I was listening to a podcast earlier, and I heard an ad for a hangover "cure". It was this supplement combo thingy that allegedly stops the alcohol from getting to (and subsequently damaging) the brain. Now, I may have stood for quite some grand bs in my time, but this I just had to turn off immediately.
I thought, what's the point?
To drink but not suffer the consequences of drinking. It's right up there with eating without getting fat, and other age-old mirages that modern pop science is trying to make accessible to the general population. I've noticed a lot of these alleged hangover pills trending lately. And I don't just mean something to stop your head from hurting and render you functional after a drunken night out. For that, a couple of aspirin before bed usually do the trick. And plenty of water. Of course.
(Sometimes, nothing works, and you ought to, ahem, take it like a man. It's your hangover. Own it.)
But no, these manufacturers actually claim to prevent the cumulative damage of alcohol that, down the years, can cause a number of diseases and ailments. Doesn't that sound like the most ludicrous, redundant, entitled bs you've ever heard?
It's very much in keeping with today's society. It's not enough to have our cake. We want to live recklessly, and not have to bother about the consequences. Doesn't seem like a healthy attitude to me. Cause and effect is a hugely important lesson, one I dare say has a defining quality in many a journey. Having the effect suddenly removed creates some really unpleasant opportunities for abusing said causes, don't you think?
Personally, I'm a pick-your-poison type of person. I tend to eat quite well, as you know. Keep a healthy diet. Don't over-indulge with alcohol, and don't smoke. The diet's for health reasons, and the alcohol is because I generally like to keep my wits about me, and to retain cognitive function (one of my points of pride). The smoking, I just dislike it. I'm not one of those people who doesn't smoke 'cause it kills you. News flash, everything kills you, and the one that does it best is time. And you can't escape that one.
Obviously, maybe don't live quite like Mr Thompson did. But I do agree with the sentiment about arriving at your grave in a well-preserved body. Source
But this trend of having your cake and eating it too first emerged in the world of smokers, hence my arrival here. The emergence of these phony e-cigarette thingies that claimed you could, despite expectation, smoke and not damage your body one bit. Naturally, as time wore on, we realized that all the nasty, dubious chemical substances they put in those e-cig mixtures may not be as healthy as we initially thought. Still, many persist in this fad thinking it's healthier. They're not regular smokers. They're hip smokers.
Guess what, though, if it sounds too good to be true, it typically is. Smoking without damaging your lungs falls in that category.
As does drinking without it damaging your brain. In fact no, there is a way to keep from damaging your brain -- it's called abstinence. Sobriety. Don't wanna fuck up your brain? Don't drink. Obviously, this doesn't apply to people with abuse issues. But then, I doubt these fad pills and supplements are targeted at them, anyway.
Mostly, they're targeting the young people obsessed with streamlining and optimization, who somehow buy into the notion that the occasional night out with the boys doesn't need to wreak havoc in their brain or the morning after. It does. It's called a consequence. Everything has those.
I've looked into these things a bit -- they're advertised as perfect if you want to go out drinking with the lads, but also want to be productive tomorrow. In the olden days, however, if you had a big day tomorrow and needed your brain at optimum capacity, you just didn't go out drinking with the lads. Or maybe you switched to non-alcoholic beverages after that second vodka tonic, you know? That was called being responsible.
Of course, not everyone succeeded in this endeavour, and for those who pursued the alcoholic path, the bitter hangover that greeted them in the morning was known as a consequence. Consequences typically make you regret your actions and consider twice before reenacting them. They're healthy and necessary in any society. All these attempts to remove them are dubious, and I dare say, outright dangerous.
There is no smoking that's not in some way damaging.
There is no "healthy" fast food.
There is no binge-drinking without a hangover.
There is no unsafe sex without unpleasant consequences.
There is danger. There always has been, and always will be. The 21st century's manic attempt to pretend otherwise only creates more danger in the long run. Teaching our younger generations that they can somehow bypass the perils of vice is moronic and irresponsible. It seems to me that by now, we should know better. And that, for the sake of future generations, we'd want to rear young people who are responsible adults able to face the consequences of their actions. Not run from them.
