SEEDS OF TRUTH:
Knowledge, Freedom and Choice in Health
The other day I had a very sobering experience at my local health food store. I asked the produce manager if I could have the seeds of a particular fruit, as I could not find them anywhere.
These seeds, along with the seeds of almost all fruits, contain some very important nutrients, among them a very important B vitamin that in most people in “civilized” countries is woefully deficient.
The produce manager said that they could not sell these natural products because they were “banned” and “illegal”.
I just about fainted. I could not believe that a simple agricultural product from a common fruit tree could be banned from sale! My “outrage meter” was in the red zone and I so I am sure was my blood pressure.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This amazing experience really got me thinking.
As our readers generally know, more and more people these days are seeking out “natural health” or “alternative healing” methods to deal with illnesses they or their families encounter.
Formerly the territory of chiropractors and herbalists, alternative medicine in America now boasts dozens of disciplines including advanced nutritional therapy, acupuncture, various hands-on healing methods, “energy healing” (wherein the practitioner manipulates the bio-energy field in and around the body directly), etc.
Over the years, even a few classically-trained Medical Doctors like Andrew Weil, M.D. (a graduate of Harvard Medical) have come to sing the praises of using Mother Nature to assist people to become well more swiftly and efficiently.
While alternative medicine continues to advance, my unhappy experience at the health food store showed me that have a very long way to go, not in terms of workable techniques, but in terms of a) public dissemination of truthful information about health and b) our right to make informed choices in this area.
TRUTH IN ACTION
A truth is only as valuable as it is a) known and b) acted upon.
Knowledge that is kept out of view or that may not be used by anyone might as well not even exist.
Important as it is to the survival and well-being of individuals and society, the field of health and wellness should be the focus of the most scrupulously honest and well-published research. Furthermore, individuals ought to be able to act upon such research without penalty.
Science, the press and health practitioners have the right and the responsibility to discover, disseminate and act upon truths about health and wellness. Members of the public also have the right to learn and to use these same truths.
TOUGH QUESTIONS
The best way to measure the amount of truth in any area is to ask this question: Is the condition of that area improving or declining?
For instance, if the rate of illness in a country or a population is increasing year after year, this means that the truths about that illness, its causes and so forth are a) unknown b) known to some but not by those who need the information or c) not used even if known or d) a combination of the above.
Most of us know that the rates of “degenerative” diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, alzheimers, etc have been on the rise for nearly a century. Considering that we are constantly told that science and medicine are both “advancing” at a furious pace, and that funding for research has climbed to truly staggering levels, it is reasonable to wonder why no solutions to these common scourges have yet been found.
Is it possible that important information has come to light but for some reason is not reaching the people who need it? Could it be that knowledge of actual solutions exists but people are not free to act upon this knowledge even if they learn of it?
HONEST ANSWERS
Recently we encountered some websites that address these exact questions.
We highly recommend that you do your own research and come to your own conclusions.
Here are the sites:
http://campaignfortruth.com/home.htm
http://www.credence.org/
WHO’S WATCHING OUT FOR US?
We thank God for the Internet – for here at last is a channel for truth to reach the common man. But until the Internet, the world was a very different, much darker place.
Consider this: the dissemination of knowledge to the general public on a day-to-day basis has been the role of the press (also known as the media.)
While there always exist a few “maverick” newspapers or magazines willing to go out on a limb to report the truth, few of these have ever enjoyed mass-media status. So when we speak of the most influential press outlets, we’re talking about the major daily newspapers, TV networks and so forth.
The following quote from the former editor of The New York Times is very, very revealing:
“There is no such thing in America, in world history, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the street looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinion to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this – toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.” – John Swinton, former editor of The New York Times, addressing fellow colleagues at the New York Press Club.
CONCLUSION
We invite you, our reader, to really dig into these issues, draw your own conclusions, find your own truths and to act accordingly. Knowledge is power. Seek it out. Think for yourself. Pass it on.
The world is in quite a mess right now, as most of us know.
But our planet can be a much, much, much better place. Should you feel powerless or inadequate, “just one person,” let me remind you that in actual fact, groups do not exist. The only reality in the abstraction called “society” is the individual. A group is simply more than one individual united by a common purpose working in coordination. But is YOU who count most – your drive, your dedication, your initiative, your caring.
YOU put the life into any activity you do. And there is no real limit to what you can accomplish.
We appreciate your support and your good work.