On New Year's Day, two deadly tragedies struck, one in New Orleans and one in Las Vegas, and while the two events are very different, the wake of both displays the deficit in trust that Americans feel in our most important institutions. On Bourbon Street, a terrorist born and raised in the United States plowed a pickup truck into a festive crowd, killing 14 in the process, all in the name of ISIS, or so we are given to understand.
But, as the saying goes, the first step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one, and as the election of Trump, and likely confirmation of Patel attests to, Americans damn well know what the problem is. A bond of trust has been abused, something of value, the very ability of Americans to believe what their government and media tell them, has been lost.
Trust is something that can disappear in the blink of an eye. It is also something that can take a lifetime to rebuild once lost. Maybe the most important thing the Trump administration can do, starting in two weeks, is to begin the process of restoring that trust, because without it, no representative democracy can survive and flourish. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DAVID MARCUS