The Curse of Nancy Reagan

As far as parables for Generation X thinking goes, you can't go past the story of Diff'rent Strokes. It was clothed in liberal US sitcom wardrobe, but had a bad habit of Very Special Episodes:

Diff'rent Strokes was also known for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode ("The Reporter", in Season 5) that featured then-First Lady Nancy Reagan, who promoted her "Just Say No" campaign.

Of course, the three child actors from the show went on to a life of using drugs. The frankly miserable lives of Dana Plato (RIP), Gary Coleman (RIP) and Todd Bridges (saved by Everybody Hates Chris) can be nicely juxtaposed with the guy who played the rich white man on the show, who is still ticking at the age of 87.