It's very true that our society is very chemical-dependant. Just one example of this is my nanny, who's recently come through a horrible chest infection where she had a raw scraping cough for 3 weeks . She remarked to me that she'd been taking 'every drug [she] could find' in an attempt to make herself better. Of course, with the infection that she had, the only thing that could have made any difference was time, which eventually took away the infection from her. The painkillers didn't even help with her chest pain, according to her. She's very rarely hit with illnesses like this, but when she is it always strikes me how desperate she is to get better.
I think it's partly that people don't have any understanding of these drugs and their potential side effects. They just think, 'There's an advertisement for a wonder drug. I've got the condition it's supposed to cure, I'll be absolutely fine again if I start taking it.' It was what happened with cigarettes; it was advertised as being good for you but then the press changed their minds. It'll happen with other drugs too, because the reality of it, in my eyes, is that there'll never be a perfect drug. We're trying to do something that nature won't let us do.
Enough rambling on from me now, but there you go.
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Listening to: Muse - Map of the Problematique
via FoxyTunes