drugs and stereotypes

Depression in 3rd world countries: does it exist? What about in aboriginal cultures? Forest tribes of Africa who wear loincloths? Do they chemically alter their mentally "weaker/challenged/different" members? If so, is it natural?

Assuming that these people do not have the same relation or understanding of mental illness, is mental illness and its accompanying drug/pharmaceutical industry a creation of capitalism? I don't watch that much German television, but when I do I see NO commercials for anti-anxiety, depression, or even birth control. Drugs are not on TV. Even prescription. I haven't needed to buy any medication since I've been here, but have heard that at APOTHEKEs (pharmacies) all of the available medicines are herbal. I had my mother and matthew bring me Sudafed, Benadryl, and Claritin, perhaps because of my belief that it is necessary to put these things into my body immediately when I feel any symptom of in-normality. My Literature teacher here, Esther Dischereit, who is a premier feminist and German-Jewish writer in Germany, has a new fix for our illness every week: a boiled potato or onion to the ear, fresh boiled ginger tea, eating an entire lemon, etc.

Have we been tricked by our consumerist societal values into accepting that chemical alteration or quick pharmaceutical remedies are not only the easiest way to get better, but absolutely necessary?

New York and Berlin don't seem that far apart. They are both in developed countries with global awareness and supply a life that depends on the global economy, import/export, and communication with multiple cultures, but there is something about New York that limits its ability to give people their own voice. Perhaps by giving its citizens "freedoms" American people have forgotten about how to explore everything that is available to them and instead seek only comfort and contentment. We are obsessed with finding love, with material wealth, and with creating the perfect beautiful living environment. Even if these are not ideals that we incorporate into our everyday practice and goals, they are part of our existence. They are ideals that we respect, admire, and--whether actively or not--strive for.

Berliners (though so far limited in my exposure to them) find Americans disgustingly commercial. They are terrified and nauseous at the thought of Wal-Mart as Christmas time: the very idea that American capitalism feeds on. To the people of Berlin, stereotype is a word that is often at the forefront of conversation. "Are there stereotypes of Germans?" they might ask. This question, I believe is actually combatting the numerous stereotypes held by most Germans--and almost entirely rightly so--against the American clichés that they have come to know so well. America consists of East and West: the middle is a land of conservatism, lack of culture, and religious rule. American's don't know their own politics. Americans take ten day trips to see the entirety of Europe. Americans still live in a land of segregation in which black and white people have their own individual proms.

...Looking at this list, I can't really meet any of those stereotypes with a strong case to defend the land of the free and the brave. Makes us seem pretty trapped and cowardly actually.

Here's some stereotypes of Germans. These aren't mine; they were in the handbook given to us by NYU in Berlin:

Germans are stiff and formal and hard to make friends with.

Germans are always neat, well-organized, and on time.

Germans lack humor and don't know how to enjoy themselves.

Germans are gruff, constantly nagging know-it-alls.

Stereotypes are strong. They have reason to exist. They also cover up our ability to reach each other. So do chemically altering drugs.

I didn't mean to go on a huge rant about the differences between my culture and the one in which I'm living, but I actually can't think of anything better to do right now.

Our own limitations, whether a cultural predisposition to something different or a drug that defines the spectrum of our emotions to a restricted and socially acceptable range, hold us back from reaching one another. In response we must build bridges to the opposite banks from which we stand. Whether this means crossing the Atlantic, having coffee with someone who we struggle to communicate with, listening to an earnest politician for the first time, deciding to find alternate means of happiness and fulfillment, seeing a piece or collection of art that challenges our conventional tastes, allowing ourselves to fully feel and express an extreme emotion, or simply learning one new fact a day, everyone has the opportunity in front of them to take control of their own lives--expanding themselves personally, in their community, and as a citizen of the world.

We can overcome the need for chemical alteration and the existence of stereotype by rising above what is considered the standard. Who wants to be a standard? In high school, isn't standard a "C?" We should all take our mother's advice and strive for an "A", no matter if we work in an office in Milwaukee, direct a theater company in New York, play a drum in a rural African tribe, or develop technology in Japan (all of which are considered stereotypes).