Letters from Readers
I always enjoy hearing from those who attend my book discussions. Here’s an excerpt from a recent letter.
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What captain does not steer his ship, at times, through storms?
The loss of a ship, of many ships, of entire fleets, has never dimmed our enthusiasm to explore, to bend the wave and wind to our purposes. I hope the present turmoil in American Medicine will be seen, in retrospect, as nothing more than a squall line, successfully traversed. I am absolutely confident that young physicians such as your own son and my students understand the great purposes of medicine, the social pact subtended by the profession, the weight of the mantle they wear.
I have likened the training of professionals to the creation of chain mail armor. It is tedious, time consuming, hard work, but the armor protects Civilization itself. A single weak link affords no passage of the arrow or spear, particularly if that link is supported by strong adjacent members. But shoddy work on the part of the armorer exposes the people to a grave wounding. I truly believe that as long as there are resolute physician teachers and exemplars, parents such as yours, and fathers such as yourself, Medicine is in safe hands, ultimately immune to false purposes, able to weather the roughest seas.
Sincerely yours,
John R. Mawk, MD, JD
