…our healers is even worse than we thought.
At the dawn of the 21st century, we see some real progress in medicine and health-related disciplines. High-tech surgical techniques, new insights into cellular processes, and the DNA revolution are among successes that can help us develop accurate, science-based medicine for a new age. What a shame, then, that the old Adam – or Ape, if you will – keeps picking up useful tools only to bludgeon his neighbour with.
Or, to put it another way, the problem with medicine in the 2009 is the people.
In the January 15 edition of the New York Review of Books, former New England Journal of Medicine editor Marcia Angell discusses two books – and an investigation by a U.S. Senator – that paint a sorry portrait of corruption, greed and irresponsibility in virtually every corner of medical decision-making.
“Authoritative” textbooks and manuals are tainted, journals are tainted, university research is tainted, and even your family doctor probably receives dodgy “gifts.” Depression pills that may be useless and unsafe are pushed for pre-school children in a context of contemporary medical practices that are increasingly remote-controlled by expensively dressed and expensively educated door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen.
Diagnosis: pandemic immorality. As we always said, the passive smoking fraud and smoking bans are just the tip of the iceberg. What to do? Keep on investigating, and get the media interested in helping to make this a BIG issue.
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