ANALYSIS
To borrow a famous phrase from the nadir of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, Americans are experiencing a “crisis of confidence.” Every major poll finds plummeting trust in major institutions – from the government to big business, from the news media to churches.
Those results will come as no surprise to anyone who has lived through the past quarter-century, having witnessed massive institutional failure and deception: the “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, subprime mortgage crisis, opioid epidemic, church sex abuse scandals, and the failed response to the coronavirus pandemic – to name five major crises that squandered public trust.
In this episode of History As It Happens, The Washington Times culture reporter Sean Salai and Vanderbilt University historian Nicole Hemmer discuss the origins of the collapse in public confidence and its consequences. While American institutions largely earned the low esteem in which they are held, politicians and demagogues have cynically exploited the situation to foment even further distrust in authority, especially the U.S. government.
“When people don’t have any sort of trust in institutions, they disaffiliate from those institutions. They don’t go to public schools or churches. They try not to interact with government. They don’t trust communications from government, banks or other organizations. They turn on the news and they are suspicious about the programs they’re watching,” said Ms. Hemmer, whose work focuses on social movements and political culture.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
