Ben Carson M.D. (podium) advising Barak Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast (February, 2013)
It’s not often that a physician gets 2 million YouTube video hits in 24 hours.
One of my favorite role models has always been a pediatric neurosurgeon from the Johns Hopkins University. As a pediatrician he touches the lives of many young people, mentors young doctors and developed the procedure for separating twins joined at the skull
Ben Carson’s appearance and speech should bring no surprise to anyone who chose him for the role at the National Prayer Breakfast as the keynote speaker earlier this week. As he stood immediately to the President's position, some in the audience had a measure of discomfort.
Carson's background should be no surprise to anyone, since he has written or coauthored several books on his subject.
The power of his words on a major national platform, first the prayer breakfast and then FOXnews should give open-minded economists, politicians, and patients food for thought.
Not only does he talk the talk, he walks the walk. His speech was the real picture of the “State of the Nation”, not the idealogy of President Barak Obama, nor the opposition. Audience reaction in real time indicated the overwhelming agreement of both Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, alike.
Juan Williams and Keith Ablow MD who both are FOXnew consultants wrote about the content of Carson's speech.
Ablow compares Carson's role as a neurosurgeon,
“ Well, let me tell you something about Ben Carson and other surgeons I was privileged to train with at Johns Hopkins during my medical and surgical rotations before I chose to become a psychiatrist: They don’t pull punches when a battle needs to be joined, and they don’t hate the people to whom they have to deliver bad news.
Ben Carson has sat with many, many families and told them that their children had tumors growing inside their heads and that he would need to cut open their skulls and remove those malignancies.
Why? Because, for him, the truth is the only thing worth speaking, no matter the audience. Another thing about Ben Carson and other surgeons I scrubbed in with: They like to leave clean margins. That means that when they see pathology—like cancer—they want to cut it away so that only healthy tissue is left behind. They have to be willing to make people bleed, in order to make them live.
“ Ben Carson is my hero !” Conservative, mostly white Republican critics of the president are praising Dr. Carson because they are ecstatic to see a black man express conservative ideas to the face of a liberal, Democrat and black president’s face. But that is not why I consider Dr. Carson a hero.
He is a winner to me for living by the conservative principles I want young America, especially poor black and Latino kids, to see as the prescription for success.”
Williams goes on to elaborate,
“This was the central theme of my 2006 book, “Enough”
“PC (Political Correctness) is dangerous. In this country, one of the founding principles was freedom of thought and freedom of expression...” Carson said.
“We have imposed upon people restrictions on what they can say, on what they can think. And the media is the largest proponent of this, crucifying people who say things really quite innocently.
Williams follows up,
“As the author of a 2011 book titled “Muzzled: the Assault on Honest Debate” about how PC is dangerous and imposes restrictions on what people can say and think, this warmed my heart.
Keith AblowM.D. is a psychiatrist who is a consultant to FOXnews.
And finally Keith Ablow comments on Dr Carson's approach to health care, coupling a flat tax, health savings accounts, minimizing the role of government and insurance companies to catastrophic insurance coverage.
Juan Williams concludes,
“The Wall Street Journal recently published an editorial headlined: “Ben Carson for President.” It said: “The Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon may not be politically correct, but he's closer to correct than we've heard in years.”
That’s true. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves with talk of a Carson presidential bid. For now, I’m just happy to see Dr. Carson celebrated as an example of the personal success that is possible in America for anyone willing to follow the basic steps of personal responsibility for their own future.
Ben Carson's ideas are not much different than mine. I cannot speak for physicians' thoughts on the state of America, today.
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