Conversations on Controversial Issues moderated by Clay Jenkinson: Eroding Trust in American Institutions
To join the webinar via Zoom at 6pm MT, click this link.
Nancy & Stephen Dowdle, Carole & Pete Feistmann, Laine & Merv Lapin, Jeanne & Dale Mosier, Mary Pat & Keith Rapp underwrite the Conversations on Controversial Issues series
In October 2020 in The Atlantic, David Brooks wrote “Social trust is a measure of the moral quality of a society—of whether the people and institutions in it are trustworthy, whether they keep their promises and work for the common good. When people in a church lose faith or trust in God, the church collapses. When people in a society lose faith or trust in their institutions and in each other, the nation collapses.”
In an era of increasing polarization and shifts in how individuals perceive and interact with systems such as law enforcement, churches, the press, politics, and education, what are the factors that influence confidence? Do declines in trust occur evenly across demographics and systems? Is this eroding trust unique to this time in our history?
In this fireside-style discussion, Clay Jenkinson and UC Berkeley political scientist Dr. Henry Brady will explore the unique characteristics of the American experiment that depend on trust in our institutions, other epochs in American history that were riddled with distrust and how we recovered, and what we can do to rebuild this critical component of life in America.
Recommended complimentary online reading for this program:
Daedalus, Fall 2022: “Institutions, Experts & the Loss of Trust”
Recommended reading available at the Bookworm of Edwards:
American Cyberscape: Trials and the Path to Trust by Major General Mari K. Eder
