Dr. Perle's article on facing moral and ethical challenges of the chiropractic profession.http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=5445

Perle, Stephen M.

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Sailing in Gale-Force Winds: Braving the Challenges of TodayBy Stephen M. Perle, DC, MSIt is easy to sail a straight course when heading downwind with a steady breeze; doing so hardly tests one’sseamanship. The same can be said to be true for life and particularly for the purpose of this discussion, ourprofession of chiropractic. When everything is going our way, it is easy to follow a moral course of action.When your moral compass is pointing in the same direction as the easy, direct course to your goal, yourmoral fiber isn’t tested at all. Posing hypothetical moral dilemmas to someone who is on a straight and easycourse will usually result in answers that appear to show good moral development and strong moral fiber. The problem with hypothetical questions is that you may believe you know how you will respond in thesehypothetical circumstances, but the strength of your moral fiber is unknown until confronted with a windthat tries to blow you off course. Some people are lucky enough to never have the strength of their moralfiber tested and enjoy a life during which they sail easily along their charted course. Others are testedbrutally by ever-shifting winds.During World War II, German boxer Max Schmeling might have been thought of as the poster child for theNazi ideal of the Arian ubermensch (superman). He had fame, fortune and was well-regarded by everyoneincluding Hitler. However, Schmeling risked it all by sheltering his Jewish friend’s two sons in his hotelresidence in Berlin during Krystallnacht in November 1938. He told the maids that he was sick and didn’twant to make others ill, so they shouldn’t come in. The children stayed with him for a short time; then hehelped get them safely out of Germany. Clearly, Schmeling piloted a course that was true even in hazardous winds.1-4After the war, Schmeling didn’t reveal this story, which would have rehabilitated his image outside ofGermany, which of course had taken a distinct turn for the worse after the war. It was the children whoselives he helped save who eventually told the story in 1989. Asked why he risked his life, he reportedly saidit was the duty of a man.4  Confronted with gale-force winds blowing anywhere but to the safety for thesechildren, Schmeling showed that his moral fiber was made of stronger stuff than many other people duringthe Holocaust; and afterward, he was willing to accept his share of the blame for letting it occur at all.2- 1 -Moral fiber is very similar to muscle fiber. They both get stronger when they’re adequately exercised. AsNFL Hall-of-Fame coachVince Lombardi famously said, "Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." For thechiropractor in practice, there have always been many shifts in the wind that have threatened to blow us offcourse. The specific challenges to our moral fiber have changed in every generation. There were thosewhose moral fiber had them practicing, as Dr. Richard Vincent of Massachusetts says, in "moral defiance"prior to licensure. Among the challenges facing our profession today are the gale-force winds that create unfair challenges togetting paid a fair amount for the important treatments we provide to patients. During these times, we havethe opportunity to test our moral compasses and see if we have the moral fiber to steer a course that is trueeven when it is difficult to do so.References1.  See www.auschwitz.dk/schmeling.htm. 2.  Deford F. "The Choices of Max Schmeling." National Public Radio (online audio file), Feb. 9, 2005. 3.  Tenembaum B. "Max Schmeling: Aryan Champ, Savior of Jews." The International Raoul WallenbergFoundation (www.raoulwallenberg.net). 4.  Hedderich N. "Max Schmeling: Righteous Ring Warrior?" History Today, January 1993;43. Accessedon www.pages.drexel.edu. Click here for previous articles by Stephen M. Perle, DC, MS.Page printed from: http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=54452&no_paginate=true&p_friendly=true&no_b=true- 2 -

Sailing In Gale-Force Winds: Braving the Challenges of Today

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Sailing In Gale-Force Winds: Braving the Challenges of Today

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