Entry #23: Medicine

Eventually I would have to make a post about this topic, seeing my habitual skepticism regarding most modern research and pharmaceutical drugs. I usually have a huge veiny boner for the underdog, and I guess quite predictably - I support Naturopathy and dietary healing, similar (although not as fervently) to my support of organic and otherwise sustainable farming methods. I will try and step down from any bias I may have, and address a problem that annoys the shit out of me; I feel as though discourse on medicine has become the most roundabout, waste-of-time venture since fucking Nascar.

On one side of the ring we have conventional medicine, whose constant "quackwatch"-type bullshit likens a fucking witch hunt. They refuse to acknowledge that medicine existed longer than 400 years ago, and if anything isn't well documented in modern, recent research - its legitimacy is ultimately discredited. Admittedly, it makes sense that if you're raised to trust any piece of research released by a larger university or any government institution, so long as it doesn't radically question our status quo - then you'd more than likely be skeptical of anything that isn't widely published or categorized under popular opinion.
On the other side of the ring, we have practitioners of alternative medicine - mostly non confrontational, Californian pussies. Instead of openly being dicks (like those that support conventional medicine, who seem to dedicate their efforts into squelching their opposition), they're mostly quiet or only privately object. I guess this also can make sense, since they'd face public stigmitization. It's also pretty shitty that their stereotype is similar, if not worse, than that associated with the organic food movement. In short, plenty of them make jokes of themselves by being into spirituality, auras, and shit of the same ilk.

The problem: neither side trusts its opponent's sources; this isn't a case of not being on the same page, this is being in an entirely different book. I'm going to sound like a fucking simpleton trying to discuss philosophy, but I truly believe that both sides of nearly any argument contain worthwhile substance - I'm not into relativist bullshit, but I do believe that the nature of understanding is much more complex than how we attempt to oversimplify it with science. I think it's incredibly arrogant on humanity's part to sincerely believe it's capable of retrodiction, unbridled understanding, and authority over the natural world. Lately I've been reading a lot about permaculture and perrenials, and it's so fascinating to me - the prospects of emulating nature and its potentially higher productivity, even when compared against our modern chemicals and techniques. Like it says in a favorite song of mine, "Improv Culture Kill" by Policy of 3 (a New Jersey based emotive hardcore band from the early '90s):

"we celebrate the cultures that we kill, they are roadside tourist traps when they should be an insititution. And our science - that has poisoned us on the inside and the out, has created more fear than any vengeful, primitive god. And our science, which we accept so wholehearted, forces us to define what truly is a great mystery. We reach out, but we lack the embrace. We reach out, but there is no embrace to find."

There's no heart in our modern scientific world, and I believe both nature and our minds are the two most complex entities in existence - two things arguably forever more powerful and heartfelt than anything resulting from science and technology. I also believe that contrary to all those angsty, teenage, atheist Family Guy and Daily Show fans swearing religion is the bane of humanity - science itself has created more fear and death. Science and technology created our weapons of warfare, they created all the problems with our modern food system, they were the agents behind all the annual deaths caused by pharmaceuticals, they were the co-conspirators behind all our synthetic recreational drugs (or pharmaceuticals misused for recreation) and all the deaths and strife as a result of their sale, they've hurt our evolution (since our only "progress" still within sight, according to most people, is technological), caused more sedentary lifestyles, and built cultures around convenience and escapism. I'm not a primitivist thought, I believe some technology is beneficial - I don't believe in fucking nut and berry, hunter-gatherer shit. Sorry for sidetracking, I just wanted to get my opinion out there on such a sensitive matter; everybody acts as though I'm fucking their mother whenever I criticize our species' attempts at progress through scientific inquiry and technological fixes. The point I want to make, simply, is that science itself is a faith - one that's only more divided when lobbyists and corporations are involved in the funding of research, and when two opposing sides can make equally as convincing claims on nearly any matter.

Discourse on medicine has reserved its seat in the same arena as internet messageboard, "no u" bickering. Those on the side of alternative medicine will continually question the legitimacy of their opposition's sources - seeing as the majority of popular research is funded by corporations that directly profit from positive results and clever euphemism. On the other side, those associated with conventional medicine will continually question the legitimacy of their opposition's sources, since they don't receive massive funding or, in many cases, they're not released by popular publications or by the government.

Shit is so bananas. Nothing is accomplished. How about you all quit being dickheads, and why not settle on healthy diet and excercise? Well, the pharmaceutical industry seems to have the public convinced (through its heavy advertising) that they'd rather work a pill into their routine than completely change their lifestyle and diet. Convenience digs its claws into our culture's health once again. Conventional medicine fails to emphasize prevention, and many forms of alternative medicine thrive on unnecessary preventive methods. The dietary supplement industry also thrives on its consumers believing it's difficult to get all their nutrients through whole food sources, which isn't true; and the herbal supplement industry is full of plenty of companies that sell low quality products, and make it difficult to sift through all the shit for the diamonds!

Just have a healthy diet and live a happy, active lifestyle - learn to forage for herbs (as I intend to do) if you have access to them and they're applicable to your health situation. Food is your medicine, and medicine is your food. If you die shortlived, it's fine (which you probably will not if you maintain a healthy lifestyle). Quit trying to fight the inevitable and contributing to our overpopulation problem.