In January, the Deseret News asked the question, “Will honesty and integrity be on trial in 2019?” It was the query that underlay a national conversation on the role of trust in America, and this publication brought together legendary journalist Bob Woodward, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Michael Dimock, president of the Pew Research Center, to answer it.
The discussion occurred just two weeks into the new year, so their responses pertaining to trust’s fate in 2019 could not have been more than educated guesses based on a life’s worth of wisdom and experience.
In the ensuing six months, however, the answer has become clear: Yes, trust and integrity are on trial, and they need rescuing.
The latest data backs that up. Pew Research Center released on Monday its findings from a more than seven-month investigation into Americans' confidence in their government and in themselves, and the picture is bleak. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed believe it's harder to have trust in each other, and 75% said their trust in the national government is shrinking.
The issue isn’t superficial. Trust is the foundation upon which society rests. It undergirds transactions at the grocery store, allows a 12-year-old to babysit a gaggle of children and supports the closest relationships at home. Trust in democracy and federal institutions fuels the country’s operations from day to day. Without trust, accountability crumbles and isolation sets in.
Trust in democracy and federal institutions fuels the country’s operations from day to day. Without trust, accountability crumbles and isolation sets in.
The only backstop to the erosion of trust is having good people in good places. Elder Christofferson, who was among the first to hear President Nixon’s Watergate tapes in 1974, commented on that event, “Watergate was an assault on the integrity of institutions that are crucial for society. But it didn’t have the ultimate effect of destroying them because good people, people of integrity, came to the fore and exercised their influence.”
It’s sad that integrity is at a premium in 2019, but the good news is Americans think the trend is reversible; 84% of Americans believe they can improve their trust in the federal government, and even more think they can improve relations with each other.
Respondents gave a host of solutions: “Muffle political partisanship and group-centered tribalism, refocus news coverage away from insult-ridden talk shows and sensationalist stories, stop giving so much attention to digital screens and spend more time with people, and practice empathy.”
Without a doubt those are good steps to take, but the overall process must begin by looking in the mirror. Individuals who cultivate trust and integrity will improve their homes, neighborhoods and communities more effectively than the armchair commenter who points his fingers.
As American educator John W. Gardner said, “Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community.”
Trust, on the other hand, is the oxygen for a thriving community, and America can’t afford to stop breathing.