Losing Trust In Each Other In America

THE AVERAGE AMERICAN does not trust other Americans nearly as much now as in the past. Every year since 1972, when the study started, Americans have trusted each other less. Forty years ago half of Americans trusted other people, now, only one third do. That is a stark reality, that we Americans trust each other, trust strangers, less all the time. Social scientists are worried about this trend, which they see as unhealthy. There are many different purported causes fot this, many different places to place blame. Television, growing economic inequality, to name just a couple of the many and varied. Has anyone considered the possibility that it may be just good common sense? Forty years ago about half the American people said they trust other people, now, its down to one third, and declining all the time. Certainly the trend has been accompanied by a decline in community in general in American Culture, as the book "Bowling Alone" describes. Traditional community of all types, from churches to PTAs to bowling leagues, have experienced declining participation in America over the past few decades. Over the same time period, forty years, the average American has lost one friend, and has one fewer friends, accoridng to the same scientific statistical analysis. With less social trust, say social scientists, cooperative activiey can never be as effective, and conflict and diviseness will tear apart the spirit of community which is the backbone of any society. I will never forget the words my friend from China scorched us with: "you Amellican are the loneriest people in the world. You care more about your dogs and cats than you do each other." He sure got that right. I congratulated him on his astute understanding of American culture. He still lives here, by the way; evidently American standard of living trumped shortcomings in American community. Its money that matters in the U.S.A., as Randy Newman said. Maybe our loss of trust is necessary, in a complicated world. But then maybe there will come a time when we trust each other again.