Trust
How can I be sure.
In a world, that’s constantly changing
How can I be sure,
Where I stand with you.
How do I know?
Maybe you’re trying to use me.
Flying too high can confuse me.
Touch me but don’t take me down.”
How Can I Be Sure - The Young Rascals (1967)
…..
Somewhere in your pocket, purse or wallet, you probably have some of those pieces of greenish paper with a number on each of the four corners. You use this paper (or the digital equivalent on your phone) to acquire things of value that you need and can use like food. And others readily give you those tangible and useful things in exchange for pieces of paper that don’t even burn very well or even worse, for some 1s and 0s in a computer. The whole concept of money is based on trust. Trust in the system behind that money. Without it, that paper ,or the 1s and 0s, are literally not worth the paper they are printed on. For proof, I can show you $100 million Zimbabwe bill. It’s not worth a cent because no one trusts that government.
It's not just about money, however. Societies run on trust. Trust of the government by the governed. Trust in the legal system. Trust in the rule of law. When these trusts break down, the cohesion of society breaks down with them.
Trust of and in the United States was at its zenith after World War II. People trusted the government that had just defeated the Nazis and Imperial Japan and was protecting them from the Soviet bomb. Moreover, they trusted the companies who’s industrial might helped win the war. When General Motors or the Department of Justice said something, people believed it and took it to heart.
The United States Dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Yes, the agreements at Bretton Woods in 1944 had something to do with it. But the dollar’s hegemony has persisted because governments and traders around the world trust that the “value” of a dollar is protected by military might, historical control to stop runaway inflation and the “rule of law” in the issuing country. In other words, the world trusts that the dollar will be a safe and secure way to trade internationally. More so, at least, than the alternatives.
What is happening with that trust today? Without question, it is eroding. The CDC lied to all of us about the origins of the Chinese Virus as well as the efficacy and risks of the vaccines. When the CDC recommends something now, I for one, ignore it. How do I know if they are lying to me again?
The FBI was probably one of the most revered institutions in America. The political slant, dual systems of justice and outright lies from the leaders of that organization have changed that. No one loves the IRS. But at least we assumed they meted out audits on an impartial basis. We now know they audit on a political basis. In addition to not liking the IRS, we now don’t trust them either.
Depending on which side of the political aisle you fall, each of the last four presidents has lied to us about major things. Even the one element of American government that has stood tall throughout, the military, is tainted now as they adopt transgender and climate change agendas rather than keeping us safe.
Even the U.S. dollar is losing some of its luster as it is used by the U.S. to punish countries with which this government does not agree. That is giving all countries pause. Maybe now they don’t trust that the U.S. won’t further “weaponize” the dollar to go after them to change some policy with which the current administration doesn’t agree. So, they look for alternatives, thereby weakening the dollar.
I could go on with the press and local cops and state government and big corporations (do you believe Google, Amazon or Coca-Cola?), but you get the point. None of this is good. We are a society that doesn’t trust one another or the major forces around us. So, we seek the things we do trust. God, family, friends, small business, smaller information sources (maybe like this blog) of which we have deeper knowledge and in which we have faith.
Maybe that’s OK. Maybe we can, or maybe we should, have little trust in authority and big business or big anything. Maybe we can rely on our own closer network of people and organizations that we know and each of us operate in that smaller world.
It might be OK. But it is not optimum. There will come a time, when this country will again need to pull together to face a common threat. That threat could be military, or economic or natural or health related. But, it will come. And if we have no cohesion as a society and cannot trust leadership in a response to the threat, our ability to overcome it will be diminished.
How do we fix this? It will take leadership, preferably presidential leadership. It will take someone to bring these institutions back to serving their intended purpose and not a political agenda. Neither the current or the prior president can or will do that. It will need to be someone else.
It will not be easy for anyone. Trust, once lost, is harder to regain than it was to be established originally. But we should try. It may mean “turning the other cheek” and not retaliating in kind for that which was done to us. In this case however, I think the “juice” may be worth the “squeeze.”
As we come to the 4th of July, let us remember what those brilliant and brave souls bequeathed to us starting in 1776. Let us try to be worthy of their vision and sacrifice. There are those new voices who denigrate the founding and the founders of this country. They are demonstrably wrong. Even if they were right, a rallying cry of “we suck and have always sucked but maybe we can suck less,” is unlikely to foster much cohesion.
I recommend reading a great blog and video series on the founding history of America called Americana Corner, written by a faithful reader of these missives. The people who created this country were far from perfect, as we all are. But, what those people created and what they did to create it really is special.
Remember that while watching the fireworks.
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Drive Fast & Live Free