Of Me, Natural Medicine and Contemporary Culture

A few months back my father was sent to an herbalist doctor (alternative healing) to help him with, well, a lot of things related to his health.

He had grown frustrated with his "conventional" doctors and wanted to "see" what was "out there."

Been there, done that. In 1990, I had surgery to repair my ACL. It was a vicious time for me. I was (is) a sports junkie but could no longer play them at full throttle (I tore my other ACL in 2003 and had surgery for this, too). Between the original surgery in 1990 and the mid-90s I was sustaining all sorts of ligament/joint related injuries. I was, naturally, fed up.

My specific strength conditioning regime and diet did not seem to help me any. So, I did what any good, pampered, anti-Western conspiracist would do: I went alternative medicine. Everyone wants to be "alternative." I think they call it "Indie" now in the arts.

Lucky for me, I knew someone that studied holistic medicine - aka Chinese medicine - and decided to give her a try. I never doubted the knowledge and the good intentions of Naturopaths- just the premise to which their whole philosophy is based on. More on this in a minute.

Anyway, I was soon jacked up on all sorts of mineral supplements, syrups and Bio-K. I adhered to the regime faithfully like anything I undertook in my life, carefully marking off my daily intake.

For the record, now I shoot back a good espresso in the morning. I can't live a regimented life.

Unfortunately, the result was negligible. "I don't believe people need to be cut up," I remember her telling me. So, I asked what was I supposed to do with a torn ACL that could not heal itself? She could not answer.

Years later, I knew someone who tried this path for severe allergies. The naturopath was honest and said nothing could be done but that didn't stop them from selling $100 worth of products that needed to be re-bought every month.

This reminded me of those on-line get-rich-quick marketing scams that lure people with promises and hope of making money only to swindle people into paying monthly charges. I'm not suggesting that what these people are selling is pure garbage. It's just not what it's cracked up to be. Besides, most of the stuff given in a $97 ebook is readily available. Not only that, many on-line marketers are easily accessible. For example, Jeff at Buzz My Blog is an absolute gentleman.

I get the same "marketing" feeling with the holistic herbalist industry.

So when I heard my father was giving alternative medicine a crack I kept my cynical thoughts to myself. Better to let him (and my mother) find out on his own. Sure enough, everything he was promised did not happen.

I'm of the opinion that if some ancient formula existed, modern medicine would absorb it. I don't believe that there's some evil master plan concocted by doctors to keep "secrets" away in order to keep us all sick and the medical community rich. Or is there?

So why the obsession and belief in alternative medicine?

Ever notice the marketing packaging. Slap a picture of a Native American and presto! Instant credibility. The "noble savage" was once overrun but his secrets live on! Don't let the modern white man keep you ignorant! Could you imagine pasting a picture of your family doctor on some medicinal weed. You'd immediately question its legitimacy. But a long-dead shaman? No problem! Hit me!

It's all so Rousseau-esque.

The same with anything that is connected to Ancient China.

Ah, therein lies the truth! We always look back on the past as an honorable age. That somehow contemporary society has lost its way. We forget all the bad that marked the past and only remember the good. The romanticizing of the past is something that always intrigued me. I'm all for nostalgia but once it becomes a literal blueprint for modern social constructs - well, then I would submit we have a problem.

Native Indians weren't as "noble" as they were painted to be. Know why? They're human. As such, they were vulnerable to all the same universal themes everyone else faces: power, greed, war, love, etc. Same with China, which was united by force and blood.

If one was transported back to a time they personally love (14th century King Arthur's court, 18th century farm, etc.) the first thing they'd say is, "Ew."

The next would be, "This is not how I envisioned it at all." Followed by, "Hollywood really distorts things, huh?" This would then lead to, "I have to hunt my own, what?" and "I have to communicate on a wall?"

Ultimately and tragically winding up with a whiny, "Where's my latte!"

Back to the future we go.

It's natural for humans to hark back upon a better time. The Athenians did it, the empire-savvy Romans did it (they would look back on the Republic with fond memories), Italian humanists did it, the French philosophes did it, German philosophers did it and we do it today. Look at Hollywood stars as they gallop across the globe in search of, um, something -what, we do not know.

Accordingly, by this rationale, everyone is lying to us today. Doctors, politicians, lawyers, mechanics, your mother, etc. We trust no one. The next logical step is to react to this. We do it by employing some cultural relativism calculation. We look at some backward nation or continent, look at whatever tribes and subsequent sacrifices that may follow and proclaim, "How noble! How can we say this is backwards? Our culture is not better than this one!"

Yet,these places are squirming and screaming to modernize. Ironies, ironies.

I wish it were all that simple. Nonetheless, this explains in part the popularity of natural products and doctors.

The return to tribalism laced with romanticism is one messed-up recipe.

It trumps rational behaviour and reduced culture to an egalitarian state.

I'm not saying this is bad or good, right or wrong, but it does need some rethinking. People are not using this to make a principled point about our values as a species, but rather to denigrate one (the West) and promote another (anyone else). In their quest for egalitarian-culturalism they seek to shame the West.

Who knows what their motives, are but my instincts tell me it's all disjointed.

Note: Forgive me if this seems a little scattered but I think there's an overall message in there somewhere. Notably this: The New York Yankees and other great teams like them are hated not because they are the Yankees but because they dominate and win - at least historically. The West is dreaded because it succeeded. Therefore, it's time to question it. Turning to alternative things that don't have their roots in Western culture is considered credible now.