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David Vs. Goliath

By Sid L. Mouk, D.C.

It’s been truthfully said that if Chiropractic were to go without strong representation in the state capitals and the US Congress for 5 years or less, we would no longer have a profession in this country. Our antagonists in the individual states and within the federal government would see to it that we would very quickly cease to exist as a profession.

For over 100 years, Chiropractic has been the “David” going up against the “Goliath” of the drug industry and the medical politicians. These two groups have, for the past 60 years, had a stranglehold on healthcare in this country and in much of the western world. Yet, in spite of knowing this, only 1/3 of us in this profession are members of any national Chiropractic organization. In other words, 2/3 of us have chosen to take on “Goliath” on our own instead of as a group… an impossible task!

The anti-trust trial against the AMA produced testimony that should tell us all a great deal about this whole situation. This is not a battle of “right vs. wrong” or “good vs. bad”… it’s simply a question of who has the power and the money to try to force their agenda on the people of this country. The AMA’s decision to attempt to destroy this profession was simply a matter of getting rid of what they considered to be a nuisance that was beginning to irritate them and to cut into the profits of the medical profession. It had nothing to do with quackery as they claimed it did.

Certainly we in Chiropractic should work to “clean up our act” (and we all know that some of it needs cleaning up), but anyone who has been in practice more than a few years has seen numerous examples of out and out quackery within the medical profession… “those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” These instances range from blatant ignorance to sheer stupidity to “I just don’t care about my patients” to “I am God and no one can tell me what to do” arrogance on the part of some MD’s.

We in this profession certainly have our problems, but no more than the medical doctors do… and quite probably a lot less in proportion to the number of DC’s in this country. But our difficulties make the front pages of papers across this country while theirs are kept quiet. (thanks to their power and influence with the mass media) So we have to keep a proper perspective regarding these happenings… I’ve heard DC’s making remarks about the “quackery” in their own profession as if they were beginning to believe the AMA propaganda, too. Just talk to any of our colleagues who have worked in hospitals and listen to the tales they can tell you about what goes on that is never reported to the public. I guarantee you will completely “reframe” your thinking about what profession is actually guilty of the majority of the quackery in healthcare.

We must support this “chosen” profession of Chiropractic as it forges ahead into the new century… and we all must become a part of the groups that are representing us in the houses of government. We may not agree with all that is being done in the ICA or the ACA (I certainly don’t), but… like it or not… they represent each of us and if we don’t support them with our money and our efforts the alternative for this profession is total oblivion. And it can still happen. If we don’t like the policies of our national organizations, we need to work from the inside to change them. They will never change if we sit on the sidelines and simply criticize their activities.

A Chiropractic association from a northern state sent out a questionnaire awhile back asking how many of us would be in favor of starting a new national organization to replace those we already have… one that would be more responsive to the feelings of the majority of this profession. An interesting idea, but we don’t have time to do this… while we are getting everything in place and establishing the needed political contacts, the AMA and the drug companies will be forging ahead with their continuing plans to plow us under.

We have no other choice but to join an existing national organization and work toward making it more responsive to our needs… and we can do it. This is vital for the future welfare of this profession. Chiropractic can survive in spite of differences of opinion within the profession, but it is doubtful that it can continue to survive apathy on the part of 2/3 of it’s members. Let’s all join a national group… and make our collective voices heard. Remember who won that battle between David and Goliath… but, remember also, that David had to have all of his resources focused on defeating Goliath in order to beat him.

Our efforts must be concentrated, and not scattered as they are now, if we expect to overcome the many challenges that we are facing as we enter the new century. We can sort out our internal differences later after we finish with the business at hand. The drug companies, the AMA, and the physical therapists don’t stand a chance against a united Chiropractic profession!

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Dr. Sid L. Mouk practices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and can be reached by email.

planetc1.com-news @ 5:55 am | Article ID: 985701336

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