The Land of Crutches

An excerpt:

Suppose you are travelling in an unfamiliar part of the world. One day you arrive in a country where most of the people walk around on crutches. Some of them have simple crutches, others proudly wear fancy and expensive models. Some tell you that they have their crutches made to order, from special materials and shaped according to the latest fashion.

They wonder how you can get by without crutches, and tell you where you can buy a good pair. They warn you that walking without them is dangerous; that you will wear out your knee joints and that you can easily break your legs.

Several shops on the main streets specialize in the sale and custom fitting of crutches. Manufacturers praise their latest models in the media. Discounts and special deals are offered. Doctors in white coats appear on television, demonstrating the superiority of brand X and quoting the latest research findings. A recent invention is "stealth crutches" that are worn inside the clothes.

Children at school are prescribed special student crutches by government doctors. They are taught how to use them properly, and warned not to play around without them. Thus they get used to these aids early in life, and later become civilized members of society.

At the universities students learn about the latest advances in crutch technology. They are told that walking without crutches is harmful. Doctors and healers who advise their patients to walk without crutches are denounced as quacks, and they are harassed by the authorities. The medical association informs its members that there is no money to be made with prevention, that doctors have a right to earn a good living. Most research is financed by the crutch manufacturers anyway, and the crutch lobby tries to suppress or ridicule reports that undermine the public's faith in crutches.

Occasionally you see a person walking without crutches. You are told that such people are either old-fashioned or cannot afford crutches. Movie stars, celebrities and millionaires use the very best crutches, custom designed, diamond studded and gold plated.

You note that most people have weak leads and atrophied muscles. You ask: "do you exercise your legs now and then to keep fit?" They stare at you in disbelief and reply: "why should we waste our time on exercises when we have such good crutches? And anyway, we would feel naked and uncivilized without them!"


Sounds absurd? But this is not a fictional land. This land of crutches is real. Do you see?