cheating is easy . . .

FIFA's fair play policy: "Winning is without value if victory has been achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure."

I'm a huge soccer fan. Everyone who knows me knows this. But this quote and this time I now dedicate to sharing an idea isn't about soccer. It's about greed in America.

Read the policy one more time. "Winning is without value if victory has been achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure."

Could anyone in America, honestly, have written this? My answer: Nope. Not your local pastor or priest; not your naive, innocent, four year old nephew; not that nice old lady who has lived at the end of your street for 44 years. Everyone is corrupted.

Yes, I believe that, globally, everyone is "corrupted" in the sense that no one is perfect. But in America, land of the free and home of the brave, we could not have even conceived the idea of FIFA's fair play policy. The last sentence, should it have been written by an American, would have been much shorter: "Cheating is easy." And essentially, that would have been our entire fair play policy. It's a "We report, You decide." mentality. Beware the person who tries to make a value judgment on actions.

Cheating is easy. In sport we've seen admitted and guilty dopers awarded for their amazing feats and entertainment. *Big distinction between European sport and American sport – it’s still competitive sport there and not high impact entertainment like it is here.

Cheating is easy. In politics the rules are constantly changing to benefit the group in power, and actions aren’t even hidden. So, is it still cheating? Yes.

Lately, we've seen special interest groups buy votes from politicians eager to line their pockets. Then those same politicians sell their votes a second time through pork-barrel tactics, making sure than no bill passes without the local big businesses (and reciprocally, their own pockets) benefiting from the new bill.

Cheating is easy. In schools we've seen administrators and teachers peak into and change answers on federally mandated high-stakes tests.

In every single scenario, there is one motivator: money. That's how we define "winning" in America.

I want to live in a place, among a people, where FIFA’s fair play policy is believed in, adhered to, and protected.