When we step outside, into the world, and we hear others say something to the effect of, "What is it with all the stupid people out there?"
Or maybe you are the one who asked that question. Do you ever sit down and really reflect on this thought?
I do. On a really bad day, I might conclude that people are dumb, but generally, I know that isn't really true. Otherwise how would they find their way out of their houses? How would they ever make the door knob work?
So then I take a look around and I ponder, why people make the choices that they do, even the choices that I find, "stupid" and usually it boils down to the erosion of trust.
People use the word *trust in a variety of ways. But I often wonder if some folks really understand just how important trust, is. I didn't get that notion til I had served in the military.
What changed?
I lived in a community where my health and safety literally depended upon a multitude of acts [large and small] by people that I didn't necessarily like, but was forced to invest within them, some amount of professional *trust.
This is where I learned some very big lessons.
If you cannot *trust anyone, your life becomes hopelessly more complicated, because you literally have to do it all. And by *it, I mean every job, even professional jobs you are not qualified for.
And since nature abhors a vacuum, in the absence of trust, suspicion usually makes it's nest in that very spot trust used to occupy. Being suspicious sucks.
In a world that lacks *trust, the nominally annoying becomes scary. The people you might normally dislike suddenly take on a whole new identity as a hazard or worse.
Once trust has been shattered, it is very difficult to rebuild--and you may never rebuild it entirely in some cases. The damage to a person or a community can be so deep, that there will always be a divot there, a scar, a tender spot waiting to be stimulated by any scenario that is reminiscent of that first plummet from grace, or that first knife in the back.
As a blue collar person, who had to work very hard to make a life above the poverty line [finally] I have had some interesting adventures with trust as a civilian and a veteran as well.
There are lots of issues that make life hard for any given person who is not wealthy in this day and age. But the biggest obstacle, the biggest threat that I see to our country as a whole is the absolute and widespread erosion of trust.
Some of it is simply that apocalyptic narrative. But some of it is well earned. We have returned to the age of the robber barons, where the rich do what they will and the rest of us better watch out. This dynamic takes a number of forms in our society.
The people have expressed the feeling that they are at the mercy of big corporations, so that includes insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, chemical companies, ag companies, big banks and investment firms, government agencies, law enforcement, politicians and some religious groups.
This helplessness and fear pop up in some weird places too.
Take the Vaccine issue. People feel strongly about this issue on both sides. On one hand you have folks that want to prevent illness from striking and kill or maiming children as well as running rampant through our population. On the other hand you have parents, who are dealing with mysterious illnesses that often crop up during vaccine regimens.
Just that scenario right there would cause volatile exchanges, but what really set this situation on fire, was a backlash building against insurance companies, medical institutions, and pharmaceutical companies that have undermined our model of care in this country, placing the burden of bad or inadequate care on the poor, the indigent or the minority.
Patients don't feel they can *trust their doctors to offer them the best treatments, because they feel: 1. The Undue Influence of these and other institutions meddling in the exam room and 2. The lack of a meaningful relationship with their doctor.
Doctors say they have no time to have these relationships. Fair enough, but without a relationship between the doctor and patient, trust cannot be conceived. Without knowing there is no discernment and without out that, trust cannot happen.
Out in the world, individuals and lobbies offer all sorts of reasons for the problems that occur in our medical system: too many lawyers chasing ambulances, moral failings, sexism, racism, religious bigotry, incompetence....
Regardless, at the end of the day, the result is the same. The erosion of the patient's trust of the doctor and the institution he works for and that doctor is also seen as an extension of the insurance company and often an extension of certain drug companies.
So now lets look at how adult experiences shape child rearing issues:
If you as an adult are mistreated and no longer trust your doctor or doctors in general--what effect will that have on your relationship with your child's doctor? Could mistreatment affect how you perceive vaccines?
Others who feel everyone should be strapped down and given shots will simply scream that the parents are stupid. But that doesn't solve the problem because it doesn't address the primary, underlying issue. Trust must be restored.
Doctors don't trust patients either. We can tell by the way things play out in the office. What doesn't happen is that there is no meeting of the minds between adult citizens.
It's Quacks vs Rubes. No good can come of that.
If you see your doctor as a drug pusher for big pharma, and your doctor sees you as a barely literate troglodyte--how do you think that will play out in the exam room? Now imagine that dynamic playing out in the Pediatric Wing.
But it's more than just that.
What happens when trust is eroded by the government? Take the latest Occupy video making the rounds. People arrested and threatened by police [maybe worse] for drawing on sidewalks with chalk.
Now if the police think that all Occupiers are drug addicted morons, and the Occupiers [read citizens] believe that the police are the handmaidens for corporate powers, how do you think that will play out in the future?
How will that influence the kind of relationship these occupiers have with any kind of law enforcement personnel or any government agency in the future?
Some folks may think that we shouldn't care. But we should. If this trust [what little might be left] is eroded between first responders and citizens, then what sorts of mayhem might ensue with the next natural disaster? How do you think this might effect enforcement efforts during a crime wave?
What about politicians? If we see all politicians as corrupt, and they see us as widgets or commodities, or worse yet, rabble? What kind of dynamic will that create in our national political scene?
From a citizen's point of view: I no longer trust the police as much as I used to. I have already had issues with them as a woman. Women tend to be ignored by police. So all the insanity during the OWs movement has really caused me to look sideways at all police officers. Even though I don't break the law, I don't do drugs or really anything that "exciting", watching the craziness at OWs protests with police has left me more afraid of them, distrustful of them than anything else. This also extends to politicians since so many were involved with engaging police forces to act the way that they did.
I no longer trust the politicians as much as I used to. I didn't trust them all that much, but now, gosh if one of them told me the grass was green, I would have to run outside and check. It doesn't even matter which party as far as I am concerned. I feel that all the power is concentrated on lobbyists and that power is never in the interest of the people, unless the interest of people and the interests of the lobbyists happen to sort of coincide.
I don't trust doctors or hospitals. I have been mistreated too many times. I feel like treatment options are based more on money making drugs, and less on what is truly efficacious. The over-use and incorrect use of antibiotics have led to MRSA. BC pills that significantly up the chances for strokes, and gall stones. The astounding silence of professional organizations with regards to religions meddling in female treatment options. My experiences and observations tell me that right now, money is the big winner here, and not the patient.
Further more, as a Veteran, I have learned that big banks like to target my kind for money by illegally adding on charges to our VA loans and VA refinance deals. So what little trust I had in financial institutions has disappeared completely. The politicians do nothing about it, and the government doesn't help Vets get their money back but instead sues for damages to collect that money for the government--so how do you think that might affect how I view all those entities?
I see two entities --banks and the government fighting over stolen money while politicians and regulators stand idly by waving flags and practicing jingoism for votes.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
What this means to me, and possibly to others is that I can trust no one to do what is ethical in any kind of business dealing, [or government function] even when the service I am paying for requires the expensive services of a specialist, an expert in their field.
That leaves me in a very awkward position.
I have to be an "expert" in everything. Even though we know that isn't possible, that is what it feels like. Every new adventure, every new job, new account, or vote requires me to take a crash course in some super-complicated issue [and it's often made more complicated than necessary to confuse people like me]. Obfuscation is the name of the game when hiding dishonesty and deceit.
Does that make me stupid?
No, just really fucking tired and fed up, and most of all suspicious.
And if I don't know all the ins and outs of banking, roof construction, plumbing, medicine, the law, lobbying, firms, drugs, car repair, pesticides, GMOs, household chemicals, fracking, etc., then I am of course stupid. And if I choose to do something that you wouldn't do as a course of action, then the previous statement is doubly true.
What that means is that I cannot turn to *you either.
So where does that leave the trust? Why it ran down stream to the Gulf Dead Zone, 2 administrations ago.
Until our communities and establishments can speak and treat each other like concerned adult-citizens, I doubt many of these problems will go away any time soon. Lets face facts, talking down to adults [even stupid ones] will get you nowhere. Failure to address their genuine concerns will simply lead to more distrust, and more distress not less. All of this arises from an innate imbalance of power that has been repeatedly abused, so that even those professionals and experts that are caring and ethical, have been stained by the behavior of their peers.