Public Trust in Government Would any person buy a product with only one star reviews? The answer is simple: absolutely not. Those one star reviews show that the product is unreliable and poorly built, or that the customer service is atrocious. The American government has one star reviews, for it is only trusted by a fifth of its citizenry (Public Trust in Government). This lack of trust causes many problems within the United States, but it also may have helpful effects as well. Public trust in government has fallen in recent years, but thankfully remedies to rebuild this loss of trust are still attainable (Thompson). The causes for a decrease in public trust are vast and thus one cannot focus only on one issue (Ibid). One obvious reason that public trust in government is steadily eroding away is an ever increasing number of scandals in the political sphere, such as Nixon’s Watergate Scandal (Public Trust in Government). Another correlation that affects public trust is the presence of economic recessions (Thompson). Almost every time a recession hits, public trust in government falls soon thereafter (Ibid). The largest reason for lower public trust, …show more content…
Not all Americans are necessarily angry at the government, but they are certainly frustrated with it (How Americans View Government). Less public trust has led to a restless citizenry who do not trust even the people they elect, and has also led to the people seeing a moral decline in government (Ibid). These effects can be positive, however, for a lack of trust in the federal government has led Americans to seek trust in their local governments (Ibid). Distrust in government can also led to a stronger sense of patriotism in the minds of individual citizens, and thus support the principles of individualism (Vavreck). Government trust may be falling, but there still are remedies to revive that
the public can put its trust ad faith in but this time it fell apart
We often wonder about the importance of government. Is it necessary? Does it really benefit society? The answer is yes. Many countries have diverse forms of government such as totalitarian, monarchy, theocracy, and much more. The United States of America specifically runs a democratic type of government. A democratic government gives power to the people. Citizens over the age of eighteen are allowed to elect leaders based on their individual opinions through voting rights. The main purpose of the American government is, to protect people’s inalienable rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness as our Founding Fathers intended.
O’Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., Yanus, A. B, Gibson, Jr., L. T., & Robinson, C. (2011). American Government: Roots and Reform 2011 Texas Edition. United States: Pearson Education, Inc.
It is clear that while political scandal, primarily the 1974 Watergate scandal, played a large role in the rapidly declining confidence in government between 1968 and 1980, it is not the sole or even the dominant factor. The Watergate scandal only impacted on the Nixon era, and subsequently lead to measures that should have prevented further distrust in the government. Instead, the role played by the four presidents who held office in those years was the main reason behind the decline in confidence. The role of the presidents and their White House administrations encompassed political scandals, and also clearly influenced other factors such as the role
Zimmer, Troy A. "The Impact Of Watergate On The Public's Trust In People And Confidence In The Mass Media." Social Science Quarterly (University Of Texas Press) 59.4 (1979): 743-751. Business Source Elite. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Wilson, James Q., John J. DiIulio, Jr., and with Meena Bose. American Government: Institutions & Policies. 12th ed. Boston, MA.: Wadsworth Publishing, 2011.
O’Connor, Karen, Larry J. Sabato, Alexandra B Yanus. American Government: Roots and Reform. Indianapolis, indianna: Pearson, 2011.Print.
Edwards III, C. George, Martin P. Wattenberg, Robert L. Linberry. “Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy”. Textbook.
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.
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have” (Democracy Quotes). Years ago, Thomas Jefferson was among many who, during drafting and ratification of the constitution, voiced their wariness over the creation of a strong national government. Professor I.M. Skeptic argues that the constitution was born out of a distrust of democracy. I do believe that the constitution was created out of distrust; however I believe this distrust is for a strong central government that was displayed through Britain 's monarchy, not of democracy.
wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part1.html>. Zimmer, Troy A. "The Impact of Watergate on the Public's Trust in People and the Mass Media. " Social Science Quarterly 59.4 (1979): 1-10. Galileo.
Works Cited Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004. Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights.
The government of the United States of America is very unique. While many Americans complain about high taxes and Big Brother keeping too close an eye, the truth is that American government, compared to most foreign democracies, is very limited in power and scope. One area American government differs greatly from others is its scope of public policy. Americans desire limited public policy, a result of several components of American ideology, the most important being our desire for individuality and equal opportunity for all citizens. There are many possible explanations for the reason Americans think this way, including the personality of the immigrants who fled here, our physical isolation from other countries, and the diversity of the American population.
The responsibility of government lies with the governed. If the American people react to trying situations and events in fear, then a general malaise and sense of helplessness will permeate the collective American consciousness. The abdication of personal responsibility erodes liberty, creating an atmosphere of dependency, that leads to bigger government and its pseudo security. Edward Livingston's statement, "If we are ready to violate the Constitution, will the people submit to our unauthorized acts? Sir, they ought not to submit; they would deserve the chains that our measures are forging for them, if they did not resist," serves as a timely warning to Americans today.
In this essay I will be analyzing the role of diversity in democracy, I will start with direct and representative democracy’s, then continue onto the primary focus of this essay which will be the analysis of an essay by Joshua Cohen, I will conclude by raising some of my issues with deliberative democracy and the solutions required to allow the maximum amount of diversity.