A Message From Our Editor, Issue #47 – Question Authority

Our Right to Make Informed, Conscious Choices

I grew up in a family and a generation that believed in America, its Constitution and our Bill of Rights. We had a framed Declaration of Independence in our living room for years. We were taught that tyranny was not tolerable and authority that overstepped its bounds should be questioned and held accountable (and, yes, even rebelled against). We looked up to our forefathers, and honored their principles of sovereign human rights. We trusted in freedom of speech—the inalienable right to express perspectives and opinions for intelligent discussion, debate and resolution. We held dear our right and responsibility to make informed, conscious choices.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. —Thomas Jefferson The Declaration of Independence

Then somewhere in the fear-based myriad of selective education, contrived crises and censored news, individuals became numbed and forfeited their autonomous responsibility to discern what is moral and ethical to societal institutions.

In Pathways we frequently cover the importance of informed, conscious choice relating to many aspects of health in pregnancy, birth and childhood, and we strive to offer the information that has been intentionally filtered out of mainstream media. In this issue we are looking into some relevant concerns relating to vaccines, probably the most controversial and censored topic facing parents today. And instead of honestly and ethically evaluating this scientific evidence, the powers-that-be continue to intimidate and downright suppress all sides, and all data, that go against their agenda.

Last year, when the reports of Dr. William Thompson, a whistleblower at the Centers for Disease Control, were completely ignored by mainstream media, it became pitifully evident that vital information was being intentionally censored. Those who managed to bring this information to the surface were ridiculed as “conspiracy theorists” and “cranks.” These labels and fear tactics, with which so many have been indoctrinated, overtook the ethical sensibility and truth-seeking that is necessary for an informed public to emerge.

Very recently, however, some people have brought this issue to a more prominent light. U.S. Congressman Bill Posey quoted Thompson on the floor of the House of Representatives, charging that the CDC intentionally destroyed research findings that indicated that the MMR vaccine caused a huge risk of autism in African-American boys when given before the age of 3 years. Fortunately, Dr. Thompson kept copies of these records, and pressure for an investigation is underway. Will this be the trigger to wake up the American public?

If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be…. If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed. —Thomas Jefferson

As parents whose duty it is to protect and guard our children, we have the right and the responsibility to make freely informed, conscious choices based on all the information available. The AMA declares that it is the legal and ethical obligation of practitioners to present the medical facts accurately to the patient or person responsible for the patient’s care. If, however, relevant data is being withheld from the practitioner, and therefore the public, then the special-interest groups withholding this information are creating conditions of ignorance for tyranny to exist, risking and endangering people of all beliefs and all walks of life.

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. —Thomas Jefferson

Pathways magazine is published by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, whose policy is based on informed consent: “The ICPA respects each individual’s responsibility to make informed, conscious choices in all aspects of their chosen healthcare.” We strive to bring essential information to parents, including that which appears to be intentionally withheld from the public. With this issue, we hope to empower our readers to become informed, question authority, and to exercise their sovereign rights for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

For the raising of the consciousness,

Jeanne Ohm, D.C.