Aug 30, 2024
4min read
The Decline of Trust in America
A 2019 Pew Research Center report found that majority of Americans believe that their trust in the government, and one another, is on the decline. In recent years, the news has been filled with very worrying news, but Americans losing trust in one another is one of the most worrying to me. Trust is a very crucial part of any thriving society, and that’s something we’re losing in one another, we have a serious problem to address. How can this problem be solved?
This is an observation I’ve had lately, especially in response to the pandemic and rise of fear-mongering tactics within our news and media. When interacting with friends and colleagues, a lot of them use aggressive skepticism or immediate disagreement when presented with new ideas. I’m not here to say skepticism and disagreement are bad, I believe they’re also incredibly important. However, I hardly see a sense of curiosity that others used to once have during discussion. Everyone I interact with seem very set in their ways, unshakable with their way of thinking. As someone that enjoys entertaining news ideas and speculating, it’s difficult to engage in conversation with those that are closed off to new ideas. The funny part is, I don’t blame them for behaving this way at all. It’s hard not to have some sort of mental defense mechanisms when social media, news outlets, corporations, and politicians do nothing but lie to you. If you want to survive on the Internet, you cannot take anything at face value, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence generating content.
Lack of trust might be a contagious mindset as well; If no one trusts you, why should you trust anyone? Is this just the normal thing we do now? “People” or “society” have proven to be untrustworthy in America, certainly, but I’m still sad that we’ve gotten to this point and I’m not sure if we’ll ever see recovery from it. It’s hard to be optimistic about the situation and hope for a restoration of trust amongst one another.
If there’s ever a mass restoration of trust, it’s clear that honesty will need to be central to it. Being honest all the time is really hard, because we want to be presentable to others. It’s difficult to be honest about your shortcomings, even though you know they’re inevitable. It’s easy to lie during job interviews, it’s easy to lie to your friends about your relationship, it’s easy to do these things because that keeps things stable for a time, and that’s comfortable. Honesty feels like ripping duct tape off your skin because of how it might damage your pride or your image, but I think it’s important to admit shortcomings because that invites others to do the same.
LET'S WORK
TOGETHER
Aug 30, 2024
4min read
The Decline of Trust in America
A 2019 Pew Research Center report found that majority of Americans believe that their trust in the government, and one another, is on the decline. In recent years, the news has been filled with very worrying news, but Americans losing trust in one another is one of the most worrying to me. Trust is a very crucial part of any thriving society, and that’s something we’re losing in one another, we have a serious problem to address. How can this problem be solved?
This is an observation I’ve had lately, especially in response to the pandemic and rise of fear-mongering tactics within our news and media. When interacting with friends and colleagues, a lot of them use aggressive skepticism or immediate disagreement when presented with new ideas. I’m not here to say skepticism and disagreement are bad, I believe they’re also incredibly important. However, I hardly see a sense of curiosity that others used to once have during discussion. Everyone I interact with seem very set in their ways, unshakable with their way of thinking. As someone that enjoys entertaining news ideas and speculating, it’s difficult to engage in conversation with those that are closed off to new ideas. The funny part is, I don’t blame them for behaving this way at all. It’s hard not to have some sort of mental defense mechanisms when social media, news outlets, corporations, and politicians do nothing but lie to you. If you want to survive on the Internet, you cannot take anything at face value, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence generating content.
Lack of trust might be a contagious mindset as well; If no one trusts you, why should you trust anyone? Is this just the normal thing we do now? “People” or “society” have proven to be untrustworthy in America, certainly, but I’m still sad that we’ve gotten to this point and I’m not sure if we’ll ever see recovery from it. It’s hard to be optimistic about the situation and hope for a restoration of trust amongst one another.
If there’s ever a mass restoration of trust, it’s clear that honesty will need to be central to it. Being honest all the time is really hard, because we want to be presentable to others. It’s difficult to be honest about your shortcomings, even though you know they’re inevitable. It’s easy to lie during job interviews, it’s easy to lie to your friends about your relationship, it’s easy to do these things because that keeps things stable for a time, and that’s comfortable. Honesty feels like ripping duct tape off your skin because of how it might damage your pride or your image, but I think it’s important to admit shortcomings because that invites others to do the same.
LET'S WORK
TOGETHER
Aug 30, 2024
4min read
The Decline of Trust in America
A 2019 Pew Research Center report found that majority of Americans believe that their trust in the government, and one another, is on the decline. In recent years, the news has been filled with very worrying news, but Americans losing trust in one another is one of the most worrying to me. Trust is a very crucial part of any thriving society, and that’s something we’re losing in one another, we have a serious problem to address. How can this problem be solved?
This is an observation I’ve had lately, especially in response to the pandemic and rise of fear-mongering tactics within our news and media. When interacting with friends and colleagues, a lot of them use aggressive skepticism or immediate disagreement when presented with new ideas. I’m not here to say skepticism and disagreement are bad, I believe they’re also incredibly important. However, I hardly see a sense of curiosity that others used to once have during discussion. Everyone I interact with seem very set in their ways, unshakable with their way of thinking. As someone that enjoys entertaining news ideas and speculating, it’s difficult to engage in conversation with those that are closed off to new ideas. The funny part is, I don’t blame them for behaving this way at all. It’s hard not to have some sort of mental defense mechanisms when social media, news outlets, corporations, and politicians do nothing but lie to you. If you want to survive on the Internet, you cannot take anything at face value, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence generating content.
Lack of trust might be a contagious mindset as well; If no one trusts you, why should you trust anyone? Is this just the normal thing we do now? “People” or “society” have proven to be untrustworthy in America, certainly, but I’m still sad that we’ve gotten to this point and I’m not sure if we’ll ever see recovery from it. It’s hard to be optimistic about the situation and hope for a restoration of trust amongst one another.
If there’s ever a mass restoration of trust, it’s clear that honesty will need to be central to it. Being honest all the time is really hard, because we want to be presentable to others. It’s difficult to be honest about your shortcomings, even though you know they’re inevitable. It’s easy to lie during job interviews, it’s easy to lie to your friends about your relationship, it’s easy to do these things because that keeps things stable for a time, and that’s comfortable. Honesty feels like ripping duct tape off your skin because of how it might damage your pride or your image, but I think it’s important to admit shortcomings because that invites others to do the same.
LET'S WORK
TOGETHER
Aug 30, 2024
4min read
The Decline of Trust in America
A 2019 Pew Research Center report found that majority of Americans believe that their trust in the government, and one another, is on the decline. In recent years, the news has been filled with very worrying news, but Americans losing trust in one another is one of the most worrying to me. Trust is a very crucial part of any thriving society, and that’s something we’re losing in one another, we have a serious problem to address. How can this problem be solved?
This is an observation I’ve had lately, especially in response to the pandemic and rise of fear-mongering tactics within our news and media. When interacting with friends and colleagues, a lot of them use aggressive skepticism or immediate disagreement when presented with new ideas. I’m not here to say skepticism and disagreement are bad, I believe they’re also incredibly important. However, I hardly see a sense of curiosity that others used to once have during discussion. Everyone I interact with seem very set in their ways, unshakable with their way of thinking. As someone that enjoys entertaining news ideas and speculating, it’s difficult to engage in conversation with those that are closed off to new ideas. The funny part is, I don’t blame them for behaving this way at all. It’s hard not to have some sort of mental defense mechanisms when social media, news outlets, corporations, and politicians do nothing but lie to you. If you want to survive on the Internet, you cannot take anything at face value, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence generating content.
Lack of trust might be a contagious mindset as well; If no one trusts you, why should you trust anyone? Is this just the normal thing we do now? “People” or “society” have proven to be untrustworthy in America, certainly, but I’m still sad that we’ve gotten to this point and I’m not sure if we’ll ever see recovery from it. It’s hard to be optimistic about the situation and hope for a restoration of trust amongst one another.
If there’s ever a mass restoration of trust, it’s clear that honesty will need to be central to it. Being honest all the time is really hard, because we want to be presentable to others. It’s difficult to be honest about your shortcomings, even though you know they’re inevitable. It’s easy to lie during job interviews, it’s easy to lie to your friends about your relationship, it’s easy to do these things because that keeps things stable for a time, and that’s comfortable. Honesty feels like ripping duct tape off your skin because of how it might damage your pride or your image, but I think it’s important to admit shortcomings because that invites others to do the same.