Trust in the Wind
It turns out there is a consequence to being boldly and blatantly lied to nonstop for years on end: people begin to get the feeling that you’re not telling the truth. That feeling is one of the few sensations that crosses political lines. “For as much as Americans disagree these days, one common denominator runs through American life: a profound distrust of the institutions and industries that make the country run. Whether on data centers, chemicals in food, the Epstein files or the war in Iran, Americans across the political spectrum say they have the feeling that they are being lied to.” That feeling is likely to show up bigly at the polls during the midterms, and that might sound like good news; Trump voters turning on him and Democrats turning on those who haven’t fought hard enough for their own base (or the Constitution). The problem is that no single election can restore the trust that has not just been tested, but has been smashed to smithereens. “Political scientists and sociologists have said for decades that a healthy society needs trust, both in fellow citizens and in political institutions. It greases the wheels of collective action and political change. Without it, people do not cooperate with each other or with the authorities. That can lead to political paralysis.” Sabrina Tavernise in the NYT (Gift Article): ‘I Was Sold a Bill of Goods’: Americans and the Distrust Election. The question for those who feel they’ve been sold a bill of goods is whether there’s anything else left on the shelf that seems trustworthy. The breaking of our trust in institutions was clearly intentional, even if that obliteration has unintended victims in the midterms. The question is whether we can put the pieces Trumpty Dumpty leaves behind back together again.
+ “Those who played a role in Mr. Trump’s rise to power have acted not just unwisely, but culpably. Even so, it is now apparent that many Americans — probably enough Americans — are determined to live within the truth rather than the lie, to fight for their civic and political self-respect, to return a sense of humanity to a nation that has grown too cold, too callous and too cruel.” Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner in the NYT (Gift Article) with a very interesting piece: Trump Has Finally Lost the Plot.
