When I was in graduate school, I had a history professor who believed that while it was impossible to judge history through a modern contextual lens, it was indeed possible to apply modern-day ideological principles and the theoretical elements of literature to past events. While his assignments drove me to absolute madness at times, there was one writing assignment that I can honestly say changed the way I would view the world around me for the rest of my life.
This graduate seminar class had a complex reading list that consisted of samplings of primary source documents from the age of Jackson through Southern Reconstruction, as well as a number of secondary sources that evaluated many of those primary source documents in a deeper context. As a final writing assignment, we were asked to examine the following question, and use the class readings as well as a host of other resources, to support our answer:
Given your study of the literature in the course, determine an instance, event, person, or group that you think cried wolf to the point that it changed the course of history.
After receiving this question, I wanted to pull my hair out. At the time, I thought this had to be one of the most ridiculous questions I would have to answer as a graduate student. Looking back on that day I can say with unconditional conviction that I was wrong.
For my answer, I used one of the most overlooked pieces of literature about one the most tumultuous times in American history – those months from the time Lincoln was elected President to the time he was inaugurated. The book I chose was “Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Cause of the Civil War” by Charles Dew. This concise account tells how the Southern states were swiftly living the Union out of unwarranted fear for how Lincoln planned to handle the issue of slavery. South Carolina, having attempted secession once before in 1832, knew that they had to find a way to push the border states to a vote that would lead to their joining the Confederate cause. To sway the opinion of citizens living in those states, South Carolina sent representatives to find the strongest voices for secession and asked them to tell the people whatever it took to push a vote in favor of disunion. These Secession Commissioners told stories of how slaves would rise en masse once Lincoln was inaugurated, terrorizing unattended women and children while Southern men were off fighting in the war. They shared their ideas of what Northern Occupation would mean, and how Lincoln would arm slaves as soon as the invasion started. No Southerner would ever be safe. The only safety lay with secession and joining forces to fight and protect the South.
Their stories pushed border state citizens to the polls to vote in favor of secession in elections that were split so close there was no majority or even in favor of remaining in the Union just sixty days prior. Those “wolf criers” had a huge impact on secession; they possibly changed the course of American history. Their voices were the loudest because all other voices were overshadowed or not even allowed to be heard. Because these men were influential, well-known, and had the ability to breathe fire into their oratory and writing, they stood out above the rest.
And that’s what I mean about this assignment literally changing the course of my life. In moments of change, when a great number of people, businesses, groups, and/or entities stand to be affected, I find myself examining the people who are shouting the loudest, and I constantly asking myself, “Why them? What do they can gain or lose from this? Who are they trying to influence?”
Earlier this year, the ONC announced that they wanted to bring about a number of significant changes to the 21st Century Cures Act. They recognized that it was time to take action on a number of pressing issues facing healthcare information technology and interoperability. Within days of the announcement and a release of the changes being purposed, the wolf criers of the healthcare industry started coming out of the woods. From deploying lobbyists to hosting briefings to writing one-sided news stories, the push continues to drive home a very specific narrative that has caused others with significant influence to jump on the same wolf bandwagon. Not unlike the Secessionist Commissioners, they are deploying the same tactics – fear, doomsday, irrational but powerful arguments, etc.
*********** would like to present a different point of view to you, however. We would like to present some facts, figures, and truth, along with commentary that doesn’t really take a side or push an agenda. We’ve stayed quiet for too long while the wolfpack has been howling. We think it’s time to shed a little spotlight into the dark woods where the wolfpack resides.
For the next few weeks, we will explore the following topics through a themed series of blogs:
- The 21st Century Cures Act: When the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf Has A New Face
- Here Comes Chicken Little: The Lobbyists and Special Interest Groups that Are Shaping the Narrative
- We Didn’t Start the FHIR: Who Did, and the ONC’s Attempt to Fight Fire With FHIR
- The Big Bad Wolf at the Door: Fear-Mongering and Delays as Last-Ditch Attempts to Save the Cash Cow and the Three Little Pigs
Every blog will be heavily sourced and written from the perspective of a business dedicated to seeing a healthcare world that is truly interoperable. We don’t have an agenda, but we believe some parties pushing back on moving the state of interoperability forward have a vested interest in preventing the free sharing of patient data. This resistance to the free sharing of patient data leads to diminished patient care, and literally costs lives. Join us as we try to help set the record straight. While we can’t promise that you will like everything we say, we have confidence that you will enjoy what you read and anticipate that you will learn something from each post.
← Back to portfolio