By Travis James Robertson
2nd Trimester Student
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Today in Philosophy II class at Palmer College of Chiropractic we were discussing the history of the profession and all the different organizations that we have had that are both here and those that have come and gone. What made me very upset was the fact that we don’t have just one organization, one voice, in this profession. We could get so much more done if this would just happen. The instructor said that based on a survey that 80% of the D.C.’s out there would join the chiropractic association if there was one association. With starting numbers like that why has this not happened yet? I’m sure there are several reasons for it even some that I’m unaware of but I’m sure that all of them can be condensed down into a few main points. First of all, individual philosophies cause problems since everybody’s personal philosophy is the best. This is true but only to the person whom the philosophy belongs to. People have different philosophies and that is how it should be, it makes life more interesting. The other main point why this type of merger has not happened yet is two major or collective views that don’t compliment each other very well if at all. Let’s take the two main organizations, the ICA and the ACA, since that’s who we are talking about. Generally speaking the ICA’s view is more rooted in the history of Chiropractic and subluxation-based care only, while the ACA’s view is to move the profession forward and allowing the blending, or dare I use the word “mixing”, of things other than just subluxation-based care. These two organizations are very strong respectively but just IMAGINE what they could do combined.
These two organizations each have their strong suits, yet for some reason they can’t get along. A good example of what this kind of “couple” could accomplish is present in my marriage. My wife and I are from two extremes. She’s from the country, grew up around her extended family, loves the arts, and came from a very emotionally expressive family. I on the other hand grew up in the city, very rarely saw extended family, love the sciences, and came from a family that did not outwardly show emotion. We couldn’t be a more odd of a pair. There are those in our families that thought that it wouldn’t work but we made it work. We are stronger people because of it individually and exponentially stronger as a pair then as individuals. What some people thought couldn’t be, WAS. Why should our profession be any different? There are some issues with what is wrong with each of these organizations however.
I came up with a quote during this class today that points out both the strength of each organization and the weakness of both, in one short sentence. “It’s o.k. to move on as long as you don’t forget where you came from.” First the ACA. The ACA wants to move the profession into the future and get laws to protect Chiropractic and so on and so forth. This is great but I get the feeling that they do it at the expense of our heritage, our past, and our real purpose. Now the ICA. The ICA seems deeply rooted in it’s philosophy and our history which is also great we NEED to have that. However they believe it so blindly that it’s halting the potential of this profession. So you see what we have here is one association that wants to get out there and promote this profession possibly at the cost of the profession itself, if they’re not careful, and another association that is so scared of the chance of that happening that they throw themselves deep into their philosophical roots. In either case no real work in this profession gets done.
I have a solution. It may not be the best one but it is merely one possibility. WE unite not because we’d like to, not because we want to, but because we NEED to! And while we are at it let’s get rid of the first word in these associations because all they do is further split the masses. We need to unite and form just one association. And we could call it the Chiropractic Association. American this, International that who cares? Those that belong are Chiropractors so why should there be a need for any another descriptive words to go along with it. It keeps the organization plain and simple as it should be with one common focus and only one common focus to promote the life of the people of the world by promoting the chiropractic profession. Remember, “The body works, let it.” We as chiropractors know what very few, if any, other professions know. We know how to let the body work by making sure that it is interference free.
In closing, I would like to say that this type of merger will happen in my life time, I will personally see to that. I hope that after this is accomplished that the rest of the health care fields will see the error in some of their ways and all the health care professions can belong to one group called the PLA, the Promoting Life Association. An association in which everyone may not always agree but one where everyone knows that the HEALTH of the world and those in it is always the bottom line NOT MONEY. Again remember, truly promote life however you see fit and then do that always. If we can all do this, we can have just one organization and finally ONE VOICE!
Chiropractically,
Travis James Robertson
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