Trust Issues

I find it very hard to trust the government. I feel like that’s a problem. When I look back on what I know about sociology, I know that to take part in a society and be governed by others we sign a social contract. If we want to be protected and looked after we have to play by the rules. And of course, this makes sense. Especially when living otherwise was once described as nasty, brutish and short. So we allow ourselves to be governed, so that someone bigger than us can have our best interest in mind. That’s what a government is supposed to be doing, and in most aspects of our every day life our government succeeds.

Despite knowing the essentiality of the entering into the social contract it is hard for me to voluntarily let somebody else take the wheel. Can I really trust these people to have my and the rest of our best interests in mind? It seems kind of ridiculous to let a creature as corruptible as the human being, direct the proceeding of government and democracy. And I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels a disconnect from our government. With slants in media coverage, political parties and people representing us there’s a lot between us and the people in charge.

There are definitely representatives and other politicians that do what they do for the greater good. It’s not them I’m concerned about. It’s the politicians that can be bought that I worry about. Business and money are the two greatest evils in government. When people make selfish decisions for money there’s usually someone that gets the short straw. And power and influence are dangerous things if used for dishonest reasons. So how can I trust that every politician and representative are incorruptible?

I hate to think that way about my government. I guess it really does pay off to pay attention and stay involved in what’s going on around you. Being knowledgeable about who represents you allows you make informed decisions that you can feel proud of. That’s really the least you can do. If your not up for protesting or being an activist the least thing you can do is making intelligent votes. I can’t say I can ever trust everybody’s intentions in our government but for now I’ll work with what I’m dealt.