We are now into the third year of the publishing of the Pivot Review. Many new subscribers have joined along the way. Perhaps they do not know exactly what the “Pivot” is. The word is a chiropractic term when it relates to the Axis vertebra, however, the Pivot has a second meaning, that is, a group of people who are the central or cardinal factor in the perpetuation of chiropractic. It has become apparent to almost every student of chiropractic history that the preservation of chiropractic does not depend upon legislation. Strong personalities have helped and hindered our profession’s growth but we cannot depend upon them for our future. The only thing that can preserve our profession is a strong group of individuals who practice and live chiropractic, those who understand its principles, really understand them, and then use them to guide their professional lives. There are certain characteristics of a member of the pivot that are worth noting. If we can develop these qualities in ourselves, in our new practitioners, and in the students in our chiropractic colleges, and that number is great enough, maybe, just maybe we can preserve this principle of chiropractic for humanity. The characteristics include: 1. Moral courage. If not the most important, this one ranks right up there. Courage has been described as the ability to think under pressure. Fear is the inability to think under pressure, hence reacting strictly on emotion. The man who charges an enemy machine gun emplacement with nothing more than a bayonet between his teeth has not really demonstrated courage. He serves no purpose, accomplishes nothing. There must be thought involved, under pressure. For without thought an individual’s response is based upon emotion. There is nothing wrong with emotion except that it should be the appreciation not the precipitation of action. When emotion precipitates action it destroys thought. Many in our profession who were once straight are an example of emotion destroying thought. When a patient’s symptoms do not improve, the chiropractor responds emotionally, thereby becoming subjective. Rather than applying principles that he has learned such as: Is the patient clear? Have I considered limitations of time, limitations of matter, and the chiropractic objective versus the medical objective? He responds with compassion, pity, sympathy, guilt, and frustration. There is nothing wrong with the first three, except that they should not precipitate action. The four principles above should. No one, not even the straightest straight likes to see patients suffering. It takes courage to not respond emotionally. Anyone can put a hot pack, cold pack, or ultrasound on someone in pain. It takes moral courage to adjust only an Atlas and send them home knowing you did the best thing you could possibly do for them. You can only do that if you have the “courage of your convictions.” Fifteen years ago we had many straight chiropractor who only adjusted subluxations, who advertised as such, who put a box on the wall, and had volume practices. But, apparently they did so because it was the fastest, most effective way of making a good deal of money. It took very little courage to do that, others had already shown that it could be successful. Most of those chiropractors today have large fees, small practices, primarily handle insurance, and do everything from diagnosing to modalities. Perhaps they were straight for the wrong reason. But, one thing is sure, they lacked the moral courage to “stay straight” when pressure and the lure of big easy dollars came along. It is not easy. When you know that if you compromise a little on insurance forms you can have a higher percentage of your claims paid, it’s difficult to have the moral courage to stay straight. When you know putting a patient on a spinalator probably does them little harm, it more than likely feels good and you can make $50-100,000 a year more income it takes moral courage not to do it. Especially when your classmates are out there making a bundle, guys who didn’t have half the brains nor half the technical skills in chiropractic college that you had. It takes a tremendous amount of moral courage for a new practitioner with all of his expenses and debts to be straight. Let’s be honest. There is no way you can make as much money as easily and as quickly practicing straight as you can mixing. From what I have seen, there are very few new students coming out of the schools, the straight colleges included, that have that moral courage. They simply cannot handle the pressure of that temptation. Courage is the ability to think under pressure. The ability to think is dependent upon the principles and the concepts that make up a person’s thought processes. The soldier who charged the machine gun position was probably taught how to take it, had he used his head to think rather than react emotionally. Instead he acted on emotion, lost his life, and accomplished nothing. The army endeavors to drill a soldier so he can react and act automatically, according to predetermined principles and concepts. This is done so he can accomplish his objective and also come out alive. The moral courage of a member of the pivot is dependent upon knowing principles and concepts and acting according to them in a professional manner unimpeded by emotional distractions. Moral courage is a vital characteristic of a member of the pivot. In future issues we will cover the other characteristics. V3n1