A real standout of the world games is the sense of camaraderie between athletes. This re-emphasizes the values and design of the modern Olympics. One of the main intents of the Olympics was and is to bring nations together to celebrate their similarities and common values and interests.
100 years ago there were 20 nations represented – now there are over 200 nations joining in this celebration. The hugs and embraces and utterances of complementary respect between opposition competitors after they have crossed the finish line or at the completion of their event is a real salute to the shared quest for excellence and mutual respect for those who achieve magnificence in their field that all Olympians share.
This phenomenon is not always shared in the chiropractic profession and its evidenced by the fact that a significant percentage of complaints against chiropractors to registration boards are lodged by other chiropractors. If we are to truly take chiropractic to world game status we must seek a bigger context in which we operate.
From the history books, Jesse Owens, an African-American, grew up in poverty in Ohio, the grandson of a slave and the son of a sharecropper. He overcame racial discrimination to score a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and was the star of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, winning four gold medals in track and field. Adolf Hitler, who had hoped that German athletes would dominate and win a lot of the medals thereby bolstering Hitler’s theory that the Aryan race was genetically superior, oversaw the Games.
Hitler was told to either personally greet every medallist or not greet any at all. With the embarrassment of Owen’s performance he chose the latter option rather than shake hands with Owens.
As chiropractors we know that those who seek to control and dominate not only us but also all of health care will not acknowledge us for our feats regardless of how great they may be. What we think and do runs contrary to their agenda. Their agenda will make them ignore the facts as they pursue their own outcomes.
We owe it to chiropractic and humanity to explore, exploit and explode the chiropractic paradigm to its full extent. There is so much of value within the simple tenants and procedures of our profession that we don’t need to meddle in the activities of other disciplines. We have all it takes to beat the hell out of them in the marketplace.
For a long time we have been ignored as being inconsequential but we have kept scoring ‘runs’ on the board and have secured a loyal following of ardent supporters. Now we are noticed (and felt in medicine’s ‘hip pocket’). This is the vulnerable stage as it is where violent opposition is implemented. It is imperative for our survival that we rally as a profession like athletes do under the banner of the world game. We must elevate our attention away from our differences and focus on our similarities. We must embrace our WHY, develop our science and extend our support network.
