06/30/2025
đź’™ do not fear controversy, fear complacency
Today I learned the world has changed
We have lost a great amongst us
Prof John Mew passed this week gone.
He was a delight to speak to. He was a delight to know. I never met him, but we came to speak often. I think the following is a beautiful speech…
From Beyond the Veil
“If you’re hearing my words now, it means my time among you has passed. But ideas — the true ones — don’t die. They live on in minds that dare to question and in hearts brave enough to change.
I spent my life asking questions no one wanted to ask — and offering answers many were not ready to hear. I was not always welcomed. I was often misunderstood. But I never lost sight of the simple truth:
We are not born broken.
We are shaped — by habit, by environment, by culture.
The face is not just a canvas of beauty; it is the map of your health, your development, your identity. How you breathe. How you hold your head. Where your tongue rests. These things matter — more than most will ever realize.
I challenged an entire profession not to criticize it, but to wake it up. Because orthodontics, as it stands, too often treats symptoms, not causes. And children suffer in silence when their growth is misunderstood.
To parents: start early. Guide gently. A child’s future — their airway, their posture, their confidence — lies in your hands.
To professionals: do not fear controversy. Fear complacency. The truth has never belonged to the majority, but to those willing to seek it, even when it’s uncomfortable.
And to the next generation: you are the guardians of a new way. Build a world where form follows function, and health begins not in treatment, but in understanding.
I may be gone from the world of flesh and breath, but my voice, my message, my hope — they remain.
Let the face grow forward. Let the child grow free. Let truth grow louder than fear.”
