Trust in America...poll results

Seriously, with how many times government officials have been proven to lie to us, how is it ONLY 80%???

Behold the power of propaganda, err... Public Relations. :D
 
people lie, our governement is made up of people. Conclude as you feel neccesary.

With that being said, I don't believe that our government is constantly lying to us.
 
Well, 80% have figured out that someone is lying to them. They just haven't figured out WHO is lying to them, yet. But we will get there.
 
Its simple, people don't trust what they can't see.

We can "see" the government, but we can't see its inner workings. What we are presented is a condensed version of everything that has been discussed, planned, and implemented. It's impossible to give everyone all of the information, there is simply too much of it. There is also information that simply can not be passed on for security reasons, that's clear.

Currently, obama's platform is seen as really controversial, and there are many people that disagree with what his government is doing. As such, there is alot of distrust. We are going to distrust what we don't agree with. The more people who disagree, the more people are going to distrust. For reasons I still do not fully understand, obama is highly polarizing, more so then bush was. The people against him are shockingly vocal, which is going to make the apparent distrust appear even stronger then it is.

People also look for a base to reason their dislike. When it comes to government, the easiest thing to do is to distrust. It's quick, effective, and leaves lots of room for reasoning. Personally, I don't really distrust what the obama administration is doing. I can't give myself a reason to do so.

I can even explain it this way, I was wildly against the bush administration in so many ways. I said that I distrusted it, when in reality, I didn't. I just strongly disliked it. I didn't think they were doing anything severely under the table (sans for a few things, but they were brought to public). Things were hidden, but all governments do that. What it was is that I didn't like what they were hiding. I intepreted what I saw, and disliked it. I can't call that distrust.

So really, I think this number should be much smaller. A good chunk of these people don't distrust the government, they just dislike it and don't know how to explain it otherwise. Then there will be another group who simply have jumped to conclusions that are largely invalid, and therefore have a false sense of distrust. A small portion of these people have real reasons to distrust the government. Overall though, I don't think there is much of a reason to at all.
 
I'm pretty sure its dirtier than you imagine right now. I'm not trying to be conspiratorial. It's just plain messy, and a lot of the players are playing with lives and money. Whatever you do, if you get into politics:
1) Don't fly your own small plane
 
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Ecton said:
I'm pretty sure its dirtier than you imagine right now. I'm not trying to be conspiratorial. It's just plain messy, and a lot of the players are playing with lives and money. Whatever you do, if you get into politics:
1) Don't fly your own small plane
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See the thing is though, I don't see people as doing anything in the government (there is a small number however) that is doing anything with malice intent. I actually see and sense far more of this outside of the government within large corperations and bank-type buisnesses. Those places are much different, and within them there is reason to distrust.

I know I use this alot, and there is little base to it, but I get a gadge of what a person is like simply by looking at them, and i am usually within reasonable accuracy. I have seen many many many polititons on tv. People within the Obama administration, senators, represenitives, and what not. The majority of them are real people. I understand, but don't get why people think that these people in power are any different inside then you and me, and everyone else around us. They are just like us. They have good intent in mind, and don't want to cause harm.
 
Have governments ever really been trustworthy? For us Americans, just look at everything we've done and the spin put on things to gain popular support.

People should always be questioning the government. If they have our trust, they can do as they wish because we believe they work with our best interests at heart.
 
Barnabas said:
people lie, our governement is made up of people. Conclude as you feel neccesary.
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I always figured the ruling class was supposed to consist of exemplary people, not the average person. Apparently that isn't the case. Regardless, they lie and get away with it because they are not held accountable. Kids lie all the time, that is expected. You discipline them when you catch them so they don't continue doing it. You hold them accountable and you attempt to show them that hiding your actions or intentions is not always efficient. You also attempt to help them understand how it is typically not the most efficient means of benefiting those around you over the long run. However, I wouldn't put a child in charge of an entire nation.

To say lying is human nature isn't good enough. It is bogus.

We have let politicians get away with constant lying for a long time. In politics it is common that you CAN lie and often you DO prosper because of it. That doesn't mean we need to accept it, it means we need to fix it before greed fucks everything up and our nation can no longer sustain itself.

Wait....

So why does this happen? because we are content with the government handling the truth for us. They assure us the truth is safe with them, hidden from us, and that they will perform the actions that are in the best interests of the continuing support of the nation.

People see the truth as ugly, not pleasant, inconvenient. "Don't show me the dead soldiers, that saddens me." Our citizenship is to blame as well, we have become complacent with our conveniences and we live under the security blanket, a facade, that our conveniences will never go away. It's the American Dream!

These sorts of problems don't fix themselves. We need politicians that actually do hold the nations in their best interests and not the 'stakeholders' of the corporations that contributed the most to their running campaigns or those corporations that promise them an executive position for x or y (revolving doors).

With that being said, I don't believe that our government is constantly lying to us.
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Well, laws of probably would suggest that at some point the truth might slip through the cracks. They call it blowback.
 
There are some politicians that blatantly lie to us. That is obvious. However, there are many that do what they feel is best, or they attempt to find a compromise between keeping on the good side of 15 different forces pulling at them in different directions.

If they don't keep the executives of a corporation happy, then they won't get sufficient campaign funds, if they don't keep their running mates and party peers happy then they won't get any support in what they attempt to do. If they don't meet the expectations of the public then they won't be re-elected. Plus foreign entities enter into the mix.

This isn't psychology, it is sociology. The political enterprise is a society in itself that has a much higher level of pressure than that of typical cultural society. The political society clashes with cultural societies, various other political societies, corporate societies, etc, etc. It is a societal framework that is built upon political foundations, and it is a mess!

With all of this, it is no wonder things turn out the way they do. These interactions have evolved. I would almost think it is time for our government to evolve to transcend these pressures rather than fall victim.
 
Although I am not American, I can safetly say that all Governments conduct themselves similarly. Trust is something earned in many cases, and for many of us "little people" in the socio-ecconomic quo, we have no reason to feel protected as such. Trust in Government as it stands on a purely objective note is just as Indigo said. It's when our personal beliefs and biases get in the way. However, when it comes to protecting everyone, usually those with the money, get considered first and therefore trust and agree with Gov. conduct.
 
The real issue is that people also distrust each other (a lot!), which of course is learned from the lifestyle, dictated by the culture. Around the world it's full of places where people don't even lock their doors.
 
enfp can be shy said:
The real issue is that people also distrust each other (a lot!), which of course is learned from the lifestyle, dictated by the culture. Around the world it's full of places where people don't even lock their doors.
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I have plenty of trust for those which have earned it. However, being human does not intrinsically deserve my trust. Most people do not have my own well-being high on their list of priorities, and rightly so.

I generally assume my well being will not be taken into account by others unless I am proven otherwise. This sort of thing develops over time due to being shown over and over that it is the case.

One of the nice things that religion and communities offer is that there is a higher chance of probability that someone will take one's own well being into account based on this shared social membership. Not always the case, though.
 
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