No Nashy.it's not me who has the problem...and it's why people like me would get the gig of running the country long before knee jerkers such as your self...you cannot separate that which is important from that which is not. Your bias stops you from understanding what is important. You have this strange view that what you think is totally correct, all the time whereas I'm prepared to be wrong about things. I accept both sides of the coin. I never said drugs are okay although they are used widely in society,both legally and otherwise. This has been the case since time began for us.
A free society is one based on the principle that we are free to make choices......and your version is as close to the Taliban style as it can be and still exist in a democratic society.
Your version is as close to anarchy as it can be and still exist in democracy. The funny thing with anarchists, is that they tend to believe that everyone should be free to make their own choices, as longs as it doesn't oppose theirs... Actually, they will force their choices regardless of the impact these may have on others.
I tend to agree with you that older people make better leaders, because of the experienced gained throughout their lives. This however, does not trump what their core beliefs are and what they preach. This to say that by the sample so far, I would always vote for a 20 y/o Nashy as opposed to a 60 y/o Compound Fracture. And yes, this is coming from someone old enough to be wise, even if only by the fact that men and/or women younger than me were elected president or prime minster!
Your premise that someone should be praised and rewarded for having talent, regardless of his behavior off the field, is morally reprehensible.
Whether you like it or not, top notch athletes are examples for the youth in our society, because they often achieve the goals most of us aim to achieve. As such, they are the elite to whom the society in general looks up.
But with that status comes the price of becoming an example to the future generation. Whether my 17 y/o son becomes an NRL star, a doctor, a political leader or a laborer, it is of the utmost importance that he understands the cost of screwing up is not being rewarded with immortal status!
Call me an hypocrite if you want, because I did my fair share of teenage idiotic stuff, including smoking more than a few joints, and I have now been rewarded with a pretty good job and position, but unlike Johns, I did do the hard miles with study, apprenticeship and lots of work to get where I am.
How does Johns deserve the immortal status more than a Mal Meninga, or even a Shane Webcke, whose status off the field deserves as much praise as on the field, while not being blessed with anywhere near the same talent as Johns?
P.S. It's "how could that HAVE happened", not "how could that of happened". Just saying...