OMG, this big election is approaching, and it’s so important to speak, and yet time and time again I find myself tired physically, bored with the monotonous blaring of the authoritarians, and confused about what my priorities are in speaking at this important moment.
Trust is on my mind. And hope. These are big topics, and I haven’t thought all of it out, so bear with me if I speak incoherently or disjointedly.
We have a trust problem in the USA. In a prior blog post I referred to a problem with daily, interpersonal trust. But now I am talking about something bigger—like trust in the integrity of the coming election, and trust in the vaccine for the coronavirus. If there is not broad trust in these things, then we are in big trouble, because they won’t work.
In order to have a functioning government that tends toward democracy, we need to be able to trust in that government. And in order to trust in that government, we have to be involved with it. We have to take the time to keep an eye on it, tell our representatives when we disagree with their policy decisions, hold them accountable for corruption, lies, and the other bad stuff. We have to be more involved.
I say that as a person who has no time for greater involvement, because I have structured my life as if the government will take care of itself, and I can focus on art and literature after I get done with my job.
I am curious about you, and so consider this question:
Would you prefer that other people take the risk of trusting the election and the vaccine so that you don’t have to do the trusting?
If you know the election process is needed, and the vaccine and its equitable distribution are needed, but you don’t intend to trust it yourself, then are you not hoping to shift the risk to someone else?
There are people who need a democracy, who need a safer place to live, because they don’t have a big bank account they can use to buy their way into a gated community, to buy their way out of the middle of gangland turf battles, to pay for lawyers to be their “fixers.”
Who benefits from the widespread distrust that exists today? —The people who don’t want more voters to vote. The people who benefit from having more control over the government. The people who are wealthy enough not to need the protection of the government, but want to exert the power of the government.
I think that for me, to trust more, I need to be a bit more involved. That’s why I’m helping with getting out the vote. And when a vaccine is ready, I am going to see if I think it seems safe and effective, and then explain why vaccine participation is good for everyone.
These are a few thoughts and questions about trust and hope. I wish this could have been more fully spelled out. Have a good day!
Bryan K. Alexander 
Many good questions are raised in your post. Trust has been seriously eroded in our society. I can’t think of any institution in society that has not lost trust at accelerating rates in recent times: business, education, church/religion, and government to name a few. The same thing seems to be happening in the personal realm, perhaps due to fragmentation and anonymity from a mobile society and things such as social media. Online trolls and “ghosting” in personal relationships appear to be ubiquitous and are among the biggest drivers now of why people see therapists. No wonder trust and hope are in short supply.
We want those other people to shape up. Your comment about shifting risk onto others reminded me of the John Mayer song “Waiting for the World to Change.” I suspect that most of us would prefer that others take action first and assume the risks; we will hop on the bus when it’s safe and settled.
If we wait for the world to change, we will be waiting forever. I favor even the smallest actions that we can take consistent with our own values. Voting still appears mostly safe, and I will continue to cast my ballot. I would take an FDA-approved vaccine. I’ve already had a flu shot. We can’t be naïve, and we know that not every person and institution has good intentions. We have to use some discernment and be willing to perform “due diligence” in many cases. After that, I can engender trust and hope by being a person of goodwill, by honoring my commitments, and by taking appropriate action. The alternative is to become cynical, to withdraw, and to spend energy trying to attack, punish, or even destroy those who appear to be the offenders. To me, that route will only make it all worse.
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