by Maggie Miller

Created on: May 02, 2009

Since tenth grade, I have been a zealous pursuant of a career in journalism. Why? Observe and report. I loved the idea of presenting facts to the public from a purely objective standpoint, directly and correctly quoting my sources, and educating myself all the while. I felt powerful sticking my $40 pocket recorder toward my source and hastily scribbling down key words and ideas. I loved the challenge and excitement of hammering out a captivating lede. All for the good of journalism and the press. Nothing fabricated.

But the media's role in today's society has become something of a hype. It seems that newspapers, magazines, news channels, and internet sites have all hopped on the tabloid bandwagon in some way or another, promoting stories and headlines that are far from objective and incite panic and pessimism in the American population. It's nauseating.

As it is, we live in a world plagued with negativity. People are consumed with arrogance, avarice, and the desire for power that's so overwhelming it leads to war, homicide, suicide, and destruction. I will never be able to comprehend how a student can walk into school with a gun and shoot up their classmates. I will never be able to understand how, despite the adage "all's fair in love and war", people can torture another human being relentlessly. I can't understand the psychosis of serial killers, or the selfish, disgusting, hedonistic desire of rapists. I think human beings can be sick. And the worst part is, we're becoming desensitized to it. A substitute teacher was watching the news the other day and said, in response to a story on the "Craig's List Killer", "He doesn't creep me out, and I don't feel bad for those girls. That was dumb of them. And the only reason he's getting media attention is because he's attractive. People kill each other all the time. It's nothing new." It took all I had to restrain myself from letting a string of incredulous, furious words fly out of my mouth. It's enough to wake up every morning and hear about a new rape, a new murder, a new part of the earth we've destroyed, a new prediction of Armageddon, a new unemployment statistic, a new number of homeless or starving, a new impending pandemic...our world is obsessed with destruction and death. We thrive on paranoia and pain. We're a population of sick, sadistic voyeurs. We've transformed religion into a vendetta for hate, murder, and destruction. We are a people fueled by terror and fear that drive us to commit murders and trust

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