Not too long ago a national chiropractic publication ran the results of a survey in Michigan and Georgia concerning “practice rights.” It appears the survey was done legitimately and scientifically although they never revealed who paid for it. I imagine the results were nearly what they expected or they probably would not have published the results. I am not one of the “false Chiropractic Gods who start rationalizing that the surveys were not conducted honestly.” I believe they were and that they present a fairly accurate account of the thinking of the chiropractic profession in Georgia, Michigan, and probably the rest of the country. The survey showed that the vast majority of chiropractors approve of ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation, nutrition, and diagnosis as part of the practice of chiropractic. What has that proved? The only thing I can see is that the results show again that the majority is not always right. Throughout history time and time again the majority has shown itself to be wrong, foolish, ignorant, prejudice, and lacking in truly intelligent thought or action. In 1492 the majority of people thought the world was flat. Hitler and his Nationalist allies had a majority in the Reichstag election of March 5, 1933. The majority of the people in the world embrace Marxism and socialism. Does that mean the United States is wrong? If the United States of America had waited for the majority of the people to agree to independence we would still be English Colonies. The majority of people in this country at the turn of the century thought chiropractic quackery (if they thought about it at all). That did not stop our chiropractic forefathers from pushing for the right of the minority (themselves). The majority of people in this country have never gone to a chiropractor, yet we chiropractors have fought for inclusion in insurance and Medicare and Medicaid so that the small minority could have the benefits. Benefits, I might add which are paid for by the majority.
The whole point is, do we really need to know what the majority thinks? Now, calm yourself. Remember that a majority-rule type of government is a democracy and the United States is a Republic. In the beginning of our country a minority was given the privilege of voting. Since then we have extended that privilege to others, e.g. women and 18 21 year olds. That privilege was extended by acts of a legislature that was elected by the minority. That is the way a republic works. Those who demonstrate responsibility vote, electing officials whom they feel are responsible enough to make good laws. As the old television program used to say, “It’s not the best system but all the others are so much worse.” Even today the majority of Americans do not elect the president. The Electoral College does. Conceivably the majority of the people in this nation could vote for one man (or woman) and due to the distribution of electoral votes another could be elected. In fact the majority of Americans do not even vote! Between those unregistered, those ineligible, and those who are registered but for one reason or another don’t get out to the polls a relatively small minority elects the leadership in this country. The United States was not founded on the rule of the majority but the rights of the individual. Lynch mobs represent the rule of the majority. Trial by jury represents the rights of the individual, and the verdict must be unanimous, not a majority.
The last pure democracy, government by majority, existed around the 5th century B.C., in Greece. It was a tremendous age for science, the arts and philosophy, but it didn’t last very long. Primarily because the majority were more interested in the above than they were a strong military.
The wishes of the majority should be the last reason to precipitate action. The majority of chiropractors in this country do not belong to any national or state organizations. Should we conclude from that statistic that there is no reason for the organization’s existence? How much weight can two state organizations (Michigan and Georgia) place upon the opinion of chiropractors. A majority poll cannot tell you what is good or bad, right or wrong, best or worst. The only thing a majority survey demonstrates is what the majority thinks at that particular moment. The majority laid palms at Jesus’ feet on Sunday and yelled “Crucify Him!” on Thursday. The worst thing you can do with a survey is try to analyze the thinking of the majority because frankly the majority is not often thinking.
If we are to argue issues in chiropractic let’s do it on a philosophical, scientific, intellectual, or legal basis. But, please spare us the absurdity of majority surveys. V2n1
