Truth is the verbal coinage by which we exchange concepts of value and engender trust—Ravi Zacharias. During the past year this country has experienced a traumatic series of events surrounded by a disregard for truth and a fudging of words that has led to a situation in which the words have all but lost their meaning. When that happens, society as a whole loses its ability to have any meaningful dialogue. Although it is not my intent to address this problem as it relates to all of society, I do think it is important to discuss it as it relates tothe chiropractic profession.
One of the most attractive aspects of the objective straight chiropractic approach is its affinity for veracity. It is based upon a truth, the Major Premise of chiropractic. Some may argue that that truth is only accepted by us, hence maybe it is not a universal truth. Others may argue that the idea that vertebral subluxation interferes with the function of the nerve system and prevents the innate intelligence of the body from being fully expressed is only our truth. In fact, it is not recognized by the scientific community, but it is important to note that we do not present our philosophy as a medical or a scientific truth. We present it as a chiropractic truth and we ask those people we have contact with to accept it based upon its soundness and whether it resonates with their truth (i.e., their world and life viewpoint).Our honesty extends or should extend to everything we do. We should be honest with people seeking our care from the start. We should not lead the individual to believe that we will treat or in any way address a medical problem with which they may have entered the office. In fact, we pointedly inform the person to the contrary. We should not present chiropractic as an alternative or a substitute for medical care. We should not claim to be able to do anything a medical doctor does. Our objective is quite different. While we are honest in our approach, I believe that there are a few areas in which we need to make sure we are not inadvertently misrepresenting what we do. There may or may not be a moral difference between innocently misleading a person and purposely doing so but the result is the same. We have seen examples of politicians under oath purposely misrepresenting themselves. But when it comes down to it, purposely or inadvertently, it still has the same results. For this reason I suggest that we as a profession expunge the following ideas, concepts, and statements from our chiropractic vocabulary:We correct the cause of disease. We are not medicine. We are different. Medicine attempts to correct the cause of disease and we have never medically proven that vertebral subluxation is the cause of disease.Medicine treats effects, chiropractic corrects cause. Medicine, while often treating effects, also endeavors to correct what they see as the cause of disease. We have no proof that our “cause of disease” is more valid than theirs.The power that made the body heals the body. While this statement is true, it is misleading in that it gives the impression that healing always occurs. The fact is that the innate intelligence is often limited by limitations of matter and cannot completely or sometimes even partially heal the body.We diagnose vertebral subluxations. The use of medical terminology is misleading. We have unique words for our unique objective. They are meant to more clearly explain what we do and what we are. We should refrain from using medical terms. There are many in our profession who use the above phrases to justify what they believe is a worthwhile cause. That simply should not be. If we do such things, how can we condemn the chiropractor who believes he has the cure for all disease? How can we criticize the chiropractor who says he can diagnose just as well as the medical doctor, who thinks he is fully competent to determine who can be helped by chiropractic care and who cannot? Is a falsehood said in ignorance any less harmful than one said with predetermined intent? Unfortunately, when we lie to ourselves long enough, we lose all capability of recognizing and expressing truth. Many in our profession have lied to themselves for so long regarding their parity with medicine and their ability to perform adequately in the medical model, they no longer have the capacity for the truth. If we should suggest that they are not as competent as a medical doctor in the area of diagnosing disease and determining the need for and the type of medical care, they will look us in the eye, put their finger in our face, and with all sincerity deny that fact just as strongly as the president did more than a year ago. They have deluded themselves to such an extent that they actually believe it. Certainly the person who cannot be honest with himself and who believes his own lies is in dire straits. That, of course, is also true for a profession. What we are able to do is to continue to be honest with ourselves and with those whom we come in contact with, as to what we can do and what we cannot do. We can express our truth in clear meaningful words and always try to express ourselves more clearly. We can maintain the humility that being a straight chiropractor imposes upon us so that we will always strive for truth and maintain the trust that humanity places in us.