BREAKING NEWS: Trust is on Life Support
“Trust is barely hanging onto life,” reported ICU Dr. Ucan Trustme, head of Public Trust Med Center, Canada, the #1 trusted country in the world. If trust dies, it will take generosity, empowerment and hope with it. Humility will become a word only found in the dictionary. Relationships already strained will diminish. Most of all, we are becoming slaves to fear. As a result, fear will dominate love, and ignorance will reach new levels. Insincere, unreliable, incompetent and uncompassionate behaviors will reign.
The brand, Life is Good, is seeking Chapter 11. If Life is Good is able to survive Chapter 11, experts think a name change is imminent perhaps as Life is Not Good or Life is Bad.
POTUS 45 is blaming the Democrats and the Democrats are blaming FOX News. The Supreme Court refuses to offer an opinion.
Doctors have been trying to discover the cause of trust’s life-threating demise. They are exploring the lack of critical thinking, echo chambers, denial of truth and facts, and ignorance of common sense. Many point to the inability to actively listen to one another. This inability seems to be linked to people taking themselves way too seriously, especially in positions of power, including government and wealth. Religious leaders and religious institutions have also lacked ability to help trust survive.
Trust medics noted POTUS 45 has replaced universal principles and rights with authoritarian behavior that appeals to a narrow, exclusive, part of America and Western society, creating more distrust and divisiveness. This has greatly contributed to trust being on life support; thus respect for fellow human beings is wishful thinking. Such behavior has led to making public shaming a lifestyle. Ugly behavior is in vogue and rampant. With trust’s dismise, anger has consumed American souls.
The relationship between trust and democracy is greatly wounded. Trust has always been a firm foundation of democracy. After all, The Constitution and its Amendments, were created based on trust between dissenting framers who held each other accountable to the core principles of our democracy.
When questioned on chances of trust surviving, doctors said it will require a yeoman’s effort that needs to be embraced by everyone, starting on a microlevel.
They suggested that everyone, especially leaders in positions of power, look into a mirror and ask themselves two important questions: “Am I trustworthy?” If so, “What is my evidence?” A deeper personal dive requires asking themselves how sincere, reliable, competent and compassionate they are. Asking others who know them about these four critical trust behaviors could reduce personal blind spots. It’s been shown all four of these behaviors are essential for establishing and building trust with others. A weakness in any one of these behaviors could keep trust in the ICU.
Doctors suggest people get out of their comfort zones, including their echo chambers, and go where they don’t normally go for news and information; attend meetings and interact with groups they would not normally seek out.
Connecting with those who have different beliefs, opinions and faiths is also a good idea. Listen to each other’s stories and follow-up with open-ended questions of each other, seeking to understand rather than being understood; become interested rather than trying to be a “know it all.” When they feel “triggered,” they should ask another question rather than give their opinion.
A global beer company is doing its part, watch Heineken’s “Worlds Apart: An Experiment.” What are you willing do to help trust not just survive but thrive?
