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Letters: Jun. 2, 1997

8 minute read
TIME

THE NEW MEDICINE MAN

“Dr. Andrew Weil offers what the brilliance of Western medicine seems to have forgotten–the magic of healing.” RICHARD L. GAY Grayling, Mich.

So the medical establishment is uneasy, negative, even angry about practitioners of alternative medicine like Dr. Andrew Weil [HEALTH, May 12]. This suggests to me that it recognizes the messenger but fails to understand the real message. When people have to endure impersonal treatment, insurance hassles, escalating fees, unmanageable managed care and doctors who don’t listen, is it any wonder they turn to alternative therapies and self-care? LOU WALLER Norman, Okla.

It is a pity you chose to critique the entire field of alternative medicine through the idiosyncratic spectrum of a single individual. While Dr. Weil has done a great job of communicating some highlights of this varied and disparate field to the general public, he cannot speak for the entire movement. There are thousands of practitioners who have mastered their particular area of specialization. They have been healing people by unconventional means and attempting to legitimize those practices for many years. Weil can’t claim all the glory. JOHN V. DOMMISSE, M.D. Tucson, Ariz.

That mainstream physicians object so fervently to “unorthodox” treatments that work, as opposed to the expensive pharmaceuticals that are the mainstay of modern medicine, speaks volumes about what doctors are really worried about–their own financial well-being, not the health of Americans. We have suffered enough at the hands of a self-serving, profit-driven medical establishment. We need more Weils. JESSE GALLAGHER Bristol, Conn.

What distinguishes Dr. Weil from the snake-oil charlatans is the credibility he has earned by using the best that both traditional and alternative medicine have to offer. As a pediatrician trained more traditionally, I find extreme behavior on both sides–from the scientifically trained M.D. who treats every runny nose with an antibiotic to the naturopathically trained chiropractor who battles against immunization, the best preventive medicine that science has given us. The quality of health care will improve as more middle-ground physicians are trained and enter practice. RONALD S. GRANT, M.D. Tucson, Ariz.

I’m a registered nurse, and I became interested in alternative medicine a while back when I learned about medical uses for plants I grow in my garden. I hesitantly tried a few things. They worked! For two years, I coped with seasonal allergies and tonsillitis by using the herb echinacea and calendula tea. I have seen what the uncontrolled prescribing of antibiotics can do. Through alternative medicine, I have found treatments for such things as hyperactivity, impetigo and canker sores. We should not give up on conventional medicine, but it is the true healer’s obligation to present all the options available, regardless of the type of medicine he or she practices. KATHLEEN OAKFORD Farmington Hills, Mich.

As a practitioner of alternative medicine, I am concerned about the self-use of natural remedies, particularly products that are botanical in origin. Despite the fact that they are “natural,” they are by no means without hazard and should not be taken before consulting with a qualified and knowledgeable practitioner. Certainly, the obvious steps should be taken to achieve better health, but not without proceeding carefully. NISSI S. WANG Daly City, Calif.

Dr. Weil’s story of the bee-sting cure of an arthritic knee reminded me of my grandmother, who used bee-sting therapy to treat her arthritis. Grandmother was born in 1872 on an Indian reservation in Minnesota, and most likely it was there in her early years that she learned some natural cures that have benefited our family ever since. PATRICIA EARL Los Angeles

THE QUESTION OF ANNULMENT

I sympathize with Sheila Rauch Kennedy in the breakdown of her marriage to Joe Kennedy II [NATION, May 12], but I regret her views on the Roman Catholic Church’s process of annulment. Your story said Rauch, who is protesting the annulment of her 12-year marriage, decries “the annulment procedure’s dishonesty in ruling that a once happy marriage never existed in the eyes of God.” Almost half the marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, including those of Catholics. In recent decades, more annulments have been granted because of a deeper understanding of the spiritual and emotional maturity required to make and live out the permanent commitment that a true sacramental marriage involves–a maturity that is unfortunately not always found among those who pronounce their marriage vows before the altar. The church will always face the challenge of maintaining the balance between responsibly proclaiming the ideal of permanence of the marriage bond and giving relief and compassion to those whose marriages have totally failed. (The Rev.) JOSEPH A. FAHY Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Atlanta

It’s time to restore the time-tested theological basis for annulment: the unchallengeable determination of an unconsummated union of a male and female. Today’s Catholic annulment process is a sham. The permanent canonical severance of a couple previously regarded as formally joined needs to be called something else, like “canonical dissolution” or “Catholic divorce.” No one, not even God, has ever unscrambled an omelet. The present-day annulment is comparable to divorcing children from their parents. MICHAEL A. IACONA SR. Littlestown, Pa.

Annulment or not, divorce or not, remarriage or not–who is to say what is ultimately right or wrong? Are not these personal decisions? Who is to play God here? Do you want somebody telling you what is right or wrong in your complex, personal decisions? I, for one, do not. GREGORY K. SILVER Indianapolis, Ind.

DIGNITY IN DISABILITY

Charles Krauthammer’s view that a statue of President Franklin Roosevelt in his wheelchair should not be added to his memorial is off the point [ESSAY, May 12]. F.D.R. dealt with his disability with dignity, but he did not deny it, as Krauthammer maintains. Roosevelt stayed in his wheelchair when he toured veterans hospitals; he stayed in it when he gave a major address at black Howard University, letting his chair speak for him: You too can overcome. F.D.R. used his wheelchair every day for the last 24 years of his life, and he gained from his disability the strength to lead the U.S. through the Depression and to victory in World War II. Only when we add a statue showing F.D.R. as the man he was will future generations understand his true greatness. MICHAEL R. DELAND, Chairman National Organization on Disability Washington

Krauthammer failed to recognize that F.D.R.’s greatness was achieved by finding the fullness of his life in a larger dimension. Pity the people who never get beyond calling attention to their disabilities! Life is greater than we are, and provides an open door for everyone. GEORGE E. BAILEY Parma, Ohio

CANDY AND CIGARETTES

Philip Morris president James Morgan compared the craving for cigarettes to a harmless liking for Gummi Bears [NOTEBOOK, May 12]. Morgan’s comments serve only to heighten the skepticism the American people have for Big Tobacco. Gummi Bears may not be good for you, but cigarettes kill. First we discover that tobacco companies have spent years covering up their own scientific findings about the addictive and cancer-causing effects of tobacco. Now Morgan chooses to make light of the emotional and physical struggle faced by those just trying to quit smoking. Cigarettes aren’t like Gummi Bears. And this isn’t Candyland. CONNIE MACK U.S. Senator, Florida Washington

TONY BLAIR’S LANDSLIDE

Most people in Britain aren’t sure whether they voted for the “new Labour” Party as a watered-down Conservative Party or a watered-down Socialist Party [VIEWPOINT, May 12]. However, they have seen an exercise in political expediency that will please most of the political leaders in Europe. RON HALL Norfolk, England

As a German studying in the U.S., I ask, What is British patriotism nowadays? The answer is important for the future of Europe. If British patriotism is anti-European, then Blair’s election may very well be the end of the European dream of unification. If British patriotism means taking a leading role in the unification process and creating the European Union in a way acceptable to the British, then Blair may become the first of a new generation of European leaders. Other European leftist parties can learn from Blair, especially the essential lessons in economic policy. DIRK ALBACH Pullman, Wash.

CARING ABOUT YELLOWSTONE

Your story on President Clinton’s efforts to protect Yellowstone National Park from a proposed massive gold mine and the holdout stance of gold field-rights owner Margaret Reeb [AMERICAN SCENE, May 12] may have left some readers with the impression that the Clinton Administration would like to see the private owners of the land come away with nothing from a deal that would protect the park. The government is proposing to exchange assets for the Crown Butte mining company’s rights and Reeb’s property precisely in order to provide a fair deal for the property owners as we fulfill our responsibility to protect Yellowstone. The Administration insisted that the agreement expressly take Reeb’s interests into account. Also, it is incorrect to say the Administration has not found any properties for a swap. In March we announced a proposal to exchange federal coal, oil and gas royalties for the mine property. We believe the exchange is a good deal for everyone–the holders of the mine property, the American taxpayers and people who care about Yellowstone. KATHLEEN A. MCGINTY, Chair White House Council on Environmental Quality Washington

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