self aggrandizing institutions...Lord help us

I watched the trilogy in 2010 and am now rewatching today on TMC and my takeaway is the institution protects mediocrity,stifles and persecutes difficult police work. It's easily threatened and reacts savagely to the light of day. In light of Baltimore,Ferguson and my own brushes with men in blue I think it's endemic. I have to laugh that the level of corruption and ineptitude portrayed here surprises many viewers. Thanks to 9/11 and the drug war it's gotten worse.
This is an ambitious,one of a kind production. I admire it greatly but can't love it. I marvel that it got made with such great talent and terrific detail in the service of such a depressing theme. In that there is joy.