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?