Recently published data released by the comprehensive General Social Survey reveals a massive erosion of confidence in American institutions over the last 20 years. Congress and the presidency, organized religion and corporations, educators and the media have lost credibility. Even the scientific community, banks, and schools are no longer trusted. The outlier institution is the military, whose approval has held steady among every generational cohort except for millennials, who have grown up in the shadow of two costly and controversial wars.
Of course, we don’t need a survey to tell us what we already know and feel. Much of this widespread lack of trust is earned, as the major institutions of American life have been riven by scandal and corruption. Organizations that are ideally characterized by integrity and service have betrayed the people they are meant to serve. Daily headlines chronicle a steady stream of misdeeds. It is no wonder why ours is a deeply cynical age.
Widespread distrust is dangerous for democratic societies and fertile soil for demagoguery and division. The digital age fuels discontent, giving voice to armies of critics and trolls who wait to pounce on every real or perceived hint of malfeasance. What’s more, the loss of a set of shared social values has created an environment where even what is good, what is right, and what is just is open to public debate and derision. Maybe today’s American society is not that different than the state of Israel at the end of the book of Judges, where everyone “did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).”
So how can we lead well in this moment? One temptation tends toward isolation and condescension, protecting a fragile ego. But leaders—from politicians to pastors—who self-righteously belittle the concerns of their constituents will find themselves increasingly isolated and eventually without a voice. Another temptation is to pander to the basest instincts of every audience, fueling real and imagined outrage with rhetoric designed to inflame. This, too, is a mistake, as it only erodes institutional trust.
Recently published data released by the comprehensive General Social Survey reveals a massive erosion of confidence in American institutions over the last 20 years. Congress and the presidency, organized religion and corporations, educators and the media have lost credibility. Even the scientific community, banks, and schools are no longer trusted. The outlier institution is the military, whose approval has held steady among every generational cohort except for millennials, who have grown up in the shadow of two costly and controversial wars.
Of course, we don’t need a survey to tell us what we already know and feel. Much of this widespread lack of trust is earned, as the major institutions of American life have been riven by scandal and corruption. Organizations that are ideally characterized by integrity and service have betrayed the people they are meant to serve. Daily headlines chronicle a steady stream of misdeeds. It is no wonder why ours is a deeply cynical age.
Widespread distrust is dangerous for democratic societies and fertile soil for demagoguery and division. The digital age fuels discontent, giving voice to armies of critics and trolls who wait to pounce on every real or perceived hint of malfeasance. What’s more, the loss of a set of shared social values has created an environment where even what is good, what is right, and what is just is open to public debate and derision. Maybe today’s American society is not that different than the state of Israel at the end of the book of Judges, where everyone “did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).”
So how can we lead well in this moment? One temptation tends toward isolation and condescension, protecting a fragile ego. But leaders—from politicians to pastors—who self-righteously belittle the concerns of their constituents will find themselves increasingly isolated and eventually without a voice. Another temptation is to pander to the basest instincts of every audience, fueling real and imagined outrage with rhetoric designed to inflame. This, too, is a mistake, as it only erodes institutional trust.
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