In the President’s last State of the Union address, he mentioned the necessity for the government to “trust” in the capabilities of its citizens. The government must have trust in citizens’ to make wise decisions, get their own healthcare, finance their own homes and be more or less self-sufficient. What is Bush getting at when he is telling the American people that he trusts them? Essentially, that they are on their own.
Bush’s emphasis on trust in his last State of the Union is indicative of his domestic legacy, a decrease of government presence in being a fair arbiter in the economy (even with the size of government remaining unchanged). The latest examples of this mentality are the trumped up stimulus package, bereft of actual assistance to families hit by foreclosures and loss of employment. It was also manifested in President Bush’s perverse (I think the adjective is warranted) veto of expanded SCHIP health insurance to lower income children. As brazen examples such as these show, trust is merely a purposeful misnomer for a ruthless abhorrence of welfare programs. “Trust,” for this presidency, looks more like dereliction.
Healthy relationships are built on mutual trust, and there is no reason for the American people to trust the people in charge. We were supposed to have faith that our president after 9/11 would guide a sensible foreign policy, that invading Iraq was a legitimate national interests because of its mature weapons program and that the occupation of this nation would not last long. At home, taxpayers and citizens should be safe in the assumption that if a natural disaster occurs, the government has appointed competent, experienced people ready to rescue innocent civilians and fellow citizens in a mien expected of an industrialized country. As the people of New Orleans, and generally the American public, you cannot trust the current Administration.
The next president must restore this trust, beginning with passing comprehensive reform of elections, so the American people know their new leader is not tied to special interest. And further, trust will be restored by acting competently and professionally, with a realization of accountability. It is sad that such stipulations must be asserted, but the American people have lost trust in their government.
