spoiler alert: this is an unabashed political post

 

If you're anything like me when it comes to politics, or to religion for that matter, you may hesitate to add your voice to the din out there. After all, what can you add that hasn't already been said a thousand times? What can you say that will change anyone's mind? Why engage in the drama?

This is my question: Why not?

Consider this:

"The only thing necessary

for the triumph of evil,

is for good men to do nothing."

~Edmund Burke~

And this:

"Our lives begin to end

the day we become silent

about things that matter."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.~

With this in mind, this week I decided to do something. I decided to break my silence. Here is the letter I plan to mail to every Republican member of Congress this week in an effort to make my thoughts known, even though nothing may come of it. Evil may still triumph, but these are issues that matter to me:

Janet F. Cincotta, M.D.

2254 Old Hollow Road

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

717.574.7357

drmomjfc@gmail.com

 

The Honorable (full name)
(room #) (name) Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

 

September 25, 2020

 

Dear Senator (last name):

 

I am fearful about the conduct, legitimacy, and impact of the up-coming 2020 presidential election. I am writing to you in an effort to understand what inspires you to embrace the crippling politics of Donald J. Trump in his quest for re-election.

 

I am a Family Physician with over thirty years of experience in private practice, so I know something about the issues that impact the availability and affordability of health care. I understand the management of medical and public health emergencies including disaster relief and pandemic mitigation efforts. I know a lot about the sanctity of women’s bodies.

 

I am also the mother of three adult children, and a grandmother to three youngsters whose future worries me. It is a challenge to teach them that it is unacceptable to mock and demean people, that it is wrong to lie and cheat, and it is shameful to bully when these are the behaviors they observe in the president of our country. How will they regard honesty, compassion, and kindness when what they witness is deception, cruelty, and indifference?

 

We have witnessed the violation of basic human rights, the corruption of justice, and a surge in violence and outright fear among our most vulnerable citizens, all in just the past four years. As the election approaches, we fear for our democracy. We worry about war.

 

This is not the America you and I grew up in. It is not the same country that bestowed upon us a path to success, security, and peace. How can we deny it to others?

 

I am one of the lucky ones, and you may be, too. I am not a woman of color, so I am not confronted with racial discrimination. Instead, I harbor deep respect and affection for friends and colleagues who are. I do not live in poverty, so I am able to give freely. Even though I am not a member of the LGBTQ community, I support and defend my friends who are. I have never broken the law, promoted hatred, or instigated violence.

 

Instead, I have cared for and supported my family and friends. I have served my community with dedication and compassion. I have done my part to protect the environment, and the life that depends on it. I believe in the principles of humility, honesty, inclusivity, and generosity.

 

What about you? Do you feel powerless to change the course of history as it is being written in our lifetime? Why are you afraid to stand up to liars and cheaters? Why are you intimidated by men who are arrogant and greedy? Has your heart hardened against the humanity you are part of? Against the environment your survival depends upon? What scares you about defending the rights of the poor, the sick, and the suffering? What prevents you from acting out of dignity, purpose, and principle? What about your children, and your grandchildren? What will happen to them?

 

You took an oath of office. You solemnly swore that you would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you would bear true faith and allegiance to it; that you took this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you would well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which you were about to enter. Then you swore to it: “So help me God.”

 

The Constitution you pledged to uphold begins like this:

 

“We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

 

When did you change your mind?

 

For the sake of my family and yours, out of compassion for all who suffer, for the preservation of our democracy, and for the sake of peace, I implore you to reconsider your support of the Republican leadership in the upcoming election. Do what you know to be honorable, compassionate, and just, or explain to us why you refuse.

 

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

 

Yours truly,

Janet F Cincotta, M.D.

Please feel free to copy and paste this letter, or to paraphrase it, or to write and mail your own letter if you are moved to do so. Please, just do something.

"Do what you can,

with what you have,

where you are."

~Theodore Roosevelt~

Here is a list of republican senators and their Washington addresses:

https://www.270towin.com/elected-officials/contact-us-senators

Thank you for doing whatever you can!

jan 

 

quantum hoopla

 

So, this happened. The American College of Emergency Room Physicians invited Deepak Chopra to give the keynote address at their annual scientific meeting in October. He was planning to speak about a holistic approach to wellness. This week, without warning, the invitation was withdrawn.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/937068

It seems that ACEP members objected to his presentation in front of a "legitimate" medical organization...as if to imply that his contributions to the fields of health and wellness are illegitimate, an arrogant affront to modern, evidence-based scientific research. There were derogatory comments about his views on genetics, nonlocality, and the origin and nature of consciousness...

                 

...subjects that fascinate me. If this assembly of scientific minds were able to cite evidence-based, peer-reviewed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies (the kind they insist upon) that demonstrate where thought originates, how memories are stored and how they arise unbidden years later, and how thought affects the physiology and wellbeing of the average human being, I would bow down in homage. But they can't. No one can. Because, no one knows. Not on a molecular, or biochemical, or electromagnetic basis. But what a field it is to contemplate! 

Chopra politely acknowledged the objections to his appearance, and respectfully stepped aside. However, he did suggest that these scientists look into studies of epigenetics, the microbiome, and the field of quantum healing, not to mention Ayurveda and meditation, before dismissing them as so much hoopla.

To quote Larry Dossey, from his book "Reinventing Medicine":

"It is the responsibility of scientists

never to suppress knowledge, 

no matter how awkward that knowledge is,

no matter how it may bother those in power."

~Larry Dossey~

To which I would add Einstein's take on it:

"Imagination is more important

than knowledge."

~Albert Einstein~

jan

narrative healing for everyone

 

Five years ago I attended the first annual conference on narrative medicine at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. It was based on the ground-breaking work of Rita Charon, MD, PhD of Columbia University. The emphasis of the conference was to introduce health care providers to narrative skills that help them explore their patients' entire story, not just the timeline of their symptoms. I was attracted to it because I'm a physician and a writer. 

Unfortunately, the conference didn't last for long. I attended every year, and then, for some reason, it was renamed "Narrative Healing." This year, if it hadn't been for the Covid-19 pandemic, it would have been held at a different site. Instead, it was cancelled.

The good news is that narrative technique is no longer solely targeted at health care providers. As the expression "narrative healing" suggests, the invitation has been extended to include the patient. The implication is that writing about the experience of illness is a healing process in and of itself, whether you're in your doctor's office or not.

"Tell your story

because your story will heal you

and it will heal someone else."

~Iyanla Vanzant~

Chances are pretty good that you have an illness narrative to share. Most of us do. Have you ever been sick? Hospitalized? Are you still suffering? How and why? Have you ever cared for someone who has been sick or injured? Have you ever saved someone's life, or lost one? Has your child ever scraped his knee? Have you had a baby...or not? Then you have a story to tell.

"Share your story with someone.

You never know how one sentence

of your life story could inspire someone

to rewrite their own."

~Demi Lovato~

If you're not sure you're ready to talk about it yet, or you're having trouble finding the right words to express it, or if you don't think your experience is worth writing about, think again. People need to hear from you, and they are willing to help. Read up a little on writing memoir. Sign up for a class on-line. Silence your inner critic. Release your muse. Let the healing begin. 

"Every secret of a writer's soul,

every experience of his life,

every quality of his mind

is written large in his works."

~Virginia Woolf~

Remember: The harder it is for you to tell your story, the more important it is you do!

jan

a lost art

 

Even a physician sometimes needs to see a physician. Last week I made an appointment for myself following an injury that occurred over a month ago. I already knew what the diagnosis was, and I'd been treating it appropriately, but things weren't getting better so I gave in and went.

"I told the doctor

I broke my leg in two places.

He told me to stop going to those places."

~Henny Youngman~

Most of the time, when I see a doctor around here, he is a colleague I've known for a long time. I trained with him or practiced in the same community with him for years. We've watched medicine change over time, and it always comes up in conversation. How sad it is that the physician/patient relationship is no longer what it used to be. How little time we have with our patients. How continuity of care has been sacrificed to efficiency. How the drive for corporate profit outweighs the compassionate care of our patients.

"The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade;

a calling, not a business;

a calling in which your heart will be exercised

equally with your mind."

~Sir William Osler~

So...after the doctor confirmed my self-diagnosis and concurred with my treatment plan, he started the familiar lament. How he missed the good old days. How things will never be the same again. What a shame it is that we no longer know who our patients are aside from their illness or injury. That we no longer have time to listen to their stories. That we have lost our enduring connection with them. 

This is a problem. Healing, or failure to heal, occurs in the context of a person's relationships with family and friends, his surroundings, expectations and perceptions, as well as his emotional, mental, and spiritual life. If the patient is denied the opportuniy to tell his story the way he sees it...the way he experiences it...part of him will never heal. 

"Healthcare is for truthful,

authentic, discovering

accounts of self."

~Rita Charon, MD~

Narrative in medicine is a lost art. Back in the days when physicians were in charge of their profession, when they took time to express compassion, and build connection, they enjoyed a more holistic relationship with patients. They built a trusting kinship that helped patients heal, something we miss more than ever, today.

"A medicine practiced without a genuine

awareness of what patients go through

may fulfil its technical goals,

but it is an empty medicine..."

~Rita Charon, MD~

jan