Life Lessons Breaking Bad Taught Me

Walter Whites transformation is legendary. He changes as a person in almost

every aspect, the only thing that you be sure of at the mid season break of
season five is that he still loves his children. You can argue that his change was
necessary, that it was an unavoidable side effect of the situations he got himself
into or you can say that he was corrupted by greed. Regardless, here are twelve
lessons his transformation has taught me.
1. Keep Your Ego In Check
2. Become An Irreplaceable Cog In The Machine
3. Never Make The Same Mistake twice
4. Always Be Prepared
5. If You Want Something Done, Do It Yourself
6. Knowledge Is King
7. Embrace Change
8. All life is sacred
9. The end does not justify the means
10. Every action has a consequence
11. Influence reveals intention.
12. We are all bad
13. Bonus: Looks Can Be Deceiving
It has also got a really good effect on our society.
I certainly sympathize with those who are concerned about the glorification of
methamphetamine. Meth is pure evil. Meth addicts are often barely recognizable
as human, and every meth user is an addict; there is no such thing as a casual or
social meth user, at least not in the end. People who use that drug will generally
continue to do so until it destroys their lives and the lives of the people who care
about them.
For a while I tried to convince others that Breaking Bad doesnt really glorify
meth; in fact, it mercilessly portrays the self-destruction that follows naturally from

meth addiction. I argued that the show doesnt promote meth any more than
Schindlers List promotes Nazism that is, it may desensitize viewers to the
horrors of that particular world, but it would never encourage them to adopt the
lifestyle. After all, its only a TV show.
But lately Ive become convinced that my colleagues are right to be concerned
about the popularity of Breaking Bad and its effect on our communities.
Law-enforcement officers duties bring them into contact with the drug-addled on
a daily basis, so the proliferation of dangerous drugs directly affects their lives
and families more than it might affect yours or mine. And while Breaking Bad may
not glorify meth in the sense of making it attractive to the average viewer, it does
normalize the idea of meth for a broad segment of society that might otherwise
have no knowledge of that dark and dangerous world.
Before Breaking Bad, relatively few people knew someone whose life had been
touched by meth, but now millions more people have an intense emotional
connection with at least two: Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. And suddenly, for
those spellbound viewers, the idea of people using meth is a little less foreign, a
little more familiar. And that false sense of familiarity is inherently dangerous.
Does this mean that watching an episode of Breaking Bad will cause responsible
adults to run out and find a local meth dealer? Clearly not, and I have no interest
in blaming television writers and producers for the destructive choices that other
people make. But when a critically acclaimed television show centered on the
drug world so permeates popular culture that it becomes the subject of
watercooler talk and Jimmy Fallon parodies, there can be little doubt that some
people on the margins of society will be drawn into that world, if only out of
morbid curiosity. Breaking Bad is great art, but sometimes great art affects
culture negatively. We can acknowledge that fact without calling for censorship or
puritanism.
So as the curtain comes down on Breaking Bad, I will certainly be watching. I
cant help myself. And I would still encourage others to tune in as well, because

the story is compelling and, on balance, highly moral. But Ill have misgivings. Ill
continue to wonder about the long-term effects of mainstreaming such a
dangerous drug into popular culture. Ill be mindful that there are others for whom
the consequences of drug addiction are a miserable and persistent reality, not
merely the stuff of a TV drama, no matter how gritty and artful and captivating.