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Here's something to think about: for ten years the consensus opinion was that John and Patsy Ramsey killed their daughter, JonBenet. The recent arrest of John Mark Karr would seem to indicate that opinion to be false. What if it's true--what if this Karr fellow really did kill JonBenet and her parents had nothing to do with it? That's ten years of the media hassling them. Ten years of Jay Leno's monologue. Ten years of getting stares everywhere they went. And we were all wrong.

Where exactly did this "consensus opinion" come from? I'll admit it--I'm not without fault. I figured they might've done it. I knew nothing of the case (nor did I care) but with everyone else convinced they did it, I just went along for the ride. I know, I know--it's so awful for me to say that--especially considering how much I pride myself on forming my own opinions and questioning everything around me. My lack of individual thought is probably because I really didn't give a crap.

But if we were all wrong--if the media was unfair with its judgment--what else could we have been wrong about? We as a society believe what the media tells us. We succumb to propaganda just as much as Nazi Germany did (only in our country it's called "advertising"--but thats another iRANT for another day). The popular opinion is that the W. took too long to respond to Katrina; I maintain that criticism is unjust. But the media took that idea and ran with it--just like it ran went "the Ramseys did it" angle. And the public believed it.

So what else has the media been wrong about? We've all come to accept the fact O.J. did it (and his brief quest to find "the real killers" seemed confirm it). But what if we were wrong about O.J., too? That's ten years he has been viewed upon as a monster; ten years of not being able to live a normal life. Because of the media's accusation, he lost his job as sportscaster, spokesman, and actor. The courts acquitted him--wasn't that enough? Many other celebrities are able to resume their lives if they avoid conviction (look at Kobe, Snoop Dogg, Ray Lewis, Bill Clinton, and Puffy Daddy); O.J. hasn't--probably because the public has always assumed he was guilty (verdict or not). What if we were wrong?

We were wrong about the Ramseys--what else have we been wrong about? Maybe Saddam isn't such a bad guy. Maybe Osama didn't cause 9/11. Maybe "American Idol" really isn't good.

It's sad--really sad. Once the media forms an idea about something, everyone agrees with that perspective. No one ever wants to look like an idiot. I've come across countless movies I thoroughly enjoyed that the "consensus opinion" hated. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of people always agreeing with whatever is in. Right now there are millions of Americans who are gonna see "Little Miss Sunshine" because critics everywhere are saying how fabulous it is. Even my little brother wants to see it.

"Do you want to see it because you think it looks good or because everyone says it's good," I asked him--to which he had no reply.

I've gotten a little off-track of what I initially wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about how wrong we all were and turned it into a preachy "think for yourself" campaign. All I'm saying is perhaps we shouldn't always assume something--especially if we don't know anything about it. Don't believe everything the media says and for the love of gawd, please stop watching Kevin Costner movies.

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2006