Have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode where George decides to “do the opposite”? If not, here’s a quick recap.
Fed up with the direction his life choices have taken him, George comes to the conclusion that every instinct he’s ever had has been wrong. How else could he, a man in his late 30s, end up single, unemployed and living at home with his parents?
In an effort to turn his life around, George informs Jerry that he’s going to “do the opposite” of everything his instincts tell him.
Instead of lying to a woman about what he does for a living, George walks right up to her and informs her about how he is currently unemployed. Then, instead of bragging about his previous work experiences during a job interview with the New York Yankees, George tells the truth about how he got fired from his past jobs. Eventually, he meets Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, whom George berates for his poor managerial decisions.
Shockingly, the woman is drawn to George’s mystique. They start a relationship and he is soon hired as the Yankees’ new Assistant to the Traveling Secretary.
While informing Jerry about his recent good fortune, George confides in him that “this opposite thing” is his new religion. It is a religion where “up is down, black is white, good is bad and day is night.”
Jerry, not convinced that this is going to turn out well, says “so your Messiah must be the Anti-Christ.”
“The Opposite” is just 1 of the 180 Seinfeld episodes that ran during its nine year reign. While most Americans don’t have a clue about George’s strange new religion, his decision to ignore his instincts and embrace “this opposite thing” is pertinent to today’s political discourse.
A study released by the Pew Research Center Monday found that instead of being an objective observer when it comes to reporting on gay marriage, the press has taken on an activist role in promoting it’s legalization. In other words, the press is doing “the opposite” of what it should be doing.
After looking at roughly 500 news stories over a two-month period that began just prior to the Supreme Court’s hearings on gay marriage this past spring, Pew found that by overwhelming margins, the majority of news outlets ran stories in support of gay marriage.
You’ll have to read the whole report for more specifics, but here’s a snapshot of how CNN, Fox News and MSNBC covered gay marriage during that time:
You can check out the study in its entirety by clicking here, though I doubt you’ll find anything you didn’t already know. Catholics are acutely aware of the fact that the media has been biased in its reporting on social issues for a while. As Jerry once said during an episode in season 8, welcome to the “bizarro world.”