“The System is Broken”: Americans No Longer Believe In Its Institutions
It’s not difficult to see that the foundation is crumbling…

It’s not difficult to see that the foundation is crumbling…

A new Gallup poll has found that already low “confidence” in our system of government, our economy, the media, banking, big business, religious institutions and watchdogs is further eroding.

“Americans’ confidence in most major U.S. institutions remains below the historical average for each one,” a Gallup spokesman said in a news release.

[…]

All in all, it’s a picture of a nation discouraged about its present and worried about its future, and highly doubtful that its institutions can pull America out of its trough.

There is plenty of good reason, with evidence uncovered daily, weekly and consistently throughout the years of the hypocrisy and failures of government, the failed promises of politicians, the lies and spin of the mainstream media and newspapers, the greed and exploitation of the financial sector and the “just us” mentality of above-the-law enforcers who are supposed to uphold justice.

Just check out how little faith remains in the structure of, well, just about any institution in America, by the numbers:

Only 8 percent have confidence in Congress, down by 16 points from a long-term average of 24 percent – the lowest of all institutions rated.

33 percent have confidence in the presidency, a drop from a historical average of 43 percent.

32 percent have confidence in the Supreme Court, down from 44.

28 percent have confidence in banks, down from 40 percent.

21 percent have confidence in big business, down from 24 percent.

24 percent have confidence in organized labor, down from 26.

24 percent have confidence in newspapers, down from 32 percent.

21 percent have confidence in television news, down from 30 percent.

52 percent of Americans […] are confident in the police [57 percent historically]

What else can be said, but that the system is broken?

Obviously it bears little resemblance to the one envisioned by the founding fathers and their emphasis on separation of powers and limited government.

None of the three branches of government are trusted by even close to a majority of the American populace… maybe that’s to be expected, with frequent media criticisms of political figures in a polarizing two party system.

But other pillars of society have lost their backing of the public, too – in astonishing numbers that show not only that the American dream is dead, but that private institutions are widely perceived as being just as corrupt as public ones (or worse).

To top it off – this perception is entirely deserved. The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis consolidated the power and wealth of the big banks, and gave the Federal Reserve ultimate power over the economy, while average Americans suffered greatly.

Scandal after scandal revealed that corruption for what it is.

Media scandals – such as Brian Williams’ fabricated war zone stories and George Stephanopoulos’ attempt to conceal his conflicts of interest with the Clinton Foundation – have left a bad taste in the mouth of media consumers already facing fake news indigestion.

The factors are piling up beyond our capacity to excuse them away: fatigue from endless wars and threats of terrorism; cynically-false promises of hope and change; the repeated, brazen trampling of civil rights; a sharp decline of opportunity at the hands of economic recession; trade deals written in secret to enrich corporations; the rise of job-crushing technology and more have all sapped at the American spirit.

Whether most Americans follow these developments or not, they instinctually sense them. No one trustworthy is steering this ship – worse, no one may be at the wheel at all.

Who or what can turn things around?

That remains to be seen, but few will be willing to buy into the system if it remains on course.

The loss of confidence in the system ultimately relates to the loss of confidence in the freedom of the individual.

It is strong-willed and determined people who have always made this country, and any other, strong and vibrant.

The constant detriment of individual rights and the endless calls to transfer power to the collective – whether inside or outside of government – is the real source of the problem that this Gallup poll reflects.

Our best hope at a better world should start there. Is it still possible?

The 'MYTH' and the reality; my hand gun has a trigger lock - it's right beside my bed in my night stand - all my other (22 rifle & 410) are in the gun safe! I do not need my weapons laying around like I'm going to be invaded by a thundering-hoard of Mongols!
To live any other way is foolish and irresponsible and children get killed exactly by those 'foolish & irresponsible' methods!

BTW - before you say anything about my 'trigger lock'; I've got 3 of the noisiest - light sleeper medium sized ankle biters that are 'sound activated'...they do their job very well.

trigger lock is a bit different, but also if your a responsible adult gun owner, your kids shouldnt know where your guns are, or be able to access them. im just saying, keeping a home defense weapon in a gun safe defeats the whole purpose of having a gun for home safety.

keeping your guns for self defense locked in a safe is stupid, suppose you actually need it, you think the person who invades your home is going to stand there and wait while you put the combination to the safe in? "hold on mr home invader, let me just put this combination in real quick" "sure go ahead mr homeowner, ill just ransack your house and rape your wife while you do that" "thanx mr home invader for being so understanding"

go look at the DOJ's statistics of gun violence over the past 20 years, its been going down consistently. people always try to detract from the reason we have the 2A, ITS TO PROTECT US FROM THE GOVERNMENT! but yet the very people we have this right to protect us from, are the ones saying "no you guys dont need guns". yea phuck you government.

hey politicians,

yes, but if you are an american citizen they will tell you that you shouldnt own guns or your a racist right wing nut case.

theres alot of statistics that are conveniently left out of that article though harmony.

Ok, so lets break this down further, so we can see the real significance:

of the 8,342 criminal homicides:
how many were committed by a legal, responsible gun owner?
how many were committed with guns sold/purchased illegally?
how many were committed with stolen guns?
how many were committed with legally owned/purchased guns?
how many were committed by known criminals?
how many were committed by first time criminals?
how many were committed by people that were known to have mental issues?


they of course leave these statistics out, because their point might get weakened by facts. The truth is that guns are mostly used for shooting paper targets by the vast majority of legal gun owners. Also, self defense related gun events are rarely reported to authorities or the media unless someone is actually shot.

a huge % of americans arent even allowed to own guns in todays america.

ever got in an arguement with your wife? cops called? theres goes your gun rights, forever. misdemeanor DV

friend of mine got 2 dui offenses, didnt run from the cops, didnt crash, noone hurt. cant own a gun the rest of his life.

they have been passing laws over the years so that the most minor offenses prohibit people from owning/carrying guns. honestly its ridiculous.

i dont agree with the whole "felon" cant own a firearm BS.
if your crime was non violent, and you served your time, paid your debt, you should be just as free as any other american.

the only reason someone shouldnt have a gun is

1. you're in jail (thats a given)
2. you're on probation or parole

if your not in jail or on probation/parole, that means you have paid your debt and should be entitled to self defense just as any other american. gun control isnt about saving lives, its about control, control by the government. our founders warned us of this very thing and yet we are falling for it like idiots. if your so afraid of some "ex" criminal with a gun, get your own gun, learn how to shoot it and be proficient with it. that way if your ever in the situation where you need to defend yourself, you can do it effectively. the reason felons have such a high rate of recidivism is because once a felon, always a felon in the eyes of government. felons are treated as 2nd class citizens for the rest of their lives, even though they have "paid their debt" to society. if you were someone who was convicted of a felony, and paid your debt why should you still be subject the being a 2nd class citizen. cant get a good job, cant get any government assistance, cant legally defend yourself. thats why felons repeatedly get in trouble and dont become rehabilitated. and no im not a felon, thats just how i see things. but gun control is already out of hand in my opinion. and the whole mental health aspect of it, if your sane enough to be walking the street, why should you not be allowed to own a gun to protect yourself? if your that much of a danger that you cant be trusted with a firearm, you shouldnt be walking the street in the first place, you should be in an institution getting help for your issues.

i think they should leave the money the way it is.

where i live, you walk into the gun store, show them your ID, fill out a form. they call the state police for an instant background check. if you pass, you pay the man and walk out with your gun. it is legal to open carry your guns without a permit, but if you want to conceal it you have to apply for a conceal carry permit. you pay a fee, they check your background, if your background is clean, they give you a conceal carry license.

this about sums it up.

OMG and american father, bought his american son a gun for his birthday, OMG what a tragedy. people buy guns for family members all the time. we should ban fathers and sons, that way this type of thing wont happen again.

yepp, none of us should have guns because of what THIS guy did. 99.99999% of us are smarter than to put a gun to our head and pull the trigger to see if its loaded.

we're phucked.

exactly, they go to gun free zones because they know the people will be defenseless. just like james holmes passed up 2 movie theaters closer to him and went out of the way to a theater that was a gun free zone, its like shooting fish in a barrel. and of course obomba dosnt mention the fact this kid was taking pharmaceutical drugs, just instead immegiately blames the gun, as if the gun somehow loaded itself, walked itself to the church and pulled the trigger by itself.

all i keep hearing on the news now is "more gun control", phuking sickening. if those people in the church were allowed to exercise their 2nd amendment rights (church was gun free zone), someone would blew this dude away before he killed all them people. just like james holmes in colorado, he had 2 movie theaters closer to him, but yet he drove out of the way to target a theater that was a gun free zone. pretty convenient this stuff happens not long after obama tries to push his gun control BS. i swear the government uses tragedies to further political agendas. and i honestly think SOME of these shootings are fake/staged, but im not going to get into that because i dont have my tin foil hat on at the moment. i love how the media ignores the FACT that all these murderers are on some type of prescription drug. the gov is just going to try to keep chipping away at gun rights until noone is allowed to own them anymore. all in the name of safety, when in reality the department of justice's own records show gun violence and murders has gone DOWN steadily over the years. this story stinks worse than a months old gym socks. he just stands up in the church and says "im here to kill black people" and just starts shooting, like come on government, you can come up with a better story than that. this must be the brainwashing that douche holder was talking about.



F U HOLDER YOU ANTI AMERICAN PIECE OF GARBAGE!

i guess i dont really watch fox news enough.

Charleston shooter Dylann Storm Roof was reportedly taking a drug that has been linked with sudden outbursts of violence, fitting the pattern of innumerable other mass shooters who were on or had recently come off pharmaceutical drugs linked to aggression.

According to a CBS News report, earlier this year when cops searched Roof after he was acting suspiciously inside a Bath and Body Works store, they found “orange strips” that Roof told officers was suboxone, a narcotic that is used to treat opiate addiction.

Suboxone is a habit-forming drug that has been connected with sudden outbursts of aggression.
SS X2

A user on the MD Junction website relates how her husband “became violent, smashing things and threatening me,” after just a few days of coming off suboxone.

Another poster on the Drugs.com website tells the story of how his personality completely changed as a result of taking suboxone.

The individual relates how he became “nasty” and “violent” just weeks into taking the drug, adding that he would “snap” and be mean to people for no reason.

Another poster reveals how his son-in-law “completely changed on suboxone,” and that the drug sent him into “self-destruct mode.”

A user named ‘Jhalloway’ also tells the story of how her husband’s addiction to suboxone was “ruining our life.”

A poster on a separate forum writes about how he became “horribly aggressive” towards his partner after taking 8mg of suboxone.

A website devoted to horror stories about the drug called SubSux.com also features a post by a woman whose husband obtained a gun and began violently beating his 15-year-old son after taking suboxone.

According to a Courier-Journal report, suboxone “is increasingly being abused, sold on the streets and inappropriately prescribed” by doctors. For some users, it is even more addictive than the drugs it’s supposed to help them quit.

As we previously highlighted, virtually every major mass shooter was taking some form of SSRI or other pharmaceutical drug at the time of their attack, including Columbine killer Eric Harris, ‘Batman’ shooter James Holmes and Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza.

As the website SSRI Stories profusely documents, there are literally hundreds of examples of mass shootings, murders and other violent episodes that have been committed by individuals on psychiatric drugs over the past three decades.

Pharmaceutical giants who produce drugs like Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil spend around $2.4 billion dollars a year on direct-to-consumer television advertising every year. By running negative stories about prescription drugs, networks risk losing tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue, which is undoubtedly one of the primary reasons why the connection is habitually downplayed or ignored entirely.


who woulda thunk it, another mass murderer on some kind of prescription pills. but yea, lets keep blaming the guns.

hmm i havent really seen it at all being covered. you would think this stuff would be al over the main stream.

felon status doesnt apply for billionaires conrad, you should know that by now.