毒品與酒精: 矛盾與困惑的結合體

Some while ago a business acquaintance disclosed to me that he was both an alcoholic and addicted to cocaine. I was stunned; but then I realised that the recent unraveling of his life all made sense – the unexplained absences, the mood swings, the cash shortfalls, the ruined personal relationships. Sadly he lost his business, his marriage broke up and his health was permanently impaired before he gave up the drugs and drink.
前一陣子一個生意上的熟人和我透露說, 他經常洶酒而且有毒癮. 我當時感到非常震驚. 但是我同時也猛然意識到他最近的一些反常行爲, 如無故缺席, 情緒不定, 資金短缺, 人際關係惡化等等, 原來是有原因的.

I have been thinking about all that havoc in the context of the Charlie Sheen affair. There the stakes are much higher and it’s very public. The media coverage is notionally disapproving, yet much of Sheen’s popularity surely rests on his excesses with drink, drugs, prostitutes, porn stars and so forth. It made him notorious, dangerous – and apparently fascinating.
幾乎同一時間, 我想起了最近鬧得沸沸揚揚的查理•辛事件. 這件事情影響範圍更廣更出名. 媒體固然都在讚美他, 但不可否認的是, 辛的名氣很大程度上是依存於其洶酒,吸毒, 嫖妓, 與色情明星交往等行爲, 這讓他成爲一名臭名昭著的危險人物, 當然也讓他變得對某些人非常有吸引力.

Many live vicariously through the madness of characters like Sheen – apparently 75,000 applied to be his intern. We are almost mass codependents in the game. If you are rich and a celebrity you can boast about getting high – and attract 2m Twitter followers.
很多志同道合的人想和辛一樣, 過着瘋狂的生活. 有這種想法的人起碼有75, 000人, 因爲這些人都申請做他的實習生. 在這場遊戲中, 我們這一大批人可謂是相互依存. 如果你很富有而且是一個名人, 你可以將自己的名氣推得更高, 吸引兩百萬的Twitter追隨者.

I suppose it has something of the same appeal as dramas about vampires or gangsters – the allure of rebels and outlaws.
我想, 這與關於吸血鬼或者黑勢力的電視劇一樣, 具有相同的魅力---叛徒與亡命之徒的誘惑ging talent that goes off the rails like Sheen is a challenge – I have had some experience. Not just performers go crazy with success. A few years ago, IT entrepreneur Christopher Dawes crashed his £640,000 car and died, just after he had been arrested during a crack cocaine bust. And Chris Albrecht, then chief executive of HBO, was fired after being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend at 3am in a Las Vegas car park. He later went for treatment for his alcoholism.
管理像辛一樣偏離正軌的人才是一個挑戰, 這我深有體會. 隨着成功而變得瘋狂的遠不止是演員. 幾年前, IT企業家克里斯多佛•道斯開着其價值64萬英鎊的汽車出車禍身亡. 這正是發生在他在一次打擊可卡因的行動中被警察逮捕後不久. HBO的首席執行官克里斯•阿爾布萊切特, 因在凌晨三點於拉斯維加斯的停車場猥褻女友而被捕, 最後被公司辭退. 後來他接受了酒精上癮治療.

The two most important characteristics essential for success are self-confidence and self-discipline. Interestingly, many say they imbibe to gain the first trait – but by so doing, you lose the second.
成功的兩個最重要的性格特徵是自信與自律. 有趣的是, 很多人稱他們會努力獲得第一個性格特徵, 可是在這個過程中, 他們會失去第二個.

Perhaps many of the fans of this sort of behaviour long for the release from civility and responsibility that intoxication brings. As Samuel Johnson said: “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”
或許很多追捧這種行爲的粉絲都渴望從迷醉所帶來的禮儀和責任中解脫出來. 正如塞繆爾•約翰森曾經說過: “如野獸般狂野的人可以從做人的痛苦中解脫出來.”

Fittingly Hunter S Thompson uses this quotation at the beginning of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his book about a huge bender in the casino capital of the world. Of course, the House benefits from such impressions, for the managers dole out free cocktails to those who gamble – exploiting the punters’ lack of willpower while under the influence.
亨特•湯普森曾恰如其分地引用了這句話作爲他的書<<拉斯維加斯恩仇錄>>的卷首語. 這本書是描述世界賭場之都的一場盛大狂歡. 當然, 這種印象對賭場有利, 因爲賭場的經理們可以趁機向賭徒提供免費的雞尾酒, 希望通過酒精的力量來讓他們失去意志力.I can’t help but feel that most of us are hypocrites about all these matters. A high proportion of citizens in places like Britain and the US drink, and sometimes we get drunk. Everyone in the licensed trade (and I’m one of them) sells as much alcohol as they can for a profit – and probably lots to drunks. Distillers and brewers feign disapproval of binge drinking, but keep producing the stuff, even if there are casualties. And the government collects huge tax revenues from sales of alcohol.
我突然覺得, 在這些問題上, 我們大多數人都是僞君子. 在一些像英國和美國的國家, 相當多的人飲酒, 而有時我們也會喝醉. 獲得營業執照的人, 包括我在內, 都試圖賣儘可能多的酒來獲利, 其中很多很可能賣給了酒鬼們. 酒水蒸餾商和釀造商假裝不贊成洶酒, 但背後卻不斷地生產, 即使有人受害也在所不惜. 同時, 政府也從酒類的銷售中獲取鉅額稅收.

Quite possibly many would like a 21st century Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs with an additional need at the apex: recreational drugs. The absence in much modern society of religious faith, patriotism or any serious set of philosophical beliefs leaves a vacuum that is often filled by sheer self-indulgence, escapism and nihilism – and frequently fuelled by drink and drugs.
很可能很多人會喜歡21世紀馬斯洛提出的人類需求層次論. 在這個金字塔式的理論頂端或許需要再加一層: 娛樂性毒品. 現代社會, 很多人缺乏必要的宗教信仰, 愛國主義精神, 或者其他一些哲學信仰, 以致於心靈的某處出現真空, 而這些真空卻經常被徹底的自我放縱, 逃避現實以及虛無主義填充-----通常是酒精和毒品.

The attitude of society, government and business towards drink and drugs is contradictory and confusing. There are no easy solutions to stop the untold damage while retaining our reasonable freedoms of choice. And business must work out how to cater responsibly to an individual’s desires. But the current system is surely broken.
社會, 政府以及企業對酒精和毒品的態度是矛盾而且令人困惑的. 我們無法在保持自身選擇自由的情況下輕易地找到降低不可估量損害的方案. 而企業必須思考如何才能盡責地滿足消費者的需求. 但是, 當前的體制顯然是有問題的.