Gifted hands, perplexing statements

By Christopher Curran
Posted 11/12/15

The odyssey of Republican candidate Ben Carson’s life is a chronicle of great successes, questionable beliefs, and quizzical statements – an African-American kid from often embattled Detroit, …

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Gifted hands, perplexing statements

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The odyssey of Republican candidate Ben Carson’s life is a chronicle of great successes, questionable beliefs, and quizzical statements – an African-American kid from often embattled Detroit, Mich., who had risen above his lower-class upbringing to become one of the premier pediatric neurosurgeons in the United States.

In a strange, inexplicable change of course, Doctor Benjamin Solomon Carson retired from the medical arts and is now seeking the GOP nomination for president. The inevitable question that this run for the nomination provokes is, how is a neurosurgeon qualified to administer the executive branch of government?

Additionally, how do Carson’s offbeat beliefs translate to how he might conduct himself should he gain the highest office in the land?

Also, for some yet to be deciphered reason, the doctor has not been truthful about his personal narrative concerning his youth. Thus, this absence of veracity has led people to question why he would not be more in earnest regard to his account of those years.

Currently, the good doctor is leading in most current polls in Iowa. Also, Carson is rendered a strong second in national polls regarding the nomination. So, with the possibility that Dr. Carson could overtake Donald Trump and grab the brass ring, the press has stepped up its scrutiny and vetting of the candidate, which prior to his rise in the polls he did not have to endure.

As journalist and voter alike try to wrap their heads around the concept of Dr. Carson residing at the White House, people are beginning to dissect his public statements and written documents. They are attempting to deduce what his assertions and his viewpoints truly mean to the electorate.

Ben Carson was born to a teenage mother and a bigamist father. Carson’s father left his family for his other family when Ben was eight years old.

His mother then struggled while working at menial jobs and relied on public support to raise Ben and his older brother. Ben was bookish and introverted and fortunately was graced with an encyclopedic mind.

However, for some reason Carson has tried to depict himself as a violent youth who threatened his mother with a hammer and assaulted someone with a knife, which was supposedly deflected by a belt buckle.

Conversely, according to nine contemporaries that where questioned by CNN, during Ben’s childhood he was commonly described as “a nerd, quiet and studious.” He was never perceived as volatile or hot tempered. Why Carson would fabricate a thuggish history is a mystery.

Another prevarication is Carson’s repeated statements about being offered a scholarship from West Point, the U.S. Army’s military academy: “I was offered a full scholarship to West Point.” This obvious lie was so easily disproved by contacting the school one wonders what motivated Carson to repeat it. The admissions department at West Point recently verified that there was never an application filed in Ben Carson’s name.

In addition to his public, off-hand remarks about this non-existent offer, he also wrote about this fictional offer in his autobiography “Gifted Hands.” What makes this canard so ridiculous is that Carson attended the Ivy League Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School. He eventually completed his residency at the prestigious John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. So, with those enviable credentials, why would Carson erroneously say he was offered a spot at West Point? It is perplexing!

Also confounding are many of the doctor’s public statements, which reflect an abstract view of science considering his medical background. In regard to the theory of evolution, Carson said: “Evolution is a lie encouraged by Satan,” and “I personally believe that this theory that Darwin came up with was something encouraged by the adversary, and it has become what is scientifically politically correct.” For a doctor to doubt the science of anthropology, which is in many ways the foundation for modern medical science, is mind-boggling.

Strangely, Carson has compared the Affordable Care Act to the heinous institution of slavery in America’s dubious past prior to the Civil War: “It is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government and it was never about health care. It was all about control.” Certainly, the ACA, or “Obamacare,” is an unfair law that requires the middle class and small business to pay for the indigent. However, to say that the law enslaved the unfortunate of our society is precisely opposite of what the law actually does.

Additionally, Carson has ranted about the Egyptian pyramids. As opposed to the archaeological fact that pyramids were built as eternal slumber chambers for rulers and their families and as treasure houses, Carson cites a biblical tale and states the structures were made to be used as grain silos. This perception may seem trivial in light of real issues, but how can a president ignore established history and science? Would he perceive foreign policy in a strict literal biblical context to the country’s peril?

Dangerously, the doctor has made statements questioning the Geneva Conventions, which set international rules in regard to warfare: “There is no such thing as a politically correct war. We need to grow up. We need to mature. If you’re going to have rules for war, you should just have a rule that says no war. Other than that, we have to win.”

Because other bad actors such as ISIS/ISIL are brutal and do not comply with international precedents does not mean the United States should adopt a ruthless attitude toward enemy combatants and therefore become what we revile in others. Americans are better than that, and anyone who wants to become president should know what our American values are.

One of the common and apt criticisms of both Carson and Trump is that although they are both accomplished in their respective fields, their skill sets may not be appropriate to enable them to be commander in chief. In response to that valid concern, Carson attacked the bona fides of the Founding Fathers: “The Founding Fathers had no political experience,” and “Every signer of the Declaration of Independence had no elected experience.”

The good doctor could not be more wrong, for over half of the signers of the declaration were elected officials in British Colonial America. Furthermore, several of the framers had written their state constitutions and were in fact lawyers before the bar. One cannot be sure a brain surgeon can be thought of in the same capacious vein.

Further confounding is Carson’s outright lying about his relationship with a company called Mannatech. The “health” products produced by this company are not reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. This company has paid out millions in civil litigation rewards from lawsuits against it for deceptive practices. Yet, Carson continued his lucrative endorsements of their products, made promotional speeches, and met investors at company-sponsored events.

Despite these recorded participations, Carson has downplayed and outright denied his association with the company. With overwhelming evidence confirming his connection to Mannatech, one has to ponder why he would deny it.

As a pediatric neurosurgeon, Ben Carson climbed to lofty heights in his profession. The evidence of his adroitness is seen though the patients who are alive today due to the skill of his medical artistry.

However, that medical knowledge and capability does not transfer to the highest office in the land. Similarly, his chosen economy with the truth and his overly nuanced religiosity, in virtually every reference that he makes, shows a probability of a surrealistic perception of the world at a time when we need an experienced realist at the helm.

If your child was stricken with a brain tumor, you should seek out Dr. Ben Carson without doubt. When your country is sick, you need to call someone with different qualifications and beliefs, and a greater respect for the truth!

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  • Straightnnarrow

    Yes, Dr Carson has some explaining to do, but so does Mr Curran. It should be obvious to most that Mr Curran is just blocking for Hillary and the rest of the Democractic crowd here in RI, who have made this state a basket case for the Left. When is he going to reveal his true identity as a Democratic operative?

    Friday, November 13, 2015 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    How can you tell when someone running for office is lying?

    When they open their mouth.

    Friday, November 13, 2015 Report this