There’s an underlying tension to just about every major political issue in America today. It’s marching in the protests. It’s in the memes and wry tweets. It’s in the posters. It’s implied in the appeals politicians, advocacy organizations, and even companies make. It’s asked for in press conferences, public statements, campaign advertisements, and every fundraising push.
Trust.
Americans have lost a great deal of trust in their institutions and government. In their political leadership and parties. In their economy and business leadership. In their society and in each other.
Trust is the most coveted, most scarce political asset in America. It cannot be spontaneously willed, argued, or reasoned back. No amount of institutional wording, grandstanding, prestige, or influence will bring it back.
It must be earned.
To recover it, we need to repair the systems that continually break trust. That is the first step towards renewing America. Almost nobody is engaging seriously on that task.
We have run out of short-term. The question is—who will be the first to take the long road towards rebuilding trust in America?
