I have written a blog post and several comments criticizing Dr. Parikh's blanket (and not seriously on Salon) criticsm of alternative medicine, and over-the-top attacks on Oprah (not to mention poorly reasoned attacks).
Though I don't agree with everything Deepak Chopra says and does, it's nice to have such an loud and intelligent voice firing back:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/mainstream-medicine-and-t_b_213132.html
That's all.
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Joan Walsh
Kerry Lauerman
Salon.com
Comments
Go look for some secret biodenticals that you won't need to vaccinate yourself from.
With great power comes great responsibility, and Oprah seems to have parted ways with her own responsibility to exercise good judgment.
You entirely miss Chopra's point: There are whole areas of medicine that are not investigated due to prejudice, and the tone deafness of people like Parikh to both the widespread distrust of mainstream medicine and the experiences of millions does little to help his cause. THe vaccine example is a good one -- nevermind that most current vaccines are probably safe and probably do not cause autism -- it is NOT irrational for people to be suspicious of the quality and safety of drugs this widely distributed with so little quality control (not to mention vaccines have contained proven toxic elements in the past). He's not saying people shouldn't get vaccinated, he's saying that calling people stupid for worrying is INSULTING.
What's more, the mainstream medical community is limited even in the scope of its SCIENCE: Consider how much money we pour into chemical medicine. Did you know that many immune functions are electrical? However, no known electrical therapies are all that profitable, so, very little research. Please note the recent controversy about the number of professors directly affiliated with the pharmaceutical industry at Harvard Medical.
But most importantly, Oprah has spent decades advocating for woman's health in areas that most doctors won't touch. She prevents a variety of views -- this is HEALTHY. Her audience has its own agency -- to think that everyone who watches her literally swallows every thing every guest on her show says is condescending.
The fact that so many so called "liberal" minds want to shutter any discussion on medicine -- as if the science has covered all the territory it needs to -- disgusts me.
But I absolutely dispute his assertion that Oprah isn't endorsing these people. It's not the fact that she has them on her show -- it's the *way* she handles their appearances. She cuts off any disagreement and fails to present a balanced discussion.
Oprah's "bully pulpit" is a bit bullying. And *that* is where she drops the ball.