What’s wrong with us when
a large segment of the population celebrate the murder of someone just because
we disagree with them or they challenge our worldview? I wasn’t a follower of
Charlie Kirk, though I did occasionally listen to him. I didn’t always agree
with what he said, but I did respect his right to say it; to express his
opinion in an open and civil manner, which was more than he typically got in return
from those who proclaim themselves “woke” or “enlightened” (more like they’re
sleepwalking and regurgitating what they’ve been told.
And since when do we make
excuses for coldblooded murder on individuals
minding their own business sitting on a bus reading a book or out walking their
dog in the park? Is it simply easier to blame the victim now that they can no
longer speak for themselves?
To compound matters, there
were four other sitting just feet away to refused to act while she was being
murdered, and even after the killer walked away, boosting that he had just
killed a “white girl”, they just left her to die alone on the floor of a bus. I guess after they praised three separate assassination
attempts on President Trump, we should have expected it.
When Donald Trump was
first elected President, his campaign mantra was to “make America great again”.
Well, he’s back and it’s once again the mantra of his followers amid the vitriol
of the Left. Ironically, the phrase was used in a radio commercial for Hillary
Clinton during her run in the 2008 Democratic Primary, now we now hear from the
Left asking, “what’s so great about America?” and “when was America ever
great?”.
Under President Eisenhower’s two terms running from 1953 to
1961, 73% of Americans said they trusted their government. Going along partisan
lines, the trust level of government was 79% among Republicans. Even Democrats
were happy (yes—actual “happy” Democrats. They did once exist). 71% said they
trusted in the government.
The overall trust level had jumped to 77% by the time
Lyndon Johnson took office. But as the war raged on and the causality rates
rose (as well as lies by the military and government became public), those
numbers started to drop. Still, they would be regarded as high by today’s
standards with 66% confidence level by Democrats and a 60% by Republicans.
By the time Johnson left office, and Richard Nixon took over, public
trust had dropped but still remained strong at an overall 68%.
Following Nixon’s
resignation and the advent of Gerald Ford’s “caretaker” administration, public
trust was floundering at 36%. Among Republicans, just 38% had any confidence in
the government. The Democrats weren’t far off with 36%. Jimmy Carter was elected
as the “anti-insider” in 1976. The American People had had enough of Washington
insiders and Carter took office with a new high---40%---before tumbling to 28%
by the time he left office.
Despite Reagan’s perceived popularity over his eight years
as president, trust in the government never did any better than 46%, a pale
reflection of the Eisenhower days which Reagan often recalled in his speeches.
By 1994, during the Clinton Administration, the public’s trust in the
government had hit a record low of 19% before rising to 49% by the end of his
second term.
President Reagan was well known for his often quips. One
involved his switching parties. When asked why he left the Democratic Party and
joined the Republican, he famously said “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party left me”. I guess this was the time when the American
People could say the same thing about both parties now and the government in
general. Government had left the American People.
Sadly, it took a national tragedy like 9/11 to rekindle
America’s faith in their government, and it came shortly after George W. Bush
(aka “Dubya”) took office. Poll numbers vary slightly, but the public’s trust
in government ranged between 55% and as much as 60% according to some polls. Ever
then, confidence in the government has been on a downward trajectory ever
since. As some have said, “we're in a handbag to Hell on roller skates and no
one is driving”
The best Trump did in his first term was 27%. Under
President Biden, levels of trust in the government again repeated lows of 19%.
Even among Democrats, the trust factor never did better than 35%. For
Republicans, it remained at levels one could only call abyssal---11%.
Today, Americans barely tolerate each other. We tend to
live in our collective bubbles and regurgitate what we see and hear without
bothering to question or investigate. They demand to be heard but refuse to
listen. They celebrate the murders of others and excuse their killers. We’ve
become two nations.
Even when we break down
trust in government by race, we don’t see much of change. Using the
Eisenhower/Kennedy/Johnson administrations as a starting point, Blacks and
whites intersected in October 1964 (the early LBJ Administration) with a 77%
each saying they trust the government.
Staring in 1968, that trust among Blacks has plummeted. The
next time it peaked was in 1993, corresponding with Bill Clinton’s
inauguration, when it hit 43%. Even under Obama, it didn’t do any better than
39% in February 2013. Biden got close in April 2021 with 37%. Trust
levels hit rock bottom in March 2019 during Trump’s administration when
they dropped to 9% thanks largely to relentless negative news about Trump and
his administration by the legacy media. It was so bad that 67% of Blacks had
been convinced that the political system exists to hold them back.
Among Whites, their highest trust level in government
following October 1964 wasn’t until October 2001 under George W. Bush when it
reached 61% few weeks following the 9/11 attacked (was this actually “trust” or
just patriotism?). For Whites, their low point came in October 2011
under Obama when it dropped to 8%.
According to Pew Polling, Hispanics weren’t tracked until
December 1990 when George “Dubya” Bush
was the president. Their initial starting point was 39%. They quickly reached
their highest level of trust of 57% in December 1998, which was late into
Clinton’s tenure as president before again dropping off. Their next high point
came in January 2013 when it reached 44% under President Obama. Interesting,
their lowest level of trust in the government came at the end of the Biden’s presidency
when it hit 23%.
Lastly, Asians. Apparently, they first appeared in polling
data in August 2020 during Trump’s first term when they expressed a trust level
of only 27%. They peaked in May 2022 at 37% under Biden, only to bottomed out a
month later at 23%. Native Americans and Independents, the nation’s largest
political bloc, were excluded in the polling data.
Now, President Trump
promises to make us “great” once more. That would mean taking us politically,
socially, and economically back to the post-World War II years of Harry
Truman and Ike. The American economy was booming and we had taken center stage
as empires of old, England, France, and Germany faded from the limelight. We
had become a “superpower”.
As for President
Trump, he has been implementing many of campaign promises (a rarity in itself).
He has started deporting illegal residents by the thousands (many of whom had
previously just laughed at the usual empty rhetoric about deportation). He has
started purging the government of useless and redundant bureaucrats, saving
taxpayers millions in the process, and having an eye towards shutting down
unneeded agencies. President Trump is, as promised, “draining the swamp”.
Of course, in his zeal, he needs to be careful of not
overreaching into areas vital to ordinary citizens such as Social Security,
unemployment, or WIC, while ensuring that those who actually need government
services receive it. Often reformist zeal can turn into blind zealotry. He
has imposed tariffs, which has been largely unpopular with the public and small
businesses since it means higher prices which big business seems rather
pleased. He has also promised lower prices, especially for staples like milk
and eggs, which has yet to happen.
For too long, the bulk of American citizens have seen
government as inept and corrupt. Over 65% of Americans are unhappy with our
position in the world. 72% of America agree with the statement that
"America was once a good example of democracy, but no longer".
Among the
OECD nations, the United States ranks near
the bottom when it comes to trust in government at 31 %. Only Columbia and Chile
rank lower. The country with the highest
level of trust is Switzerland with 83.78%.
Given the appalling
insensitive reaction of many on the Left (including much of the legacy media) to
the death of Charlie Kirk, Iryna Zarutska, and others, the question which now faces our nation is “now what?” We’ve
become two nations with differing values occupying the same space. Our only
commonality is the Status Quo which serves itself by keeping us divided and at
each other’s throats. Can we root out the "Deep State" and restore
our Republic or is it too late? Can we learn to talk “to” and not “at” one
another again; to be respectful whether we agree or not with each other?
Personally, I have my doubts. America has become too deeply
and widely divided and too willing to act as if this is acceptable. It’s not. That means either deep reform, if
not a complete overhaul of the government and breaking up the powerful
corporate-government state, and returning to a constitutionally based Republic
as intended by our Founders (which incidentally means doing away with political
parties and having “citizen legislators”) or finding a way to peacefully create
a two state nation, perhaps along the lines of a loosely based federation
(Yugoslavia or the old Austro-Hungarian Empire comes to mind).
We’ve watched the
government slide from a Republic responsible to its citizens under Eisenhower
to a surveillance state within a neo-fascist corporatocracy which serves Wall
Street. Government, both elected and appointed, no longer represent the American
People. Instead, it serves corporate interests and those with deep pockets. Much of what Congress, the Judicial system,
past presidents, and the legacy media bears that out. We can’t even be sure our
vote still counts.
The only alternative is to terrible to seriously contemplate.
Those who seek balance---“centrists” or “moderates”---have been largely
purged from both of the corporate owned parties. As a result, they now make up the
nation's majority of voters. They’re called Independents and unlike the two
corporate parties, everyone is welcome if you believe in tolerance and having
an open mind (we’re funny that way).
But regardless of your political leanings, there’s one
thing which is crystal clear and that is that our present dystopian state of
the nation cannot hold.
Something has to
give. It’s time that we, as a nation, have a frank and honest national
conversation, a so-called “come to Jesus” moment to address some ugly truths
about ourselves and find a way to peacefully coexist or simply agree to disagree and
go our separate ways.
Empires come and go. Republics tend to last about 250
years before they implode. We’ve reached that 250 year mark. We are, as our
Founding Fathers said, a “grand experiment”. Nothing about our future was pre-ordained.
I suspect we’ve already exceeded their expectations. One thing is for sure
though. If we are to “make America great again”, we cannot continue to limp
along as we have been doing and still pretend we’re a “Republic”. We’re not. Extremism
and intolerance has no place among a free people. So, what do you want to do
America?
Thank you for reading "Another
Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant
middle". Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At
A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points. We
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along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this
article. Thank you.
Pew Research: Public Trust in Government: 1958 - 2024
72% of American say the US used to be a good example
ofdemocracy but isn’t anymore
WEF: Trust in Government by Country 2024
Make America Great Again
The American Experiment
Gallup: A Third of Americans Satisfied With Global Position
Black Americans mistrust the US political system
The State of Public Trust in Government 2025
Americans Deepening Mistrust of Institutions
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