Anybody who knows me, even casually, knows I do not suffer pseudoscience kindly nor quietly.
I am also a tireless advocate of freedom of speech and freedom of belief. These things may seem incongruent at times, but they are not.
Viktor Frankl, the great neuroscientist who wrote the seminal book Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote:
“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.
“What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our question must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
This passage speaks to me, perhaps because it validates what I do in the face of what I frequently feel is futility. I have to admit, it gives me a sense meaning to campaign against superstitious nonsense even if it is like spitting into a hurricane most of the time.
When I do go on my tirades, particularly about alternative “medicine” people often ask, “but what is the harm?”
A case currently before the Alberta Court in Lethbridge perfectly illustrates the harm. David and Collet Stephan are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in the death of their 19-month-old son, Ezekial, who died from bacterial meningitis in March 2012.
On Monday, David, the father, testified they thought their son had flu. They attempted to fight it with “natural” remedies, specifically water with maple syrup, juice with frozen berries and a mixture of apple cider vinegar, horse radish root, hot peppers, mashed onion, garlic and ginger root according to media reports (although the family now disputes this).
But the child got worse and after a friend, who is a nurse, suggested meningitis, they took him to Lethbridge to see, not a doctor, but a naturopath. I do have some sympathy for this couple because the government, which is supposed to protect us from quackery, legitimizes naturopathy by allowing it to be legal and allowing the profession to regulate itself.
That sympathy quickly goes away, though, because ultimately it’s not enough to love your children, you have the responsibility to do whatever it takes to protect them.
According to media reports, David told the RCMP during the investigation Ezekial seemed to improve after being given a naturopathic meningitis remedy, but then stopped breathing. The parents finally rushed him to hospital, but it was too late.
Personally, I think failing to provide the necessaries of life is too lenient. At the very least, they should be charged with reckless endangerment causing death. Also, my knee-jerk reaction is that paediatric naturopathy should be outlawed.
When it comes right down to it, though, balancing freedom and responsibility is tricky. Maybe the occasional death of a child is an acceptable societal price for a parent’s freedom to believe whatever nonsense they want and act accordingly.
Ultimately, I completely respect the right of adults to believe in magic. It really drives me crazy that they refuse to call it what it is, though, and adopt the façade of scientific language to justify it. Calling naturopaths, homeopaths, and others, doctors is simply fraud as far as I am concerned. The government sanctioning these purveyors of snake oil is also unconscionable, but I don’t rule the world.
I would like to see more protection for children, but the best we may be able to do in that regard in order to mantain the liberty-responsibleness balance is to keep spitting into the hurricane and accepting the occasional collateral damage.
