Prozac Nation

There has been a fat lot of buzz lately over a simple fact: Americans take a mega load of perscription antidepressants and anti anxiety medications each year. Critics point out -- somewhat rightly -- that these medications separate us from our emotions and prevent us from really dealing with what ails us. Others see this as a canard of the pharmaceutical industry, bent on expanding its margins through psychtropic drugs or "legal dope." Still others assert that our pharmaceutical predilictions are a sign that we are a weaker species than previously existed, that we expect to be coddled and are unable to deal with life's travails. This is a familair declinsionist narrative. So familiar, it could even start with "When I was your age..."

For my own bit, I would suggest that, over a period of generations, we have constructed a world which is profoundly uncomfortable for us. While it offers all sorts of material comforts and all sorts of entertainments, it does little to feed our souls or are hearts. It does not give us what we really need --- community, purpose, solidarity -- but focuses much of our energy on the pursuit of things we do not need. When confronted with the anxiety, alienation, and despair that accompanies this world, it no doubt we ask the doctor for some mothers little helper.

Not an original thought I know, but when millions of Americans find themselves in need of medication, we might want to ask why.