Is it true that today’s Islam, has many sore spots? Just a slight poke on that sore spot will make them scream and act aimlessly. Unlike the fundamentalist Islam, was more potent and resourceful. During their time Islam rose to peak, excel both materially and spiritually. Then the declining era, many were colonized and held captives. The declining direction continues with most Muslim countries in chaos, infested with internal and sectarian conflicts. In fact, nowadays, Muslims committed the huge blunder of revealing their vulnerability. Now their foes and adversaries know what hurts them. Now they know where to hit them. When they retaliate, they are labeled as “terrorist”. Why? It’s because they retaliate violently and savagely, full of vengeance and without mercy.

Muslims must learn to stop blaming others but themselves. Is it wise to blame on your adversaries? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for Muslims to serve their time and opportunity for provisions they need, at present or in future? It’s normal and not new for adversaries and foes alike, find ways to mock and make fun, insult the dogmas and principles of Islam, and maybe some may resort to undermine the Islamic agendas. As always “silence game” fair better for “barking dogs”.

It’s of no use playing “blaming game” but something needs to be done, fast, to find the missing link between the modern and fundamental Islam. Another important question should be asked: Why when knowledge and wealth increased, evils also increased? The answer is clear, that we have failed to deliver knowledge and wealth to our advantage or for good cause.

Thereon, we failed to recognize the very basic purpose of our creation. We’ve lost of direction and even identity. These are the most important factors that contribute to the decline of Islam today.

If we were to ask “why were you born?” what will be the answer, then? Oftentimes we forget to acknowledge the One who gives us breath of life, the One who has organized all affairs. However, regardless of our sacred purpose, many people sicken from a hollowness of feeling, an emptiness, which is a manifestation, hail us to uplift above our typical daily routines and to discover the One Cause that is at the back of all causes, the One Power at the back of all powers. This is the true “holy war” or Jihad.

The divine essence, already abide in every person, waiting to uncover, awaiting for convenience to radiate forth into the world. Distressingly, most people are living a life filled with “Ism”, “mesm” and “minesm”, and scarcely ever seen the wonder and glory of God all around them. All of this handiwork is but a manifestation of the wonder and glory of the One who has created it all.

“Go sweep out the chamber of your heart,
make it ready to be the dwelling place of the Beloved,
when you depart, He will enter,
in you, void of yourself, will He display His beauties.”

Mystic Rose Garden, Mahmud Shabistari

Goodbye cruel George

You must leave my desert today
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye

Goodbye all your dirty combatants

There’s nothing more to stay

Before I change
My mind
Goodbye.

‘We decreed for them therein that: “The soul for the soul, the eye for the eye, the nose for the nose, the ear for the ear, the tooth for the tooth and an equivalent injury for any injury.” However, anyone who pardons and forfeits as a charitable act will have his sins remitted. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed they are (no better than) wrong-doers.’

Qur’an 5:45

When can man come to their senses and halt the senseless violence, killing and vengeance. Whatever happened to mankind, they misused the God given sane mental faculties, they misled it and misunderstood God’s sacred manual that supposed to lead mankind to everlasting peace and happiness.

The scriptures do not imply that there is no reprisal, but rather they say that the reprisal is not our private task. Let the task be discharged through the rightful hands of the Most High. For indeed there will be retribution, carried out by the ‘Divine Court of Justice’ wherein each one shall be answerable to one’s action.

Anger, hostility and personal reprisal will only generate and propagate more violence. If we wish to have a more desirable sphere, then we must suppress anger and conflict, and offer our ardent loving-kindness, moderation and hospitality.

We must simply focus our own personal attention on giving loving-kindness, moderation and hospitality in every situation and condition, letting the Almighty take action against those who deviate mischievously.

One of the Most Beautiful Names of God is al-Muntaqim, which means : The Avenger, The Disapprover, The Inflictor of Retribution

The One who disapproves of wrongdoers.

The One who reminds us when our behavior is not right.

The One who is the avenger (such that we need not seek any personal vengeance).

The One and Only One who has the right to impose vengeance.

Biblical scriptures say:

To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Deuteronomy 32:35

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Matthew 5:38-39

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Romans 12:19

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Hebrews 10:30

Aidid Safar authored an eBook titled “The Hijacking Of Islam” in which he said Islamic rituals especially the present ‘solat’ and ‘Hajj’ rituals is a mere myth which succumbed the routines as futile. Does this man claims has basis in fact? Or maybe he is just another individual who love to make up something artificial based on unfounded truth.

Concerning religious matters, I particularly draw the line when discussion involved the rituals or traditions of any religion. This is especially, I hold to my belief that any religion has the right to its tradition, to render reverence and pay homage to God. Don’t we worship the same God? Or is there any God other than God. He is the One and Only! There is none other than Him. Ritual is just a form and each religion adopted various forms and names as a means to revere Him. But behind forms and names there is one and the same spirit and there is one and the same truth. We definitely wronged ourselves when we have this intuited object of thought that condemn a certain form of worship. One must deeply respect others belief, and in a like manner others tempted to do the same. Lets there be peace in everyone’s heart. Even Prophet Muhammad prohibited His army from destroying or any act of disrespectful for the place of worship, regardless of religious background.

Pertinent to rituals matters specifically, I would like to take note on the following basic matter of thought:

He stated that ‘salat’ means ‘commitment’ and not a prayer. Fair enough, for surely when one perform ‘salat’ ritual wholeheartedly, one is ‘committed’ to the ritual. If he is solicitously mindful in his research, all religious practices in Islam were originally decreed through Prophet Abraham and transmitted to us generation after generation. The Quran teaches us that Abraham was the original source of shahadah (testimony), salat (prayer), saum (fasting), zakat (alms), and hajj (pilgrimage) (see 2:128; 2:135; 3:67-68; 16:123; 21:73; 22:78).

Look in the Bible passages which substantiate that the Islamic teaching had been practiced by the previous Messengers of God: on shahadah“The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deutronomy 6:4), “And Jesus answered, the first of all commandments is, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Mark 12:29). the Bible says

On Salat: wudhu’ (ablution) the Bible says “And Moses and Aaron and his sons washes their hands and their feet thereat.” (Exodus 40:31), “Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered the temple.” (Acts 21:26), sujud (prostration) “And Abraham fell on his face….(Genesis 17:3), “And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship….” (Joshua 5:14), “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, separate yourself from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces and said, O God….” (Number 16:20-22), “And Jesus went little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father….” (Matthew 26:39), “And Jesus went forward a little, and he fell on the ground and prayed….” (Mark 14:35).

The true teaching of the Bible regarding how one ought to behave inside the places of worship is similar to what Islam practices today. As a gesture to accord due respect to place of worship the Bible advise even to taking off shoes, “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here am I, and He said, draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5), “Then said the lord to him, put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground.” (Act 7:33).

Similar exhortation has been stressed by the Bible on the necessity of head-cover to women in performing the established prayer, precisely inline with the veil (hijab) which the Quran had ordained on women, “But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonourest her head.” (I Corinthians 11:5).

On Saum (Fasting), before the revelation of the Quran, it was usually observed in times of mourning, sorrow and affliction. But the Quran changed both its form and motive into more comprehensive concept to make it cover spiritual, moral and physical discipline of the highest order. Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights in compliance with his appointment with the Lord. David had fasted for seven days during the illness of his infant son. The Bible says, “And Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread nor drink water….” (Exodus 34:28), “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.” (Matthew 4:1-2), “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.” (2 Samuel 12:16). The Bible also affirms that the disciple were prescribed by Jesus to have a more frequent fasting after his departure as he was going to be taken away from their midst, “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.” (Luke 5:35). The Quran strongly marked that fasting has been decreed not only upon the followers of Muhammad but also upon the previous people as well, “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon those before you, that ye may self-restraint.” (Al-Baqarah :83).

On Zakat (Alms Giving) to the needy and destitute has been emphatically urged by both Bible and Quran. The Bible says “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms maybe in secret…..” (Matthew 6:3-4), the Quran says “And be steadfast in salat: Give zakat and bow down with those who bow down.” (Al Baqarah :43).

On Hajj (Pilgrimage), Jacob (Israel) set up Beth-el as pillar described by the Bible as ‘House of God’ which complied with the Ka’bah, and both are described as ‘House of God’. The Bible says “And Jacob rose up early in the morning ad took the stone that he had put for his pillows, set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.” (Genesis 28:18), “And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s House….”(Genesis 28:22),  The Holy Ka’bah is neither worshiped nor a place where God dwells. The Quran explicitly stressed the purpose in its setting up, “Most surely, the first sanctuary appointed for men is the one at Becca, a blessed place and a source of guidance to the nations.” (Ali Imran :96).

Contrary to the basic foundation of Islam, Aidid Safar unduly prompted all Muslims today to reconsider the basic tenet or rather leave off promptly, and accept his authority. Maybe he wins adherents soon, and forms a great force to counter the ‘Arab conspirators’. Lastly I have this to say ‘Do not disturb the beehive, let the bee be itself, a bee is always a bee’.

Song ‘Naima’

Dedicated to all wives and mothers.

Take it, Rustom.

Song “Giant Steps”

John Coltrane had had a greater impact upon jazz since 1960 than any other musician, even to this day. He had been the most influential jazz musician from 1960 to 1965. Coltrane enormous influence is based on (1) his tone and technique on the soprano and tenor saxes; (2) his lengthy, developmental modal, or scalar, improvising; and (3) his wholehearted dedication to music as a moral and spiritual force.

Today, we can still find some of his works, first rate albums such as Impressions, Coltrane Live at Birdland, and First Meditations (for quartet), all filled with great moments and should not be missed. Some numbers such as Naima (which he dedicated to his wife), Summertime, Chasin’ The Trane, might appeal to one’s taste.

In 1966 Coltrane began to suffer from a liver ailment, his stringent health-food diet did not improve matters significantly, and working himself to exhaustion aggravated his condition. Nevertheless, his manner was marked by serenity. Coltrane’s thoughts turned increasingly to religion, and he considered it a mission “to uplift people” through his music. His goals became simple and profound. In the summer of 1966, he told an interviewer: “ I know that there are bad forces, forces put here that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the force which is truly for good”. One year later on July 17, 1967, Coltrane died in a New York hospital. Although his life was short, he left his music of sufficient beauty and originality to inspire others for generation to come. – from History of Jazz on Records.

Ever since or even prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948, Zionist Movement was well-known and considered the most notorious group, especially in the East. How much do we know the background of this movement? Who was/were behind the curtain?

The first man to reveal the all-truths about this movement was William Guy Carr, a Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy, born June 2^nd 1895 and died October 2nd 1959.Much was said in his infamous books, Pawn In Game, Red Cloud Over America, By Guess and By God, Hell’s Angel of the Deep, High and Dry, Good Hunting, Out of the Mists, Checkmate in the North, and Brass Hats and Bell Bottom Trousers. In the introduction to Pawn in the Game, Carr wrote:

“The First World War was to be fought so as to enable the Illuminati to overthrow the powers of the Tsars in Russia and turn that country into the stronghold of Atheistic-Communism. The differences stirred up by the agentur of the Illuminati between the British and German Empires were to be used to foment this war. After the war ended, Communism was to be built up and used to destroy other governments and weaken religions.

“World War 2, was to be fomented by using the differences between Fascists and Political Zionists. This war was to be fought so that Nazism would be destroyed and the power of Political Zionism increased so that the sovereign state of Israel could be established in Palestine. During world war two International Communism was to be built up until it equaled in strength that of united Christendom. At this point it was to be contained and kept in check until required for the final social cataclysm. Can any informed person deny Roosevelt and Churchill did put this policy into effect?”

“World War Three is to be fomented by using the differences the agentur of the Illuminati stir up between the Political Zionists and the leaders of the Moslem world. The war is to be directed in such a manner that Islam (the Arab World including Mohammedanism) and Political Zionism (including the State of Israel) will destroy themselves while at the same time the remaining nations, once more divided against each other on this issue, will be forced to fight themselves into a state of complete exhaustion physically, mentally, spiritually and economically. Can any unbiased and reasoning person deny that the intrigue now going on in the Near, Middle, and Far East is designed to accomplish this devilish purpose?

“On August 15, 1871, Pike told [Italian revolutionary leader Giuseppe] Mazzini that after World War Three is ended, those who aspire to undisputed world domination will provoke the greatest social cataclysm the world has ever known. We quote his written words (taken from the letter catalogued in the British Museum Library, London, Eng.):

“‘We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will be from that moment without compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.’”

It all started by one man, named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, an Ashkenazi Jews born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of Moses Amschel Bauer, a money lender and the proprietor of a counting house. His lineages then progressively setup Conspiracy against All the Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies to obtain their positions in society. Andrew Carrington Hitchcock in his book “The Synagogue of Satan” says, so powerful nowadays that they are “the invisible world government, operating from within the worldwide Jewish community” including the present day Israeli government. So the Israeli government under the patronage of the “invisible government” managed to dupe her people and the world to achieve one common purpose i.e. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT and ABOLISH ALL RELIGIONS! So to say all Jews are Zionist is not exactly right.

Please ponder on this verse:

“That among them are, sincere and faithful people. But the majority of them are perverted transgressor” Holy Qur’an 3:110

Bouncing up from my seat, and walked away happily, I know then that this pieces of paper, a photo copy of Alan Alda speech which I still kept (I took it from a book at TAR library, ITM Shah Alam, about 28 years ago) should be a fine material for the next posting in my blog. Found it! Still intact but insect wastes here and there distorted some words and sentences. Never mind! This should be a good alternative to preserve such a fine material, yeah, in a blog.

Many people must have wondered why Alan Alda was called to address the 210^th graduating class of New York Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeon in May 1979.

For some of us who is from a younger generation must have not known Alan Alda. Maybe, an older generation like me, Alan Alda is not just any actor. He is known as Army surgeon Captain Hawkeye in a classic television series M*A*S*H. He won Emmy awards as an actor, writer and director.

But the question is still “why get someone who only pretends to be a doctor when you could get a real one?” Note how skillfully Alan Alda answers this question.

Ever since it was announced that a non-doctor, in fact an actor, had been invited to give the commencement address at the most prestigious medical schools in the country, people have been wondering – why get someone who only pretends to be a doctor when you could get a real one?

Some people have suggested that this school had done everything it could to show you how to be doctors and in a moment of desperation had brought in someone who could show you how to act like one.

It’s certainly true that I’m not a doctor. I have a long list of non-qualifications. In the first place I’m not a great fan of blood. I don’t mind people having it. I just don’t enjoy seeing them wear it. I have yet to see a real operation because the mere smell of a hospital reminds me of a previous appointment. And my knowledge of anatomy resides in the clear understanding that the hip bone is connected to the leg bone.

I am not a doctor. But you have asked me, all and all, I think you made a wonderful choice.

I say that because I probably first came to the attention of this graduating class through a character on television that I’ve played and helped write for the past seven years – a surgeon called Hawkeye Pierce. He’s a remarkable person, this Hawkeye, and if you have chosen to associate his character with your own graduation from medical school, then I find that very heartening. Because I think it means that you are reaching out toward a very human kind of doctoring – and a very kind of doctor.

We didn’t make him up. He really lived as several doctors who struggled to preserve life 25 years ago during the Korean War. In fact, it’s because he’s based on real doctors that there is something especially engaging about him.

He has a sense of humor, and yet he’s serious. He’s impertinent, a yet he has feeling. He’s human enough to make mistakes, and yet he hates death enough to push himself past his own limit s to save lives. In many ways he’s the doctor patients want to have and doctors want to be.

But he’s not an idealization. Finding himself in a war, he’s sometimes angry, sometimes cynical, sometimes a little nuts. He’s not a magician who can come up with an instant cure for a rare disease without sweating and ruining his make-up. He knows he might fail. Not a god, he walks gingerly on the edge of disaster – alive to his own mortality.

If this image of that very human, very caring doctor is attractive to you – if it’s ever touched you for a moment as something to reach for in your own life – then I’m here to cheer you on. Do it. Go for it. Be skilled, be learned, be aware of the dignity of your calling – but please, don’t ever lose sight of your own simple humanity.

Unfortunately, that may not be so easy. You’re a special place in our society. People will be awed by your expertise. You’ll be placed in a position of privilege. You’ll live well. People will defer to you, call you by your title – and it may be hard to remember that the word “doctor” is not actually your first name.

I know what this is like to some extent because some ways you and I are alike. We both study the human being. And we both try to offer relief – you through medicine, I through laughter; we both try to reduce suffering. We’ve both learned difficult disciplines that have taken years to master, and we’ve both dedicated ourselves to years of hard work. And we both charge a lot.

We live in a society that has decided to reward my profession and yours, when we succeed in them, very highly. It can sometimes be easy to forget that the cab driver also works 14 to 15 hours a day and also drained of energy when he’s through. It’s easy to think that because our society grants us privilege we’re entitled to it.

Privilege feels good, but it can be intoxicating. As good doctors, I hope you’ll be able to keep yourselves free of toxins.

It’s no wonder, though, that people will hold you in awe. I know I do.

You’ve spent years in a grueling effort to know the structure and process of human life. I can’t imagine a more difficult task. It has required the understanding of complexities within complexities, and there has been more pressure placed on you in four years than most people would be willing to take in a lifetime. I stand here in utter amazement at what you’ve accomplished. And I congratulate you.

I only ask one thing of you: Possess your skills, but don’t be possessed by them.

Certainly your training has encouraged you to see the human side of your work, and you’ve examined the doctor-patient relationship. But still, the enormity of your task has required you to focus to such an extent on technique and data that you may not have had time enough to face your feelings along the way.

You’ve had to toughen yourself to death. From your first autopsy, when you may have been sick, or cried, or just been numb, you’ve had inure yourself to death in order to be useful to the living. But I hope in the process you haven’t done to good a job of burying that part of you that hurts and is afraid.

I know what it’s like to be absorbed in technique. When I write for M*A*S*H I’m always writing about people in crisis with what I hope to compassion and feeling. And yet one day I found myself talking to someone who was in a real crisis and real pain – and I remember thinking, “This would make a great story.”

Both of these things – becoming set apart and becoming your skill – can make it tough to be a compassionate person.

All right, that’s my diagnosis of the problem. Here’s my prescription.

I’d like to suggest to you, just in case you haven’t done it lately, that this would be a very good time to give some thought to exactly what your values are, and then to figure out how you’re going to live by them. Knowing what you care about and then devoting yourself to it is just about the only way you can pick your way through the minefield of existence and come out in one piece.

It can be a startling experience when you try to rank your values, though. Just ask yourself what’s the most important thing in the world to you. Your work? Your family? Your money? Your country? Getting to heaven? Sex? Dope? Alcohol? What? (I don’t need a show of hands on this!)

Then, when you get the answer to that, ask yourself how much time you actually spend on your number-one value – and how much time you spend on what you thought was number five, or number ten. What in fact is the thing you value most?

It may not be easy to decide. We live in a time that seems to be split about its values. In fact it seems to be schizophrenic.

For instance, if you pick up a magazine like Psychology Today, you’re liable to see an article like “White Collar Crime: It’s More Widespread Than You Think.” Then in the back of the magazine they’ll print an advertisement that says, “We’ll write your doctoral thesis for 25 bucks.” You see how values are eroding? I mean a doctoral thesis ought to go for at least a C-note.

The question is, where are their values? What do they value? Unfortunately, the people we look for leadership seem to be providing it by negative example.

All across the country this month commencement speakers are saying to graduating classes, “We look to you for tomorrow’s leaders.” That’s because today’s leaders are all in jail.

Maybe we can afford to let politicians operate in amoral vacuum, but we can’t afford to let doctors operate under those conditions.

You know how we’re feeling these days, as the power and fuel monopoly has its way with us. Well, you people graduating today are entering a very select group. You have a monopoly on medical care. Please be careful not to abuse this power that you have over the rest of us.

You need to know what you care about most and what you care about least. And you need to know now. You will be making life-and-death decisions, and you will often be making them under stress and with great speed. The time to make your tender choices is not in the heat of the moment.

When you’re making your list, let me urge you to put people first. And I include in that not just people, but that which exists between people.

I suggest to you that what makes people know they’re alive – and in some cases keeps them alive – is not merely the interaction of the parts of their bodies, but the interaction of their selves with other selves. Not just people, but what goes on between people.

Let me challenge you. With all your study, you can name all the bones in my body. You can read my x-rays like a telegram. But can you read my involuntary muscles? Can you see the fear and uncertainty in my face?

If I tell you where it hurts, can you hear in my voice where I ache? I show you my body, but I bring you my person. Can you see me through your reading glasses?

Will you tell me what you’re doing, and in words I can understand? Will you tell me when you don’t know what to do? Can you face your own fear, your own uncertainty? When in doubt, can you call in help?

These are things to consider even if you don’t deal directly with patients. If you’re in research, administration, if you write – no matter what you do – eventually there’s always going to be a patient at the other end of your decisions.

Now, of course, everyone is for this in principle. Who’s against people? But it gets harder when you get specific.

Will you be the kind of doctor who cares more about the case than the person? (“Nurse, call the gastric ulcer and have him come in at three.” How’s the fractured femur in Room 208?) You’ll know you’re in trouble if you find yourself wishing they would mail you their liver in a plain brown envelope.

Where does money come on your list? Will it be the sole standard against which you reckon your success? How much will it guide you in relating to your patients? Do patients in a clinic need less of your attention than private patients? Are they, for instance, less in need of having things explained to them?

Where will your family come on your list? How many days and nights, weeks and months, will separate yourself from them, buried in your work, before you realize that you’ve removed yourself from an important part of your life?

And if you’re a male doctor, how will you relate to women? Women as patients, as nurses, as fellow doctors – and later as students. Will you be able to respect your patient’s right to know and make decisions about her own body? Will you see nurses as colleagues – or as handmaidens? And if the day comes when you’re teaching, what can young women medical students expect from you?

Questionnaires filled out by women at 41 medical schools around the country have revealed a distressing pattern. The women were often either ignored in class or simply not taken seriously as students. They were told that they were only there to find a husband and that they were taking the places of men who would then have to go out and become chiropractors. (Logic is not the strong point of sexism.)

They were often told that women just didn’t belong in medicine. And at times they were told this by the very professors who were grading them. They would be shown slides of Playboy nudes during anatomy lectures – to the accompaniment of catcalls and wisecracks from male students. And in place of discussions about their work, they would often hear a discussion of their appearance. These are reports from 41 different medical schools.

I’m dwelling on this because it seems to me that the male-female relationship is still the most personal and intense test of humane behavior. It is a crucible for decency.

I hope you men will work to grant the same dignity to your female colleagues that you yourselves enjoy.

And if you’re a female doctor, I hope you’ll be aware that you didn’t get where you are all by yourself. You’ve had to work hard of course. But you’re sitting where you are right now in part because way back in 1848, in Seneca Falls, women you never knew began insisting you had a right to sit there. Just as they helped a generation they would never see, I urge you to work for the day when your daughters and their daughters will be called not “A woman doctor,” or “My doctor, who’s a woman, “My doctor.”

It may seem strange to rank the things you care about. But when you think about it, there isn’t an area of your work that won’t be affected by what you decide doesn’t count.

Decide now.

Well, that’s my prescription. I’ve given you kind of a big pill to swallow, but I think it’ll make you feel better. And if not – well, look, I’m only human.

I congratulate you, and please let me thank you for taking on the enormous responsibility that you have – and for having the strength to have made it to this day. I don’t know how you’ve managed to learn it all.

But there is one more thing you can learn about the body that only a non doctor would tell you – and I hope you’ll always remember this: The head bone is connected to the heart bone – and don’t let it come apart.

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