“FOR the PEOPLE, BY the PEOPLE” said Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg. How times have changed. Americans are continuously becoming more distrustful of their government. There are signs that hostility towards the government has begun to escalate across ethnic, financial, and religious lines. There is also considerable evidence that distrust of government is strongly connected to how people feel about the overall state of the nation.
Today, personal satisfaction is marginal, the economy is sputtering and confidence in state/federal governments is degrading each passing day, but neither dissatisfaction with the condition of the country nor lack of confidence in the state/federal government has been transformed into true physical hostility. The national mood and trust are both waiting for the next boot to drop. What shall spark this kicking of the national psyche into a frenzy: natural disaster, continued economic missteps by state/federal officials, or some unknown catastrophe?
Worry about the mood of American society is suppressing the change within the state of the nation, just as discontent with the honesty of elected officials is a leading cause of distrust of government. Mind you that this change is NOT government influenced but brought by an inherent pride and desire by the American peoples ideals that our forefathers envisioned for their future children. In the broadest sense, these concerns are now weighing down American attitudes as the continued blatant government corruption, trillion dollar deficits and unemployment that the American people have never witnessed to this degree.
Disillusionment with both political parties is essentially as important a factor in distrust of government as is criticism of the way government performs its duties, also known as stealing from the American people. Cynicism about leaders is especially critical to distrust beginning with the generations of Americans who came of age after the murder of John Kennedy, Vietnam war/Watergate eras, oil embargo, the 54 American who were left to rot until October, Beirut, the Persian Gulf fiasco, the Iran Contra scandal, the inside joke of “Just say NO”, Panama, Iraq 1, BCCI, Post office scandal, Vince Foster, Filegate , Whitewater, Somalia, Enron, Iraq 2, Lawyergate, the continued loss of our industrial production base over the past 40 years all the while expounding “Buy American”
Distrust of government and discontent with the country notwithstanding, there appears to be an unease indicating that these attitudes are near a crisis stage in certain realms. Public desire for ever increasing government handouts along with warped progressive agenda has brought distrust and a fostering of disregard for the nation's laws, eroding the can do American mentality and discouraging individual pride and success.
Most Americans describe themselves as frustrated with government, not angry at it. That frustration is taking a toll on the quality and nature of the relationship between the American public and its elected leaders both locally and in Washington. At what point does frustration become anger?With the failings of political leaders bearing so large a burden in Americans distrust of government, the continued misstep of both the Republican and Democratic parties appear to strike at the heart of TOTAL mistrust in government.
