A Deficit of Trust

This phrase was one of the few I picked up the other night in the President's State of the Union address.

It also one of the few things I actually agreed with.

I have to admit that I didn't listen very closely, though. (Every time he has opened his mouth lately the stock market has dropped and we lose money. I'm not sure who he thinks owns all these Big Banks he keeps blasting but I am one. Middle class. Me.)

I trust nothing and no one associated with Washington DC. Either side of the aisle. Makes no difference to me.

Deficit of trust also very aptly describes what I think a lot of people in this country feel. I never thought I'd actually agree with Geraldo Rivera on much but he said something on Fox News the other day that is exactly what I've been saying. The bipartisanship in this country right now is downright depressing. It's as if no one in Washington DC has an original or independent thought.

I suggest this experiment. Have all members of both Houses go to their offices and close the doors. Slide a bill (obviously a thin one, not the thousand page tomes they are accustomed to) under the door for their consideration. They have to read it and vote in a given time period. During that time they are not permitted to see or talk to anyone.

No phone calls. No committee meetings. No memos from the party leaders.

Just them and their own thoughts.

At the end of the time limit they pass the bill back under the door with a yes or no vote.

Wonder what would happen.

Would some of them even vote? Or would they just try to defer? Say they need more time? I'm certainly curious.

I realize that I've said all this before but I can't help it. I am so incredibly disappointed in all the current leadership that I literally want to send everyone home and just start over.

No old boys club that way. No "that's the way we do things around here".

Nothing but fresh faces, not yet jaded by the process, and some fresh ideas.

I'm sure that in that whole bunch there are some good people. The law of averages demands it. But they don't get the attention.

Obviously they are not making enough noise. All we ever hear about are the ones leading the charges and making the deals.

Which is why I don't trust them. If they were truly doing the job they were "hired" to do we would see the results, not have to be told. But we are told, every single day, about all the garbage going on along the Beltway.

I wish I felt differently. I really do.

This is such an incredible country. All the freedoms and privileges. All the opportunities we have. I really want to love the leaders and the work they do. I want to believe they are working for the American people.

But I don't.

I can't.

I have a deficit of trust.