I'm generally not one to buy into conspiracy theories, because I have a stronger belief that stupidity tends to multiply when people try to think in groups. For example, I'll never be convinced that enough people who are motivated by some sort of greed or monetary reward could shut up long enough to "fix" a Super Bowl or something like that. No one wants to be the only one who knows a secret. People want to be validated. Word gets out. Somebody else always knows.
At the same time, I do believe in the idea of big brother trends. Corporate synchronization on the highest levels. There are supply side reasons that gas prices go up, sure -- but I find it very hard to believe the oil companies are losing sleep over (or working very hard to correct) the fact that we're all paying more at the pump. Especially since it's become pretty clear that in the current global/political/business climate there's very little any of us can really do about it but complain.
Right or wrong, I have come to believe that big drug companies operate within a groupthink sort of posture. I don't mean that there are backroom meetings where cigar-chomping big wigs plan our lives out X-Files style, but more in the sense that I don't think a lot of the big corporations compete against each other anymore in the way they used to. I tend to thing that think when it comes to these really big mamma-jamma corporations (oil, tobacco, drugs) it's more about keeping up with the jonses, making sure the money pie stays big for everyone without running the risk of getting sniped by congress or the anti-trust police out there. Sort of how the airlines keep their prices all within certain ranges of each other to avoid further regulations from above.
There are things these days we all believe we can't live without, and the companies that supply them know this. I mean, I really don't believe that it costs as much as I'm being charged per gallon to refine the gasoline I buy - but I need gas in my car. It's just that it kind of sucks to feel like you're getting screwed over even when you're willing to pay for something.
Or to put it another way:
After all, it's not my cold I hate -- It's this godawful feeling that comes from my sinuses draining. The headaches that keep you from sleeping, the aches in your shoulders that only hurt when you sneeze, and the sneezes that won't ever stop.
But this crap that I'm on right now isn't really taking those things away. It's just jacking me up with so many other chemicals that I'm really too stoned to notice anything else. Instead of feeling like shit all day with my cold, I basically have the option to be zonked out in six-hour intervals where the virus continues to run it's course through my body.
This is wrong.
What's worse, after years of dousing my system with DayQuil on days when I'm dealing with the creeping crud, I've actually developed a tolerance for it's apparent lack of effectiveness. I will actually go to the store and seek out these useless pills because I have gotten to the point where I'm so used to the feeling it gives me that I can function like this for days at a time.
How about this -- Get together and develop one really big pill that basically knocks our asses out for like 3 days, and then release it to the public with some sort of big marketing push that lets everyone know what it does. Make it prescription, get the insurance companies involved, I don't care -- just make it so I can call my boss on Monday morning and say
At the same time, I do believe in the idea of big brother trends. Corporate synchronization on the highest levels. There are supply side reasons that gas prices go up, sure -- but I find it very hard to believe the oil companies are losing sleep over (or working very hard to correct) the fact that we're all paying more at the pump. Especially since it's become pretty clear that in the current global/political/business climate there's very little any of us can really do about it but complain.
I believe pharmaceutical companies think the same way.We're waaaay too medicated as a society these days. There is an overabundance of pills and quick fixes available, and it sometimes frightens me to think about the way it makes people think. There seems to be a drug out there for everything right now, and what's more -- the drugs they offer seem to be a lot more powerful then they've ever been.
Right or wrong, I have come to believe that big drug companies operate within a groupthink sort of posture. I don't mean that there are backroom meetings where cigar-chomping big wigs plan our lives out X-Files style, but more in the sense that I don't think a lot of the big corporations compete against each other anymore in the way they used to. I tend to thing that think when it comes to these really big mamma-jamma corporations (oil, tobacco, drugs) it's more about keeping up with the jonses, making sure the money pie stays big for everyone without running the risk of getting sniped by congress or the anti-trust police out there. Sort of how the airlines keep their prices all within certain ranges of each other to avoid further regulations from above.
There are things these days we all believe we can't live without, and the companies that supply them know this. I mean, I really don't believe that it costs as much as I'm being charged per gallon to refine the gasoline I buy - but I need gas in my car. It's just that it kind of sucks to feel like you're getting screwed over even when you're willing to pay for something.
Or to put it another way:
I'm starting to suspect that the cold medicine I'm on isLet's face it -- there's no money in curing the common cold. In a pure business sense, a pharmaceutical company finding a way to get rid of this malady forever would be the equivalent of every shopping mall in the world deciding that Christmas really isn't that big of a deal. Not that I think they're withholding the secret from the public, but more that the labs out there are being pressed to come up with solutions for symptoms rather than finding the cure for the whole thing.
making me feel completely fuzzed out on purpose.
After all, it's not my cold I hate -- It's this godawful feeling that comes from my sinuses draining. The headaches that keep you from sleeping, the aches in your shoulders that only hurt when you sneeze, and the sneezes that won't ever stop.
But this crap that I'm on right now isn't really taking those things away. It's just jacking me up with so many other chemicals that I'm really too stoned to notice anything else. Instead of feeling like shit all day with my cold, I basically have the option to be zonked out in six-hour intervals where the virus continues to run it's course through my body.
This is wrong.
If I take something - I should feel better, right?Instead I'm left in this bizarre haze where my head doesn't hurt, but it feels really thick and pillowy, like my sinus system has been flushed with marshmallow cream and Johnny Depp is leading a group of European kids and character actors around up there looking for squirrels.
What's worse, after years of dousing my system with DayQuil on days when I'm dealing with the creeping crud, I've actually developed a tolerance for it's apparent lack of effectiveness. I will actually go to the store and seek out these useless pills because I have gotten to the point where I'm so used to the feeling it gives me that I can function like this for days at a time.
What I really wish is this -- ok, I understand you're not going to cure the cold. You've got a business to run, and treating symptoms is better for the bottom line than actually finding a cure. But for the sake of the rest of us schlubs out here who actually have to deal with the virus, lets stop kidding ourselves with all of these little pissant drugs, ok?Sure my voice sounds like Brenda Vaccaro and my eyes feel like they're made out of Styrofoam, but I can still push a pen around and do my paperwork, can't I?
How about this -- Get together and develop one really big pill that basically knocks our asses out for like 3 days, and then release it to the public with some sort of big marketing push that lets everyone know what it does. Make it prescription, get the insurance companies involved, I don't care -- just make it so I can call my boss on Monday morning and say
"I've got a cold, so I'm taking the
ass kicker pill -- See you Thursday."
[Listening to: The Cure, "World in My Eyes"]
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