Post 9/11: An Analysis of Political Trust

In a paper presented to the British Association for American Studies annual conference (University of Oxford, April 5-8, 2002), Americans were asked about trust in their government. Pre-9/11 only 4 in 10 Americans reported trusting their government all or most of the time. After the destruction of the Twin Towers, that figure increased to 6 in 10. (highest level since 1968) The paper also examined whether the increase in trust will be transient or permanent. It is assumed that trust will nonetheless decline as the United States returns to normal.

The paper discovered the attacks have somehow encouraged American citizens to reconnect with the government, replacing decades of mistrust.

The paper discussed age-old issues between liberals and conservatives, democrats and republicans.

The successful acts of terrorism of September 11 were quite possibly the greatest failure of our government in the past 50 years.

How does a government so massively funded allow such an act to occur?

Suggested in the paper...

...the reader should disregard which party controls each institution of the federal government and instead think about federal government "in general."

The Trust Question...
...it is not at all clear what is understood by the word trust...

One Answer

...the question has tapped the same feelings about the same things over time; although we cannot be sure what feelings the question taps, nor what is the object those feelings...

In sum, there is little consensus regarding the extent to which trust in government has declined and little agreement regarding the meanin of the decline for the U.S. policy. Unsuprisingly then, there is also considerable disagreement about why trust increased since 9/11 and what the consequences will be.

The paper provided an early (2002) and psychological viewpoints surrounding governmental trust in a post-9/11 America. It's interesting because since 2002 so much new information has come forth regarding the attacks that have major impacts on trust of your government. This study, was perhaps, premature, as I doubt many factors did not play any part in this report.

Since 9/11, we found ourselves fighting wars in two different theaters across the globe, mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops, and spent trillions. Our economy continues to struggle, our dollar value has diminshed globally, we have futhered a war-mongerig reptutation, unemployment and poverty continue to increase nationally. Yes we did hunt down and kill Hussein and OBL, but at what cost? Right now I don't trust any administration, regardless of party affiliation. We've seen too many empty promises.

In early post-9/11 serious political scandals further complicated issues of trust. Remember the Plame Affair, or the CIA leak scandal?

What I didn't find in Africa

Karl Rove, Cheney, and Scooter Libby should have all been held responsible for that...but nothing...

And what about Tom DeLay...found quilty of money-laundering...he had the nerve to say...

“This is an abuse of power,” he said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice. I still maintain my innocence. The criminalization of politics undermines our very system.”

Are all these people drunk on power? Its absolutely ridiculous. There are no checks and balances. Greed has seized this nation. The Military-Industrial Complex owns the polititians. We've crawled in bed with the devil, nevermind sleeping with him! I think a survey asking about trust in our government would reveal entirely different results today. I have my own theories about the attacks on 9/11. Most of my theories allege a "need" to enter Iraq and finish what Bush, Sr started years ago. That "need" is the theory itself, as 15 out of 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, the rest Eqyptians. None at all were Iraqi. Iraq didn't have WMDs so I wish someone could explain why we invaded Iraq!! Because we were all sleeping behind yellow flags and befuddled by the MSM.

The one person I hope I get to vote for next year is considered a heretic and a lunatic...Go RP!!

Post 9/11 Analysis of Trust