Medicine and Politics – Bad Medicine

Do you know that mixing medicine with politics is bad medicine? Here is the reason why.

On 01/02/2021, on the Internet, the Australian Doctor published an article titled “Should the AMA and RACGP donate to political parties?- Will it win friends and influence people as it has with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia which donated more than $200,000 in 2019/20?”

It prompted me to make the following comment:

“I recently wrote the following comments to the presidents of Federal AMA, AMAQ and the RACGP:

‘There is no doubt the medical profession has lost its way. It is because doctors are thinking like politicians and bureaucrats. They are suffering from a disorder of perception.

Unless the medical profession can wake up to its responsibilities, I foresee a grim future for the profession and the mental health of the public.

We should be all fighting for an independent medical profession free of politics and avoid bureaucratic thinking. Without rational thought, we are doomed to the present state of affairs. We will be only deluding ourselves if we think we are practising evidence-based medicine.

In my mind, the present Covid crisis is a direct result of confused thinking and mishandling of the virus by the medical profession. We have created a bureaucratic madness. We are so naïve. Politicians will use the medical profession wherever possible to manipulate the public.’

I do not know how many of your readers will agree with me.”

Of course, not all comments agreed with me. One person stated, “I respect your opinion and desire to maintain a prestigious integrity of thunderous silence but people crave communication and communicate we must. With a mouth, with a pen or with a wallet. That’s my simple opinion.”

I responded with: “I understand your point of view. Please remember, doctors have a responsibility to look after the physical and mental health of people. If we become like the politicians and bureaucrats, then we become part of the problem, that is, the pot cannot call the kettle black. As it is, I regard all politicians and bureaucrats as suffering a disorder of perception. They cannot look beyond their nose and are limited in their thinking. If doctors wish to join this crazy mob, they are welcome. But one cannot improve the mental health of society when one becomes part of the problem. It is why we cannot compare medicine with other professions.”

However, this reasoning did not convince my protagonist, who stated: “Unfortunately, like it or hate it, money speaks loudly, and so far words will not hold Government accountable.”

Unfortunately, many in the medical profession worldwide think this way today. They believe in the principle that if you cannot beat them; you join them. So I pose this question to all our medical leaders wherever they may be, “Is it rational to lose one’s sanity over people who are irrational that is, people who cannot think straight and cannot use or allowed to use common sense, by joining them?”

Politics is a game of distorting people’s perceptions. Politicians would like you to believe in something which may not be valid. In medicine, we do the opposite. We try to straighten out people’s perceptions. We try to help them understand and see things in the right way. In a bureaucracy, one sticks only to the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Yet there are exceptions to every rule. Bureaucracy does not allow that. It is why politics is bad medicine because it creates a contradiction. Any contradiction in my mind is bad for mental health as it stops rational thinking.

So if a doctor were to think like a politician or a bureaucrat, how can it possibly lead to rational thinking? Do you think the medical profession should involve itself in politics?

Mental illness in my mind is a disorder of perception. The degree determines the level at which it becomes a clinical disorder of behaviour and action. It is increasing in every society in the world today. One can see the ‘Titanic’ carrying our mental health is sinking. Doctors should be out in the rescue boats trying to save lives (improving our mental health), instead of joining the band on the deck playing their last tune.

With a high suicide rate among the medical profession, our medical leaders still show no insight into their mind or have any idea of how our subconscious mind operates. Their thinking appears to be stuck in a bureaucratic groove of their own making. How can we expect them to lead us out of this world of chaos?

As one can see, the world is turning us all into zombies. Whether you are a professional or a layperson, whether you are a private or a public employee, my humble plea to you is to start thinking for yourself. Learn to understand how your mind works. Become aware of your thinking process. Learn how your ego influences your subconscious mind with the words you use in your mind. Become aware of your emotions. Observe how words give form to your feelings. By acquiring self-knowledge this way and understanding your mind’s workings, you can become the master of your destiny.