'Life, friends, is boring." So says Henry, the protagonist of John Berryman's Dream Songs, and it's a sentiment that many share. Life – social life, at least – is boring, charged with anxiety, unimaginably tedious, and conducted far too often in an atmosphere of pointless competition. The escape? Obvious. Eat more. Drink. Take drugs. Sit at the computer, playing fantasy soccer or war games.
Now, apparently concerned for our wellbeing, the government wants to "nudge" us gently back to a healthy lifestyle that few of us ever actually enjoyed, ringfencing a cool £4bn to help treat our various malaises. It sounds like a lot of money; certainly, it's a lot to waste, but there's no doubt that it will be wasted, because we aren't just unhealthy in our bodies, we're sick overall – in our minds and our nerves and, dare I say it, our souls. What we need isn't a gentle nudge, but a radical cure. What we require isn't another bureaucratic initiative, but a spiritual shock of Damascene proportions.
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