Wait. A. Minute.

There is currently, a movement to mold and re-shape, not only history, but the meanings of words spoken or actions taken by others, that have nothing to do with reality. I don't know about you, but I am feeling that kind of let's-all-get-a-grip sensation. While being all for Freedom Of Speech and Personal Privacy, the matter of what is said and said to be done, needs actual hard proof, and not immediate condemnation without first, confirmation. The Media, and capitals are certainly deserved here, has often taken on more than reporting, and strikes first, asking needed questions later. And how about waiting patiently, when the term, "not available for comment" happens. Press judgement does grab the headlines which is the bottom line for unscrupulous journalists, but it also alerts the attention of those who adore hammering signs together and yelling in the streets. That costs us all a lot of policing time. But we, the vast silent majority, need a little more space to absorb what's going on before we get our blood pressure all a-steam. We, the average Joe and Jane, need to see more than a headline or a cooked up digital on things. We like to see both sides of the picture and then make a determination. Unfortunately, those under the microscope that Media condemns, often throw up their hands and walk off into a more comfortable and safe oblivion and questions are never answered. It takes massive courage to stand up and defend oneself if innocent, if misinterpreted or misrepresented. But in doing so, the gloves are off and those holding the mike and having the hard-nosed interview education and experience, can make porridge out of defenses. It seems that making an accusation creates judge, jury and punishment in a single swoop. It is not to say that the truly proven guilty are, in fact, guilty, but that we do have processes that should and must be taken to protect society and bring justice. Here in the West and in lots of other free countries, we like to give the accused a chance to speak fully, but more importantly, to be heard fully and without prejudice. I like to say that I am politically neutral until I get inside the voter's box, but more and more, I find the way politicians are under the microscope of blame for all and sundry, I feel sad for them. Even the most innocent slip of the tongue, a second or two of just being human like everyone else and putting one's foot in it, makes for two or three days of media hype that is overplayed to the max. And it does raise the specter of who and what is responsible for the spin. All the hype does for me, is to stop trusting what I read and see in the media. Oh, I know the defense, "you're taking it the wrong way" or "what do you know, you weren't there",  but hey, you brought it to me, Media. All I am asking as a listener or viewer, is that you do what good reporting should do, and it's not "investigative reporting", it's just plain good journalistic tell-it-like-it-happened and let me do the judging and reacting. And stop the cute editing jobs of taking words and photography out of context. Please.