Tout d’abord, mille mercis à vous! ne me dérange pas Zensky!
But why am I thanking you? That is silly. What I really mean to do is welcome you. I have a feeling that you are quite young, n’est ce pas? It does seem that there is a great pressure on the part of society to make people conform to the norm. I myself have always loved eccentricity. Eccentric people are so much more interesting. But I don’t really like anti-social people….as for malcontents…depends. What group do you fall into?
The media is a mixed bag. The quality of the coverage and the objectivity of it depends in large part on the integrity of the reporters and the network itself that is disseminating it. As a viewer you need to try to discern if there is a bias or extreme slant to the news you are getting. We are human and so there is most always a bias, sometimes a substantial one. It behooves you (try that word for your linguistic education) to get your information from varied sources and to check carefully. If you don’t you’ll be part of the “downward spiral” that you so aptly mention. Good information is out there and people need to seek it out and not believe everything they read or hear.
As for wanting to be part of a group? Who doesn’t want that, but hopefully it doesn’t require sacrificing your principles to belong.