High spirits

Getting drunk, in which the quotidian economies of intention and expression, perception and reaction, are turned topsy-turvy, temporarily levels the creeping walls of propriety with which the rampant public sphere bears down upon the dwindling private domain. The chance to see things differently for a time - a chance given away so cheaply with a few pints in the pub - is often the only thing separating life as a broken cog from life as a full person, giddy with emotion, hiccupping from gulping down the sweet air of human freedom.