On September 1, 1939, Germany began the invasion of Poland, thus commencing the active hostilities of World War II.  6 years and tens of millions of lives destroyed later, the guns fell silent.

On February 10, 2009, it happened all over again. Alex Rodriguez, in violation of all laws and man and God, admitted that he had used steroids.

I'll never forget where I was when I heard the news that rocked by existence.  I was sitting in my drawing room, listening to Sing Along With Mitch, with my wife's apple pie cooling softly on the windowsill.  My youngest son, John, came in with a shattered look on his face.  From the redness of his eyes and the flushed countenance of his cheeks, I knew that something terrible had happened, something that changed how humanity interacted in society.  Alex Rodriguez, our hero, had torn asunder everything that the word hero stands for.  The American flags on my wife's apple pie flew at half-staff.  For a minute, I even forgot that I don't actually have children.

In ancient myth, Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and was punished for his sin.  But what happens when Prometheus becomes unbound and the legend becomes a man?  A man with feet of clay and a jaw of glass and a soul of myrrh.  This centaur would no longer be haunting the forests of Boeotia.

The.

Yet, through all of this, Alex Rodriguez would not face judgment for his destruction of America's pastime.  These weren't amphetamines, sometimes known as "extra-strong Tang" or a spitter, but steroids.  This wasn't even a syringe of Maxwell's Silver Hammer or a tab of Dexedrine, but something more.  

Something darker.

Much darker.

Forged by Celebrimbor in the Second Age, steroids were created both to create a better man, but also imprison that better man in a stronger cage.  Lactic acid builds up in our muscles to remind us that we are men, not Gods, and steroids remove that barrier between reality and myth.  When men become Gods, our Gods are dead.  

And thus Basho wept, knowing his time would never come again.

Now, it's even worse.  Thanks to MLB's tireless efforts, we know that once again, a sports nutritionist named Tony Bosch has forced us to relive the dark tidings of that cold day in February 4 years ago.  Or maybe 5 years ago, I'm not one of those numbers nerds that spins numerals into lies.  Once again, a man has tried to turn man into God.

One thing we know is that when the flesh of man tries to emulate the aura of divinity, the laws of man are not sufficient to bring justice.  A-Rod and Ryan Braun want due process?  Well, let's show them exactly what process we feel they are due.  Being expelled from the game is not enough for what they've done to our children.  If we do not expel them from society, how will we look our grandchildren in the eyes in 40 years?  Will your grandchild look you in the eye and say "Grandpa, why did America die?" will you reply "Because we let it die" because you did not have the courage to make right with might?

What Bud Selig does in the next few months will demonstrate what we can hope for in the future.  Do we get bogged down in the prevarication of those law-talking guys?  Or do we remember that the tree of freedom must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants alike?

Cross that Rubicon at Godspeed, dear Commissioner, and we will fight with you to the death.