1) Funding, services and material for this site are provided solely by the International Myopia Prevention Association, a nonprofit organization based in Ligonier, PA, USA. No commercial interests (including the commercial interests of doctors, hospitals, the optical industry and the pharmaceutical industry) are involved. Advertising is not accepted.
2) This organization exists solely to benefit the public and for that reason is under the direction of professionally qualified, volunteer, consumer advocates, not organized medicine.
3) Unlike the American Medical Association, which routinely spends millions of dollars influencing legislation and the operation of our government to benefit its members financially, we spend no money for such purposes.
4) The purpose of this site is to provide information to the public which will enable them to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation by the profit-driven medical establishment.
MORE ABOUT TRUTH AND THE INTERNET
The Internet has made a nearly unlimited amount of health information available to the public, and reliance on this source will continue to increase. In past generations, before the widespread availability of such information, one could do little else but rely upon the advice of one's doctor. Information from the government and the media was, and still is, censored and intended to serve the interests of big money. The information you find on this web site, for example, would never be printed by any of the major newspapers and magazines, or even accepted as a paid ad. You won't find a program devoted to it on television, not even on public television. This would antagonize too many powerful vested interests.
Now, because of the true freedom of speech which exists on the Internet, all this is changing. We are learning how much influence evil people have on our lives. Media and governmental censorship has been weakened. We are learning that there is more than one opinion on nearly everything. In many cases, the opinions are contradictory or in direct opposition. Finding the truth on health topics can result in being able to enjoy health instead of sickness, life instead of death. Yet, the truth can be agonizingly elusive.
How does one determine if information presented on a Web site is accurate? Even organizations with prestigious sounding names and people with impressive titles do not necessarily know or speak the truth. Their beliefs are very often flawed because of a biased education, limited experience, open or hidden financial interest, face-saving concerns, peer pressure or other factors. Making decisions based on such criteria can lead to disaster just as easily as following the advice of someone totally unschooled in the subject. The history of health care is full of instances where something widely believed to be a fact by all the experts is later shown to be false. Be thorough and gather as much information as you can before making a health decision. The truth is there but you must search for it.
Truth goes through three stages:
First it is ridiculed.
Then it is violently opposed.
Finally it is accepted as self evident.