02 October 2011

Prohibition ~ Unjust US Alcohol Criminalization

It's excellent to see PBS spotlight a sordid period in US history when liberty and freedom of choice were criminalized: alcohol was prohibited and forbidden for everyone! (Vestiges of this era continue today with the unconstitutional and discriminatory 18-21 year old drinking age laws -- i.e. voting age citizens unequally treated under law and denied their right to imbibe.) The new documentary Prohibition by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick premiers October 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 2011 at 8pm on PBS and...
"...tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the entire era it encompassed. The culmination of nearly a century of activism, Prohibition was intended to improve, even to ennoble, the lives of all Americans, to protect individuals, families, and society at large from the devastating effects of alcohol abuse. But the enshrining of a faith-driven moral code in the Constitution paradoxically caused millions of Americans to rethink their definition of morality. Thugs became celebrities, responsible authority was rendered impotent. Social mores in place for a century were obliterated."
Sound familiar? Lessons have not been learned: the same is happening today with the ongoing and insane War on Drugs. Check out the extended promo trailer for Prohibition (and watch tonight!)...

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