O.J. trial an ugly reflection of U.S.

More than any other event in recent history, the O.J. trial truly brought out the worst in Americans.

We aren't going to enter the debate of guilt versus innocence Ÿ there's more than enough voices on either side of the argument.

But one thing is certainly clear Ÿ the past 15 months have highlighted all the ugliness inherent in human beings.

People have paid more attention to this trial than any before, but not out of a desire to see justice done. It's been more of a thrill, a voyeuristic experience. There was no sense of "I want to see that what is right is done," but rather a sense of "I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!"

Both sides in the case acted with all the dignity customarily accorded to the Three Stooges. A serious event was reduced to the status of a carnival, with money, racist cops, dogs and Kato Kaelin garnering as much attention as the original crime.

An ugly precedent may have been set Ÿ will the next celebrity trial be a travesty on this level? Or will the whole mess serve as a lesson, and allow us to put the whole ugly incident far behind us?

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