Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist
June 6, 2021
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
This is the famous extemporaneous line from the 1976 movie, “Network”.[1] Howard Beale is the TV news anchor in “Network”. His character is played by Peter Finch. In the movie, Howard breaks down on national TV and announces he will commit suicide live on air. He rants and raves about his frustrations with the world in which he lives before screaming “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”. Howard Beale then urges all viewers to open their windows and shout out the same words.
Here’s the segment from the movie:
This is how I feel today. All of us are caught is this quagmire.
There are lies about the Pandemic from both extremes; there is hatred spewed by both political parties toward each other; there is censorship of medical professionals who have opposing but medically-concerning views about vaccinations; and there is contempt directed at me because I have been open about my cancer journey.
These actions jeopardize our humanity. They deny decency, respect, and the perseverance of truths.
Lies
Millions of people worldwide have died because of the COVID-19 virus. This is a fact. It’s not a lie. How the virus affected a body to cause its death is in question – and rightly so. But if the virus were not present, then those deaths might not have occurred when they did.
Most individuals who have succumbed to this virus had a compromised immune system. A weak immune system is less able to deal with an invader like this virus compared to a robust immune system. The food industry and the agricultural industry are lying to us when they say their processed foods and chemicals are nutritious for, and not damaging to, our body.
Hatred
If you only watched “liberal” news channels, then you would believe that the conservative party is made up of disloyal and hateful people. It you only watched “conservative” news channels, you would believe that the liberal party is going to make socialists out of our country and destroy the tenets on which it was created.
Both extremes in politics spew hatred at one another. Both views are not balanced. Extremists on both sides are scary and are threatening our democratic system.
Has the United States ever had so much hatred between two political parties? How can we move forward? We need to recognize that there might be a middle ground to build upon and expand for the sake of all US citizens.
Censorship
I am not against vaccines!
Let me repeat this another way: I AM NOT AGAINST VACCINES!
But I am for an intelligent discussion of the benefits and pitfalls of all vaccines. And when there are deaths and severe reactions to a particular vaccine – even if these are rare events – the medical community should be willing, able, and encouraged to discuss all factors openly.
While writing this, I’m thinking, “Am I going to be censored because I have just made this statement?” I don’t know. I hope not. I am being honest and hopeful.
Again, I believe in medicines that have proven their efficacy. But when a vaccine that may have been proven safe in clinical trials turns out to cause rare deaths and rare severe reactions, then these occurrences should be brought up immediately for all to understand.
And patients need to know the details, potential risks, and side effects of the medical treatments they are being asked to accept. This is called “informed consent”.
Throughout my professional career, patients were required to give their “informed consent” before an invasive procedure could be performed. Never has this been questioned to my knowledge until today.
Contempt
Vitriol, hatred, and false statements have been thrown at me.
My readers know that I am on a cancer journey since 2018. And my prognosis was dismal. Yet I took my body seriously.
With the consent of my oncologist, I rejected chemotherapy and opted for a series of Unconventional Cancer Protocols, which I have researched and tweaked frequently. Today, I am thriving, but I am not in remission. And my controversial diet that is part of my Unconventional Cancer Protocols is not plant-based – it is animal-based. It’s best known as a Carnivore Diet.
Most readers of my posts on many social media pages have been happy for me as I have helped my body heal, have improved my immune system, and have been transparent in all my reporting. But a few have written hateful words …
- Some in the vegan community have told me I was killing people and giving them cancer by eating red meat.
- Several in the strict carnivore community have denigrated me because I ate a few fresh fruits and raw honey along with being 90% carnivore.
Wow!
I thought humanity was in it to help all. Obviously, this is Pollyanna thinking. The facts that I am honest with my entire cancer journey and willing to share all my successes and failures seem to mean little to a select group of people who just are hateful.
I’m Baffled
At the age of 74, I’m going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing. But I will still question the division in our country evidenced by …
- The incomplete information disseminated regarding the pandemic and our health
- The hateful comments coming from the extremes of our two political parties
- The suppression of any meaningful discussion about the real risks of the vaccines given today
- The contempt for my health transparency
Will it end? Or will the country’s population continue to be divided even further?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film)
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