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Why I Love Boardwalk Empire
Max’s View
Why I Love Boardwalk Empire
In 1971, President Nixon declared a War on Drugs.
More than forty years later, the results are in: drugs won.
The human toll of drug prohibition has been staggering. People who would otherwise be working legitimate jobs have instead become smugglers and dealers.
And although people in the drug industry are more likely to become rich and powerful, they are also much more likely to be killed or incarcerated.
In some urban communities, it is disturbingly common to see a mother and child left alone because the father has been locked up.
The financial toll of drug prohibition is also staggering. Thanks largely to the war on drugs, the US prison population has grown from around 200,000 in 1970 to more than 2 million today. Each prisoner could be a productive, tax-paying member of society but is instead a costly drain.
Nobody knows how many billions of dollars we could raise by normalizing and taxing the drug trade. But with the federal budget deficit at more than $1 trillion, we no longer have the freedom to turn our nose up at unsavory sources of revenue. We need every penny of new tax money we can get.
The fundamental truth about the war on drugs is that it keeps hard drugs expensive and difficult to obtain. An addict doesn’t necessarily have to quit on his own; his supply might simply dry up. I imagine that getting a text from your dealer saying “I’m out” is easier than hitting rock bottom and going to rehab.
For that reason, prohibition can be a wonderful thing for individual folks with a weakness for drugs. But it’s terrible for the rest of society.
The sad thing is, we already knew what the negative consequences of drug prohibition were going to be. The same thing happened during alcohol prohibition. “Boardwalk Empire” is a entertaining, insightful HBO series about Atlantic City during the roaring, violent 1920s.
Steve Buscemi plays Nucky Thompson: the city treasurer and one of the most powerful Republicans in the state of New Jersey.
When we meet him in 1919, Nucky is merely a cynical politician who is adept at lining his pockets through cronyism and corruption. Prohibition quickly turns this Progressive-era gentleman into a ruthless drug lord.
The most fascinating character and the moral heart of the show is Irish immigrant Margaret Schroeder (Kelly McDonald). Margaret starts off as a poor housewife who goes off to Women’s Temperance meetings to get away from her abusive husband.
When she is widowed, Margaret resourcefully uses her brains and her body to move up in the world. Before long, her family is living in a luxurious house that Nucky Thompson is paying for and Margaret has established herself as Nucky’s favorite girlfriend.
It is neat to watch how the savvy, resilient young woman rolls with the punches of life and always lands on her feet. And it’s interesting to see just how far she is willing to compromise her morals for the sake of her children.
“Boardwalk Empire” is engrossing, intelligent, and beautifully shot. It offers complex characters and a relevant lesson about the destructive power of Prohibition. This show is great.
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