Declining Trust in Our Government
Is the American people's trust in our government declining? According to most people, it definitely is. Recent polls make this argument very valid. In
1995, the Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted a telephone interview of 1514 random sample adults. In this interview, people were asked how much of the time they trusted in the federal government to do the right thing. Twenty- one percent said most of the time and seventy-one percent said only some of the time. When asked the same question of their state governments, the results were only slightly better. Thirty percent said most of the time and sixty-two percent said only some of the time ("Why Don't"). This indicates that a majority of the American people believe that the American government is not doing the right thing in a lot of the actions it takes. Of course, nobody expects the government to operate perfectly with no mistakes, because this is not a perfect world. These numbers are too high though. What caused this problem in the United States, what is the extend of this problem in our country, and is this distrust of our government even a serious problem at all? These are three questions that need to be addressed in out society today.
What really has caused the American people to distrust our government and when did this trend actually begin? I do not believe there is any clear answer to these questions and I do not believe it would ever be possible to pinpoint any exact reason for the feelings of the American people. One reason cited by some is that it is the fault of poor leaders. Two commonly blamed leaders are
President Johnson and President Nixon. Two of the biggest drops in the public's confidence in our government occurred in 1964, during the bombing of Vietnam, and in 1972, during Watergate (Nye). Although these two events may have contributed to the distrust of the American government, I do not believe that two events and two leaders can be held totally responsible. For one thing, these things occurred over twenty years ago, why is there still distrust today.
Not only does this distrust still exist, but many would say that it has increased greatly since then. I do not thing that two leaders can be pinpointed and blamed for destroying the trust in our government. Perhaps though the blame could be laid on American political leaders in general. In a 1995 poll, thirty- five percent said the main reason that they do not trust the federal government
Scapegoats appear abundant in the world today. Political parties and businesses consistently seem to find a person or small group that takes the blame for serious issues. This can cause problems and arguments that sometimes lead to something serious like wars. Scapegoats are just a way of passing blame off of oneself and on to others, just so reputations can remain intact. This sort of attitude shows how lethargic the world has become, where people don’t even take responsibility for their actions. Many people from older generations complain about how all the new generations become too comatose and unwilling to take on their own actions and indiscretions. With attitudes like this, peace will never be found and will inevitably lead to conflict. Something must be done to stem the flow of scapegoats which have been utilized far too much over time.
actions, and work for the best interest of society as a whole. If their were no
1970s and 80s when they realized that the New Deal ideas that were passed in an
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
question in many peoples mind through out the nation, “How big of a problem is
The American people are notably too oblivious to what occurs within their government and are blinded by media favoritism which is foreshadowing the country’s impending doom. In the novel, 1984, every single person knew next to nothing
the root issue of our social problems. All it can do is mask the fact that our society has
More than two-hundred years ago, thirteen young nations defeated a tyrant thousands of miles away. The prize for such a victory was self-government. For the first time in human history, a nation had handed over supreme executive power to the masses. Exercising this power has become a hallmark of being an American. Even today it is thought of as one of the most patriotic acts one can undertake. The thought of a nation run by popular vote is a comfortable enough idea, but in the case of the United States, a self-governed population threatens to destroy itself and possibly the world through wasteful spending, unregulated pursuit of profits, and a blotted military budget.
The states are losing trust and confidence in the national government because of this coercive government. According to www.usatoday.com, a Pew Poll back in 2013 showed that just about half of the voters, stated that the government has become a bigger threat to their freedom. Why do they feel this way? They feel this way because the national government is trying so hard to control our everyday lives, and individuals want their privacy. The national government is trying to put in place several things such as; TSA scanners, Homeland Security, gun control laws, and even gun confiscation. These are just a few items that www.usatoday.com list as reasons of why people are beginning to view the government as an actual threat. In fact, Nate Silver, a New York Time blogger, believes that the American people don’t like the “insurance broker”. Nate Sliver noticed that there was a decline of trust in the government when there was an increase in the government spending.
Every kind of issues especially with young children to young adults is on a rise like never before.
It is also gives us a features of lack of care among citizen towards the poor.
...roduce into our lives and culture, the more problems begin to arise, it is time that some major steps need to be taken to help stop this problem, and I hope that some of the solutions outlined above will be a good start.
In conclusion, the impact of the mentioned problems can be reduced by raising wariness and educating people. Ordinary people are one of the elements in the solution of these people as they can as they can affect the success of any solution. In addition, encouraging the public to help each other in tacking these problems would lead to a fraternal and cooperative society. There is a national concern toward these problems. Therefore, tackling the roots of these issues should be on the government’s priorities.
since they are in charge. But we can also solve these problems if we get