Truth or Consequences

Everyone who doesn’t live under a rock now knows that Viagra, the anti-impotence pill, has done wonders for men whose sex lives were previously... somewhat lacking. "Miraculous ," they say. "Wonderful. What a boon for guys who can’t get it up. Now they can be fucking maniacs, which every normal, healthy man wants to be, of course." What most people fail to acknowledge is that their new wonderdrug has a dark side. Sure, there are the news flashes: "Warning! Viagra may be hazardous to your health! Three men have died already." Anyone who knows how Viagra works - it increases the blood flow to the abdomen - could have easily deduced that people with heart problems and high blood pressure shouldn’t take it. Those people’s whole cardiovascular systems are precarious enough already that one would think they’d be worried about the strain that not only Viagra, but also vigorous sex after a long stint of not having any would incur on their poor beleaguered bodies. But people - men in particular, I think, especially where sex is involved - like to think they’re invincible. Nothing can hurt them, and shit, if a drug’s been put on the market, it must be safe. Give it to your children, take double the recommended dosage, but of course nothing bad will happen! The scientists wouldn't let that happen. And if something bad did happen, why, the doctors would be able to fix you in no time. Scientists all over the world are concocting these miracle compounds that will improve your sex life without compromising other aspects of your health in any way!! Those little "warning" labels? You don’t need to read ‘em! Bad side effects? As the little Sicilian guy from The Princess Bride liked to say, "Inconceivable!" (of course, Wesley poisoned him soon after.) "What could possibly go wrong with our miracle drugs?" people think. Then those people die. Why do people assume that if a medication is put on the market, it’s perfectly safe? You’d think we’d learn, after all the problems that have cropped up with flipper babies, cancer-causing agents, and chemicals that eat away at your nervous system that no one realized were dangerous until, well, people started having flipper babies and getting cancer. But no, it’s "If it’s FDA approved, it MUST be safe! Why, it’s probably even GOOD for me!" What!? The same reasoning applies when thinking about other aspects of life, too, as if actions taken today have no repercussions, either immediately or down the road. "I can smack my child, because he needs to be taught a lesson. After he learns that lesson, he won’t think about the being hit part, just about what he’s learned." Yeah. Or the frightening idea that immediate gratification today - be it sexual pleasure, or revenge, or what have you - will not affect the future. Why do you think there are so many unwanted pregnancies, or drug addicts willing to beg, steal, cheat, or murder for drug money? People want immediate physical pleasure, and don’t want to be bothered with thinking about its consequences in the future. It’s the whole "I want what I want, and I want it NOW" mentality, and it’s pretty much kicked our society in the nuts. People don’t care much about each other anymore. It’s every man for himself, be it in the workplace or in the sack. What happened to "growing old together"? What happened to love and companionship, porch swings and Yahtzee? If I was seventy years old and my husband scored himself some Viagra in order to feel like a young stud again, I’d probably clock the old goat in the head with my boot and flush the pills down the toilet. I’d rather have a live, impotent husband than a stiff dead one. Everyone needs to stop for a moment, think about what’s going on around him, and be a little more cautious. Read the warning labels, folks. And don’t believe everything you hear.

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