Distrust vs Hate

A PLEASANT CONVERSATION
So, I was having a lovely evening the other day with a bureaucrat who happens to have a certain level of security clearance. We got to discussing the rather adversarial elements of society and I mentioned that I have no reasons to trust the government.


As a matter of fact, government agencies will often time remind me that I shouldn't trust them. Everything from Ornge, to Walkerton, to the RCMP's sexual harassment allegations.

However, after I mentioned (to this person) that I don't trust the government, this person automatically defaulted to saying that I hate my government. Which couldn't be further from the truth, and I tried to explain that fact, but to no avail...this person could not dissociate distrusts from hatred.

Kinda like how if you distrust the Taliban, you have to hate them. Well, I'd like to present a counter-perspective and one which is much more common place. And I so wish I had thought while we were speaking, and not after the fact.

THE JILTED LOVER
Just about anyone who's been in a serious and committed relationship has been put in a situation where their partner has given them reason not to trust them. Whether their spouse cheated on them, or lied about money. It happens. A lot.

That doesn't mean you necessarily hate this person and want to see them dead (although, this wouldn't be news either - cough cough O.J. Simpson). You may have hated their actions. You may have hated the way they made you feel. But, to completely sever the relationship and declare war against them isn't the typical response.

And that's the exact same way I feel about the government. Even after all of the scandals, I don't hate them. I want to be able to trust them again, I really do.

WHAT IS TRUST?
Trust is essential for our well-being...it is an evolved human emotions...making "distrust" counter-evolutionary.

That's why I'm part the CitizenBridge.org team. A team who's fundamental purpose may be to create an civic engagement platform between Constituents and their Elected Representatives, but to me...it is about restoring the trust that's been lost between us and our government.

It's about communication and openness. It's about working together towards a common end. It's about feeling good about something that you are irrevocably linked for the rest of your life.

DON'T BURN THE WITCHES!
So, no. I don't hate my government and plan on bringing it down by storming parliament with torches and pitch forks.

Quite the opposite. I want to help build a new participatory and collaborative government where the Adversarial System is but a distant memory.

I'm reminded of Yoda as he was teaching Luke about the Force..."Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
I prefer to think peacefully and to work socially. And I really want to trust again.