The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia symbolizes the "Land of Freedom" known as America. I learned about it in textbooks during my school days.
In the summer of 1994, the day after arriving in Philadelphia for a medical residency at the University of Pennsylvania, I set out to meet the Liberty Bell. Many tourists surrounded the bell. A historical guide was passionately explaining the history of the bell intertwined with the history of America.
The guide also explained the bell's cracked history. The Liberty Bell is a bell that cannot be rung. The guide asked the tourists, "What do you think happened next?" In response to the guide's question, the tourists loudly replied, "Cracked!" From then on, whenever I heard the word 'crack', I thought of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
Recently, I have encountered the word 'crack' repeatedly. A peculiar tea called 'crack tea' has spread quite widely on the internet, and I came to know its name.
Not long ago, during a Sunday service, the preacher mentioned the word "crack" in the lyrics of Leonard Cohen's song. A bard resembling Albert Camus, whose song "Famous Blue Raincoat" appeared in the sermon... He sang in "Anthem" that "there is a crack in everything."
Crack Cocaine and Crack Lung
The theme of my first column this year is cracks. For modern Westerners, the word 'crack' often comes to mind as 'crack cocaine'. Since it is called 'crack', the name of the drug itself means 'crack'. Crack is a lump of crystals born in the shadows of American cities.
Crack cocaine is much cheaper than regular powdered cocaine and is absorbed into the lungs in just a few seconds, causing explosive euphoria. Once the euphoria became known, it led to mass addiction.
This drug is terrifying and destructive. Due to its low cost, intensity, and rapid action, it spread widely in impoverished areas of America during the 1980s. In the social cracks of urban poverty, racial issues, mental health problems, and community disintegration, people reached for the dangerous tool of crack to escape the pain of reality, even for a moment.
Even now, crack use is increasing again in the United States and Europe, and the surrounding crime, social isolation, and public health issues are at a serious level. Drugs destroy individuals. The social structure that drives individuals into danger is already filled with cracks, so these situations repeat. The trend of crack is a shadow left by individual wrong choices and societal failures.
The disease commonly seen in people who inhale crack is called 'crack lung'. Literally translated as 'cracked lung', it is not a disease where the lung cracks. It is acute lung damage caused by crack use.
The high-temperature smoke, impurities, and toxic gases produced during the process of heating and inhaling crack damage the alveoli instantly and tear the capillaries. After a few hours, or within a day or two, severe shortness of breath, high fever, chest pain, cyanosis, and blood-streaked sputum appear.
Imaging tests may show shadows suggestive of bilateral pulmonary edema or pulmonary hemorrhage. Sometimes it worsens into 'acute respiratory distress syndrome', requiring mechanical ventilation, and cases of pneumothorax or massive pulmonary hemorrhage leading to death can occur.
Treatment involves steroids, antibiotics to prevent infection, and sometimes mechanical ventilation. Fortunately, there are times of recovery, but once the lungs have experienced crack lung, they often do not fully recover. Crack lung is a vivid example of how deep the cracks left by drugs are in the body.
What Did Leonard Cohen See in the Cracks?
Leonard Cohen is someone who saw a completely different meaning in the cracks. This Canadian bard singer sang in ‘Anthem’ that "the cracks are where the light gets in". (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncPi6-THtlY)
Cohen was a musician who sang throughout his life about the failures of life, the collapse of love, human weakness, untried forgiveness, and imperfect faith. His music is always composed of philosophical lyrics placed over a low and soft voice and simple harmonies. From 'Suzanne', 'Bird on a Wire', 'Chelsea Hotel #2', 'Famous Blue Raincoat', to 'Hallelujah', his songs show how easily the human heart can crack, but how many stories lie within those cracks.
In 'Anthem', he sings that everything has cracks, so forget about perfection. He sings that light comes through the wounded places, and new meanings are born from places of failure. In Cohen's world, cracks are a condition of existence. Because they are cracked and imperfect, humans can become deeper.
The Liberty Bell in America Remains in a State of Not Being Able to Ring
The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, America, has come to symbolize even more due to its cracks. The Liberty Bell was originally made for the Pennsylvania State House. Initially, it symbolized American independence, and later it came to symbolize the ideals of freedom in the abolitionist movement.
However, upon arrival, the bell cracked during a test ringing, and after several recastings, it rang again, but the cracks repeated. This bell could not produce a complete sound due to its cracks.
However, what made this bell more special was its inability to ring. The crack in the bell became a special metaphor for freedom rather than a failure.
Freedom is not given in a perfect state; it is created through conflict, compromise, and failure. The ideals of a nation and the beliefs of an individual are established with cracks. The Liberty Bell has become an object symbolizing imperfect freedom, but that freedom, which contains cracks, is true freedom. This bell has cracks, and because of that, it resonates deeply in the hearts of many.
Why is 'Crack Tea' Rapidly Trending Now?
Recently, the word 'crack' has also spread into the world of drinking tea. A beverage called 'crack tea' has begun to spread widely on social media. This is a pun that has nothing to do with 'crack cocaine'. It is a drink made by steeping strong black tea, adding plenty of sugar, and refreshing it with lemon or peach syrup, which people jokingly describe as "delicious enough to be addictive."
This tea originated from the Southern tradition of 'sweet tea'. The origin of Southern sweet tea is not just a simple beverage culture but is related to climate, labor, and community structure.
For people in the Southern region, where hot summers and long hard labor were everyday life, sweet and refreshing tea played a role in setting the rhythm of the day. That sweetness was both an energy booster and a symbol of communal solidarity.
The trend of crack tea on social media seems to have gained new meaning as this old culture meets modern emotional structures again. Videos of crack tea are not just introductions to beverage recipes but show a way for modern people to seek emotional comfort.
In a transparent glass dispenser, several black tea bags are placed, filled with ice, and lemon slices are dropped in, preparing a week's worth of tea, which looks like a small ritual. Those who take out glass dispensers at home to make tea and store it in the refrigerator are actually performing a kind of 'emotional ritual'.
While sweet drinks may not be good for health, that ritual has a psychological function of stabilizing oneself and organizing the day. In an era where stress is rampant, this sweet and cold drink immediately supplies dopamine and gives strength. And the unique aroma of tea provides emotional stability. The combination of caffeine and theanine creates a suitable awakening and gentle calming effect simultaneously.
People have begun to seek this tea, which is "delicious enough to be addictive" without hesitation. Crack tea becomes a tool to fill the cracks in modern emotional states. Thus, the emotional hunger of modern people is filled with sweet crack tea.
Everyone is a cracked being. Cracks are always a condition of being human. How one accepts that can change the direction of life.
Life can collapse through cracks, but light can also come through cracks. Because we are cracked beings, we stop in front of the 'Liberty Bell', love songs that whisper about cracked lives in low voices, and give our hearts to a cup of sweet tea.
Because it is not perfect, there is meaning in being alive, and because there are cracks, light comes through them. Cracks are a simple yet ancient word that tells us the truth.
Yoo Young-hyun, Director of Tick Clinic (Audio Column 1+1 Story https://www.youtube.com/@yhyoo0906)
