In God Perhaps – But Not Each Other – We Trust

There are a few consequences to a highly polarized society that might not seem as obvious as the gridlock in Congress. The notion of America as a unified body of citizens with a common commitment to their country and to each other has vaporized into a distant myth. While we really don’t trust our elected leaders and are wary of this nation’s largest companies and financial institutions, when it comes right down to it these days, Americans really don’t even trust each other anymore.

“These days, only one-third of Americans say most people can be trusted. Half felt that way in 1972, when the General Social Survey first asked the question… Forty years later, a record high of nearly two-thirds say ‘you can't be too careful’ in dealing with people.

“An AP-GfK poll conducted last month found that Americans are suspicious of each other in everyday encounters. Less than one-third expressed a lot of trust in clerks who swipe their credit cards, drivers on the road, or people they meet when traveling… ‘I'm leery of everybody,’ said Bart Murawski, 27, of Albany, N.Y. ‘Caution is always a factor.’

“Does it matter that Americans are suspicious of one another? Yes, say worried political and social scientists… What's known as ‘social trust’ brings good things… A society where it's easier to compromise or make a deal. Where people are willing to work with those who are different from them for the common good. Where trust appears to promote economic growth.” Huffington Post, November 30^th.

The notion of America as the mixing pot or the lettuce bowl used to signify the ability to blend diversity and come up with new ideas, new inventions and growth vectors that would never happen in a more homogeneous society. The assimilation of waves of immigrants, from the Irish escapees of the 1845 potato famine to Jews fleeing Hitler’s genocide to Latinos seeking a better life to techno-geniuses from Asia seeking higher education, America seemed enriched by the resulting diversity, even as stereotypes and prejudices occasionally pushed in the other direction.

As white, Anglo-Saxon protestants shrink into minority status, as farm states are overwhelmed by growing urban populations, and as the gun culture spreads military capacity far and wide, the United States of America is no longer the stretch of welcoming arms and congenial hospitality for which we were once known all over the world. Heartlessness, suspicion and “me first” have replaced the warmth of old in way too many places across the land.

While “[t]he decline in the nation's overall trust quotient was driven by changing attitudes among whites…African-Americans consistently have expressed far less faith in ‘most people’ than the white majority does. Racism, discrimination and a high rate of poverty destroy trust… Nearly 8 in 10 African-Americans, in the 2012 survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with principal funding from the National Science Foundation, felt that ‘you can't be too careful.’ That figure has held remarkably steady across the 25 GSS surveys since 1972.” Huffington Post. What’s more, the trust-gap between rich and poor is as wide as it has ever been.

Studies show that your general level of trust is set some time in your twenties, and while age may temper distrust a little bit, generally absent coming together out of common necessity (like what happened after Pearl Harbor was bombed), trust is sparse all over this nation today. Doesn’t look like this emotional reality is going to change anytime soon. It’s hard to compromise with folks you do not trust. “Distrust [also] seems to encourage corruption. At the least, it diverts energy to counting change, drawing up 100-page legal contracts and building gated communities.

“Even the rancor and gridlock in politics might stem from the effects of an increasingly distrustful citizenry, said April K. Clark, a Purdue University political scientist and public opinion researcher… ‘It's like the rules of the game,’ Clark said. ‘When trust is low, the way we react and behave with each other becomes less civil.’" Huffington Post. For those who consider themselves practicing Christians, where forgiveness and loving thy neighbor are cardinal New Testament teachings, the fact that so much of this distrust factor has come from that Christian community suggests that even the power of religious belief is writhing in the hypocritical reality of contemporary America.

I’m Peter Dekom, and for those who really do want a better world, the risk of trust would seem to be a necessary step.