Is anyone as disappointed in the state of the American press corps as I am? As we have recently seen throughout the coverage of the George Zimmerman trial, it is apparently no longer the coveted institution the founders of our Constitution felt necessary to protect.

The withholding of key points of information, such as Trayvon Martin’s storied past, his positive drug test that showed he had made the choice to smoke pot that same evening (perhaps causing paranoia–one of marijuana’s primary side effects that no one has apparently felt important enough to mention, by the way), continuing to only show a picture of him when he was about 12, and altering the 911 phone call made by Mr. Zimmerman to stir up racial tensions are despicable at best.

These actions are irresponsible and another blatant indication of the failure of this institution to inform the body public it was designed to protect rather than influence. Let’s start holding the press responsible just as we do those who choose to keep and bear arms. As with any privilege, there comes with it great responsibility.

Who’s doing the greater damage? Is it a press corps that withholds information, distorts the truth to drum up sales, and stirs the public to protest a decision by a jury of our peers or is it a citizen protecting him or herself with a loaded gun?