In Today's Political World, Who Can You Trust?

03-06-2017

Can we get personal for a moment? In a relationship, when trust is broken, it’s very hard to reestablish it again. The relationship is broken and functionality becomes a major issue going forward. Just like a personal relationship, trust is in short supply in Washington DC. It’s leading us to a very dangerous and unsettling place. Who can you trust?

Roughly half of America doesn’t trust anything Donald Trump has to say. Roughly half of America doesn’t trust anything Barack Obama has to say (or used to say). Overall, the majority of Americans don't trust anything the government tells us these days. Just 19% say they can trust the government always or most of the time. Back in the late 1950’s that figure was 73%! And how about the media? Please. Their trust rating is in the toilet. Just 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. 

When President Trump’s tweets about how Barack Obama has been wiretapping Trump Tower, we don’t know if that’s true. We don’t know if it’s false. James Clapper, the former director of the Department of National Intelligence says it’s not true but how do we know if he’s telling the truth? After all, he’s one of those “government official people” that Americans don’t trust to begin with! Barack Obama’s spokesman comes out with a statement saying the former president didn’t do anything wrong or wiretap anybody but how do we really know? “Blue State America” believes him; “Red State America” remains skeptical. 

So where does that leave us? Folks, it leaves us in a very dangerous place. We should all be concerned that we’ve lost trust in our elected officials and the media. This is a major issue that isn’t going away anytime soon. So what do we do in the meantime? There are no easy answers. Obviously, Americans need to be smart consumers when it comes to understanding the media resources they are tapping into. They need to understand that many in the media (on the left and right) have an agenda. They should look to multiple sources from both sides to get a better indication of the truth. But the solution is also found in transparency. There are watchdog groups that are out there everyday holding government officials accountable by filing Freedom Of Information Act Requests, trying to peel away the layers and get to the bottom of what’s really going on. It’s not easy to say the least.

Searching for truth in Washington DC is no easy task. But remember this: truthful answers to our political, social and moral problems will not ultimately come or be solved by politicians in our nation’s capital. Or by watching cable tv news for hours. However, they can be found somewhere more important. The B-I-B-L-E! (That’s the book for me).  There aren’t White Paper documents in there but there’s something more valuable: eternal truth. More specifically, Jesus. He is the truth.  In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me.” Folks, in the crazy world we live in, where tweets are flying, lies are spewing and hate is flowing, we can find rest in HIM. In Jesus. In this book they call The Bible. His word brings peace, joy and contentment in the midst of trouble. We sure could all use a healthy dose of that right about now.

 

 

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