Trust is a very sensitive topic. We absolutely rely on it, but it is very easy to lose trust in people and institutions. And, it is very difficult to regain trust when it is lost.

As a Police Officer of 30 years, trust is at the heart of the job. You develop a healthy distrust of the general public. Yes, many folks are just regular, good people. But, you still have to trust what they are telling you to act on it. What you do trust as a Cop is your fellow officers. Your backup officer can be your life line to going home after your shift.

If we expand this a bit further, many people today have lost trust in their various levels of government. We have just been lied to way too many times. When trust breaks down, then things do not work properly, smoothly. People are hesitant and just “don’t want to get involved”.

Another important area where trust has eroded is the media. Actually, I would generalize that and say information. How do you trust the information you are receiving these days. I think people need to be skeptical of whatever information they receive. It is important to develop trusted sources of information. I am sorry to say, that would not be the “main stream media”.

Here is how I approach the information thing. I am constantly developing information sources that I believe are reliable. When someone tells me something, I immediately want to know where they are getting their information. They may trust certain sources of information, but that does not mean that I do. I try to be polite about it, but my goal is to find out “where they heard that”.

It is not that I do not trust them personally, but people still trust sources that I consider very suspect. It seems like the “truth” has almost become extinct. As Mulder and Scully say, “the truth is out there”. But, you might have a difficult time finding it. ¹

Doug

1. Yes, this is quite cynical. But, it comes from years of experience. ↩