Gloom And Despair

Poll Reveals Widespread Distrust in U.S.

Few Americans express confidence in those at the helm of major institutions, with the deepest animosity reserved for those in the U.S. Congress, according to a new poll released today by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center.  In addition, Americans remain skeptical of government intervention in the realm of health care, and ratings of the government's performance in living up to the goals set by the U.S. Constitution are shifting negative.

The military tops the list of 18 different institutions in this year's poll, holding the confidence of 43% of Americans, followed by small and local business (39%), the scientific community (30%), organized religion (18%) and the U.S. Supreme Court (16%).  The federal government (10%) and the U.S. Congress (7%) fared worse, about on par with major companies (7%) and banks and other major institutions (6%).  About one-quarter (26%) said they had no confidence at all in Congress, the highest no-confidence read of any institution tested.

It's not surprising that congress comes in at the bottom, at least to anyone who is paying attention. What is sad and disturbing is that less than half the people polled say "they are extremely or very confident " in the military.

On a macro level, it's disturbing that no institution - none, nada, zip, zero - had the confidence of at least half of the country. That speaks volumes about where we are as a country.

On the bright side:

...approximately three-quarters agree that the U.S. Constitution is "an enduring document that remains relevant today," and nearly as many say laws should be followed even if public safety might be at risk.  Most also back the rights of the individual over the whims of the majority (62%), and say even offensive speech should be a constitutional right (70%).

"At a time that seems characterized by deepening political polarization, most Americans remain in strong agreement on our highest democratic values," said National Constitution Center President and CEO David Eisner.  "Across party lines, our poll found that the majority of Americans believe in upholding the rule of law and protecting individual rights.  On this Constitution Day we can celebrate that, even as partisan debates rage around hot-button issues, Americans still share together a vision of a more perfect Union formed under the framework of our nation's most cherished document."

There's more good news:

On some of the central political issues of the day, the poll shows that Americans are highly skeptical of government intervention.  Approximately three-quarters say they would oppose shifting more power to the president even if it would help improve the economy, and more than eight in 10 say the federal government should not have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance and pay a fine if they do not. 

And in an ironic note, "Just 10 percent of Democrats voiced strong trust in Congress, even though their party controls it."

Okay, so we agree in principle. But the devil's in the details. How can we leverage that agreement into laws and regulations that we all can live with?

Simple. Take out the trash on Nov. 2.

There's a lot more detail in the original press release. For those of you interested in the actual survey you can see it here