The Age of Distrust
I knew it was coming but couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly when it would happen. Yesterday, as I was watching the media coverage of the meeting in Alaska between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, the day finally arrived. I realized I no longer had any trust whatsoever, not only in the media commentary surrounding the event, but the stagecraft that was unfolding in front of my eyes. Even if what was happening was transparent and true I couldn’t bring myself to believe anything good and lasting would come out of it.
I’m not alone. Polls are revealing that public trust in institutions and the government are now at historic lows. This poll from The State of Public Trust in Government revealed only 23% of American citizens polled say they trust the Federal government. I think a lot of us are beginning to feel this fatigue from decades of bipartisan half-truths, corruption, and straight out lies.
I keep asking myself, How do we even recover from this? As a GenX’r I was raised in a time when you just took for granted that what was being reported in the media was the truth. I was sixteen years old during the Iran-Contra hearings of 1987 and they were the first crack in my thick shell of ignorance. What came out in these hearings began to make me start questioning long-held beliefs which were often drilled into our heads in elementary school. There was still a whole lot of nationalist propaganda that was part of our every day curriculum in the 1970’s. The history books are written by the victors, after all.
Then the Housing Crisis of 2008 sent me down an immense rabbit hole that forced me to question everything I thought I knew about the institutions and politicians I blindly trusted. A lot of world-changing things came out of these years of crisis—the Occupy Wall Street Movement, Cypherpunks, and Wikileaks just to name a few. The more I learned, the more I realized a majority of the twentieth century was filled with lies and deceit. There was no real black and white but, rather, a billion shades of gray.
As that twentieth century progressed, the lies only became bigger and bolder. The culmination of these lies created a kind of divergence. This was a point where true reality and the narrative portrayed on the surface and in the media became two entirely different worlds with different sets of rules—one for the ruling class and one for everyone else. Do as I say, not as I do became the norm. Maybe it was always this way? I can’t say for sure.
Today people are waking up in record numbers. Independent media has risen mightily from the ashes of the dying mainstream media. Things are beginning to change, this much is apparent. How long will it take for The Age of Distrust to completely fade into the annals of an extremely dark chapter of our history? Perhaps public trust will never be earned back completely. Maybe an evergreen and healthy distrust is a good thing, this creates an organic system of checks and balances involving each and every one of us. Maybe the psyche-profiles of those who grow up with the deep yearning to be in those seats of power really shouldn’t ever be trusted?
Best case scenario, I think it’s going to take a long while for CEOs, the media, and our elected officials to earn back the public trust but the sooner the truth and transparency begins, the more quickly that trust will be rebuilt. This long journey out of the Age of Distrust into the Age of Truth, I suspect, won’t be a short or an easy one. It might not even happen in my lifetime. Some of this rests on the shoulders of each of us. It’s the responsibility of us all to divorce ourselves from mainstream media, not to worship and blindly trust politicians, and to take on the responsibility of seeking out the truth for ourselves.
I don’t consider myself to be solely on the side of the Conservatives or the Liberals but, rather, on the side of truth. I’m going to support and defend that truth no matter what side of the aisle I see glimpses of it on. I slowly see an America coalescing that, perhaps, is a little smarter—one that doesn't come down with election-induced amnesia every four years where we believe this time will be different, one that isn't so easily fooled. At least I hope so, for the sake of us all.
Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying, "The government you elect is the one you deserve." It's up to us to educate ourselves and become more invested and engaged in this political process so we can root out the corruption wherever it lives and create a government that the very best versions of ourselves deserve.
All for now. Thanks for reading.
Politicians know that information is power and information is what drives our actions. So the easiest way to get the masses to act in a particular way is to feed them information that corresponds to that. I assume many of these dirty power players take control of the media through bribery or threats, much like Pablo Escobar's silver or lead principle. It will take a long long time to bring truth back to mainstream media and an even longer time to restore the corroded trust of the masses.
What you said is true! They know how to trigger emotions as well. Yes, I'm not sure trust will be fully regained any time soon.
One of the great problems of our time is the lack of trust in democracy. I still believe it's the best system we have so far. The important thing is that there remains the opportunity for people like you to express their discontent. As long as there is freedom, there is hope that things can be corrected. What we must all strive to defend unconditionally is freedom; everything else follows from that. I also believe that education is still very much needed so that people can form their own opinions and defend themselves against the manipulations of old and new media and social networks.
Thank you for sharing, dear friend. A big hug from Maracay.
I believe it to be the best system ever devised too, if we could just get a handle on the corruption. Age limits, term limits, and an end to lobbying are the only ways I can think of to help. I feel like losing all hope of it getting better isn't the best way forward but can't blame those who find themselves in that place. Thanks for reading, it's great hearing from you again! Enjoy your weekend.
It's the endless barrage of lies isn't it? They just get more and more until there are so many you can't begin to grasp what their machinations are because there is so much chaff being sewn!
Yes it is, and has been most of our lives. I was already about 99.9% away from not believing anything at face value anyway. Lol. I can see a new era coming. I feel the younger generations will settle for nothing less. Those future generations of politicians that will make the change have been born and raised during the deepest depths of The Era of Distrust.
Yeah and AI is not goin gto help because the younger generation are going to start relying on that for their information and it will just repeat the narative it is fed
AI is going to make everything trickier in regard to truth. I hope people are shoring up their critical thinking skills now so we have a chance.
https://x.com/lee19389/status/1956831443910566033
#hive #posh
Baudrillard. Not his "end of history", as placing fin at the end of chapters: The Berlin Wall, The Twin Towers, The Pandemic, such globally "influential" events are happening with increasing frequency that perhaps, in the coming years, we will become disillusioned to the paradigm shifts of the world; the ever turning pages just repeating a single word: lies.
Trust has to come from a place of respect. I feel as though there is a great divide in respect between the electors and the elected. There's even bigger a gap between the electors and the appointed, the bureaucracy that informs, that helps decide, that gives the illusion of a choice.
Democracy only works if it changes things. The bureaucracy, advisors and minds are still the same, regardless of who holds the honorific title of "leader".
I've never read Baudrillard but it sounds like I need to. Where do you recommend I begin?
Respect is, indeed, important when it comes to trust. I've heard, time and time again, that a lot of people running for office (especially candidates from the old money elite-class) look down upon and even despise the electorate.
I start the super lazy way:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/baudrillard/
The Sexy one is Simulacra and Simulations, but he is becoming increasingly (if that was more possible) relevant on his interrogations of society. Quote from the site above, below.
Sounds like our current time, no? He is "hard" to read... because French - but oh so prophetic.
Thanks for the link. This gives me something new to dig into and I'm excited about that. I bought the paperback version of Simulacra and Simulations on Amazon. He totally predicted our current time. It amazes me how some people can so clearly see the direction a society is headed. How have I never heard of this philosopher? Oh yeah, I can thank the American public education system for that. Lol.
I still remember borrowing my copy from the university library. I looked for any excuse to include Baudrillard, Walter Benjamin, Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag into my work.
I own books by all these, except Baudrillard.
That website is super useful for pulling out the greatest hits of philosophy, imo!
Thanks again, you've piqued my interest! Amazon is telling me Simulacra and Simulations will arrive tomorrow. : )
That reminds me, I need to order more cat food. :p and maybe... some philosophy too - depending on the cost.
Lol, they have it all.
The meeting in Alaska was a total failure. Trump rolled out red carpet and invited Putin in his limo. All for Putin to speak his lies on American soil and give Trump nothing.
Unfortunately, the summit appears to have been a failure for Ukraine. It sounds like any peace deal on the table, palatable to Putin, will involve Ukraine giving up the land Russia has already taken (20% of its former territory). It's interesting how some of the rightwing media outlets are now framing Zelenskyy as the war-monger. I've even heard some of the media outlets hint of a vague future US-Russia alliance. That would be unprecedented and probably highly unlikely. It's a strange time we live in.
From what I read it sounds like Putin demanded territories that he is unlikely to take by force in the next five years. Like the most fortified area of the Donbas region that Ukraine is holding right now. Which if Ukrainians give that up they would be idiots, because that is basically opening the road to Kiev...
Absolutely, this is the age of falsehood. We are living in lies and deception. The systems of the world (both political and economical) are built on deceptions. They will not accept truth nor work with those who are truthful.
Do you know that even we ourselves are not truthful to ourselves not to talk of others. The manufacturing sector gives us fake products on the cover of original. This is a terrible reality because the whole system of the world which man has built is purely on a foundation of falsehood. The advent of AI only helps to perfect falsehood for those whose life is built upon it
It's tough to sort out the truth sometimes. There are entire companies built around using bots to try to influence peoples' opinions one way or another on social media. A US Congress person just admitted that political candidates are regularly using this as a campaign tactic because it isn't illegal. There are also countries doing this as well, China is notorious for doing it but I'm sure all major countries are taking part in these foreign influence campaigns. It's an information-driven cold war.
The era of truth is slowly eroding away. This is a metamorphosis which has already taken over the world information system. We are forcefully made to accept things we cannot know what the outcome will be.
We vote for politicians which we do not know if their performance will match their manifestos. Even in my country, those who are in power whether politically or economically try hard only to influence our decisions through falsehood. It looks like things can't work without wrapping them with lies and deceptions.
Yes, I would say the era of truth ended a very long time ago. I think there are small pockets of people who're waking up and creating communities built around truth. The good thing is we have alternative media outlets now and we can seek the truth for ourselves.
I think you’re right, trust in media and government has really gone down. People are more careful now about what they believe, and it shows how important honesty and transparency are. Change won’t happen overnight, but it’s something we all need to work on together.
I really hope more people question absolutely everything they read or see in the media. I think we have to now. Decades ago I trusted the public radio and television news here in the US but it's been proven that they're no longer fair and impartial, and haven't been for years.
The new sources of communication have made us see the garbage under the rug, but also, thanks to those media, there has been a lot of manipulation, control, and disinformation. I remembered that when Chávez was a candidate, he said that he had dreamed since he was very young of being president and helping people. That message spread like wildfire, and he became president. People believed him. Then he ended up in what we all know: a monster. I believe that when we understand that politicians are not heroes or gods who come to save us, just as we demand prepared and intelligent people at the head of a company, we should demand their preparation and mental health even more swiftly from our leaders, and most importantly, when we are not so naïve, when we become more skeptical and demanding, maybe, just maybe, we can see changes in world politics. Have an excellent day and a hug, Eric.
Your reply is upvoted by @topcomment; a manual curation service that rewards meaningful and engaging comments.
More Info - Support us! - Reports - Discord Channel
It's usually the candidates who say they've dreamed of being in power their whole lives that you have to be the most fearful of. I've heard a few guests on the Joe Rogan podcast say they key to fixing government corruption might just be "drafting" random citizens for the offices as they do for the military soldiers during times of war—people who don't even necessarily want the jobs. I think this system would be more likely to screen out the sociopaths who are, naturally, drawn to these positions of power. It's interesting to think about. You can teach skills but you can't teach character or integrity. I hope you enjoy your Sunday, Nancy! Thanks for the comment!
The way the media presents events seems more and more like a performance, and it is tough not to feel let down. We really need to push for transparency and make sure those in charge are held responsible if we want to regain trust in our systems.
Oh yeah, it's total theatre and spinning of narratives for specific end goals.
My wife frequently asks me when she reads a story now if I think it is true. She says do you think this is real or is it made up. I honestly can't answer her half the time anymore, it's getting that rough.
It's getting tougher and tougher to discern. I like the community notes feature on X. More often than not, if a story or post is dis/misinformation a note gets attached to the post letting the readers know. I think all social media should have this feature.
X seems to lean pretty far one way though, is it still pretty middle of the road with the community notes thing? I would expect it to be inundated with biased notes.
The platform itself does lean a little more right but liberal accounts are returning. The Community Notes I've seen are like a true, unbiased, fact-check.
That is pretty cool. I will have to check it out. I still use it quite a bit for crypto news.
I think all social media platforms should have that feature. It would end a lot of runaway disinformation. I have a few crypto accounts I follow there too. The market is pretty atrocious today. This is THE weirdest cycle I've ever seen.
Yeah, I thought we were only going to go up from where we were last week and now here we are. It's mind blowing!
It's a whole different ballgame now that Wall Street is in the mix. One of those examples of be careful what you wish for I think.
Long standing lies and half truths have created distrust among people. I think that away from blind faith, conscious questions and demands for transparency can take us from the age of distrust to the age of truth. What is your opinion on this?