jillian
Princess
A national deficit of trust
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Trust might as well be a four-letter word. American public opinion seems to have become an unguided Weapon of Mass Suspicion, and it's not hard to understand why. But those who would exploit distrust, dissatisfaction and anger for political gain had better worry about collateral damage.
The overhyped Tea Party phenomenon is more about symbolism and screaming than anything else. A "movement" that encompasses gun nuts, tax protesters, devotees of the gold standard, Sarah Palin, insurance company lobbyists, "constitutionalists" who have not read the Constitution, Medicare recipients who oppose government-run health care, crazy "birthers" who claim President Obama was born in another country, a contingent of outright racists (come on, people, let's be real) and a bunch of fat-cat professional politicians pretending to be "outsiders" is not a coherent intellectual or political force.
But even people who wouldn't be caught dead at a Tea Party rally have lost trust in powerful institutions that are supposed to be working in the public's interest -- with considerable reason. Just look at the headlines.
washingtonpost.com