of these suplements to be skinnier or more musculous were made. People bought the products in places like Mexico, ordered them through the internet or indirectly and "innocently" asked a doctor to prescribe them. Once they had the ingredients, they were made at home. Each bottle costs approximatly 1,40$ to be made, and is sold in 60$. The advertising pictures of the famous 'before and after' are photoshopped. Not real AT ALL. In the before picture, the model doesn't has any makeup on, nor is he waxed or tanned. In the after photo, he has makeup on, no chest hair, artificial tan, andd artifial muscle definition provided by photoshop.
And then there is us. The stupid consumer. The ones that see the picture, and buy the product. Even the guys that take steroids and appear on publicity ads being all handsome and robust admit that while they might be taking the product they advertise, it's not the only thing they are using to look like that. It is up to the public's interpretation they say.
So now, there is the big interrogative with which I started writing this. I said "The constant fight between doing the right thing and being the best".
An example? Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was big on steroids and publicly admits he doesn't regrets it and that he would do it all over again. At the same time, in other interviews, he says that by looking like that and taking steroids, we are giving the wrong message to aspiring sports kids. Is he implying what I think?- Doing the right thing? not taking steroids. Being the best? doing whatever it takes. Taking steroids.
Another example? Former president George W. Bush. Before becoming president, he sponsored a baseball team whose integrants were all on steroids. This integrants of the team assure that their bosses and sponsors were surely aware of what was going on. After becoming president? he appears on tv saying that taking supplements is cheating, is taking an advantge step to reach our dreams without effort nor merit.

What do you think about this? Are all of America's best like this? Doing whatever it takes to be there? Even if it involves doing things they apparently don't support and are obviously wrong?
Is there any hope for the nation 'under steroids'? And, when are the consecuences to being stonned going to start showing?

This is not a matter of drugs. This is about how much we are capable of doing in order to being the so called 'best'. But to that, I say, the best to whom? To others, or to ourselves?
Consience always hunt us at the end. If we cheat, we'll never be the best to ourselves, because we'll always know we didn't do it the right way. To others? well, from the outside, we'll be the best.

But- is it worth it?

WG