or status. All of these things and more are necessary to mentally and physically survive the game of life. And yet, trusting others isn’t easy. Most people who do so find themselves robbed of whatever they were able to create. Life among colleagues is a nasty busy, even among those who were persuade (and rightly so) to grasp the extended hand and solution to their previous problems. Thus, what happens is that the individual gives up his/her autonomy (i.e., individualism) for protection. Also what happens is that the surrendering of one’s autonomy in return for security leaves the person a different human being. In particular, people who share in these kinds of political doings avoid responsibility for their thoughtless and stupid decisions and actions. Political scientists would probably interpret this thinking as a byproduct of exercising power or some equivalent. As an example, read the following by an anonymous writer. “One dark night, a passer-by offered to help an obviously inebriated man who was searching for something under a lamp post. ‘What are we looking for?’ asked the volunteer helper. ‘My keys,’ answered the drunk. ‘Did you lose them right here?’ asked the helper. ‘No,’ answered the drunk. ‘I lost them down the street.’ ‘Then why are we looking here?’ asked the bewildered helper. ‘Because the light is better,’ the drunk replied. In other words, the person is interested in avoiding the work that is required to find his keys the hard way. “Light” is very much like the academic exercise physiologists who find it easier to do their work under the lamppost of ACSM even though it makes no sense doing so. They want what is presently accepted and believed important than to work in the dark even if it makes sense to do so. No one really wants to give up his/her association with ACSM for all the obvious reasons, except when it is necessary in order to promote the profession of exercise physiology. We are our choices. -- Jean-Paul Sartre Being and Nothingness, 1956 Theoretically, exercise physiologists can belong to a multitude of organizations of their choice, but such behavior is an indication of failing to do the right thing for the right reason if they aren’t supporting ASEP. This
The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, side-stepping responsibility, and pushing their luck! -- Author Unknown Free speech means saying, “I don’t agree with the politics that exercise physiologists should support a generic organization and not their own professional organization.” Also, it means valuing dissent when it is necessary to overcome the political power of disruptive behavior. It is not the only solution to supporting the change process, but it is certainly an important beginning. Just as asking the question, “Why are we doing this, and what are we not doing because we are doing these things?” Such thinking challenges exactly the politics as others would expect exercise physiologists to embrace. Thinking matters as does a vision and the courage to act and to succeed. It gives the exercise physiologist the right picture of the future. In the end, it will take a very big imaginative leap to deal with politics. And yet, it is possible to create a more favorable balance between politics and the risks and complexities of dancing the challenges of professionalism. Why not imagine becoming the new healthcare profession that reduces disability and disease throughout society? Why not imagine becoming recognized as credible healthcare professionals alongside physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and others? All we have to do is to learn how to stand on our own two feet and work hard to explore the possibilities as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “…the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: to reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”