Present Day Snake Oil Salesmen
Present-Day Snake Oil Salesmen
By Elton Camp
In the past, hucksters came, patent medicine to sell
“It will cure all human ills,” is what they would yell
“While supplies last, only a dollar a bottle,” the call
“It’ll cure cancer, rheumatism, dropsy—one and all.”
Now all kinds of quack remedies we can easily get
They are brought into our homes through the Internet
“Doctors don’t want you to know about it,” they claim
But throughout history, sick folks have heard the same
That there is a conspiracy to suppress this they will say
Because the greedy doctors want things done their way
Glowing testimonials from users they proudly present
“I was sick, took this cure, and away my troubles went.”
Self-limiting conditions always fuel the quack’s success
Improvement after using the “cure,” the gullible impress
Many symptoms resolve without any treatment at all
So that the snake-oil, a miracle the sufferer will call
Also, the severity of most symptoms will come and go
But it’s the “miracle cure” that supposedly made it so
Can anyone think effective treatment a doc would hide
And so deprive himself of cure and his family beside?
If there was some natural stuff that would cure disease
Then there would be untold doctors that it would please
The next time e-mail with extravagant claims you meet
Do yourself a big favor by simply punching up “Delete”
Copyright © Elton Camp | Year Posted 2011
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