Will you ever believe the government or mass media again?

[zanana]

I don't know about you, but even if only Progressive Democrats or Green Party members are elected in 2004, I still won't have the trust I used to have in the government or the Six O'clock News. I think that something very fundamental has been changed by this administration; they've destroyed any traces of naivete we used to have. Once that's gone, it can't be recovered. I'd like to know how other feel about that.

[gdwill]

1. What?

naivete is a good thing?

[newyawker99]

8. Hi gdwill!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Don_G]

2. Our Government?

Not under ShrubCo. The media only if its the BBC or the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

[zanana]

3. The benefit of the doubt.

I used to at least TRY to give "the other guy" the benefit of the doubt; in other words, I had to be proven wrong. Not any more. That's what I meant about naivete.

[rock]

4. Media: No, never; Government: Depends on the Administration

Just like the SCOTUS, the Media will never regain my trust because they have shown they can be bought. On the other hand, Administrations are individualized. For example the Clinton Admin was one of the most trustworthy and honorable Admins ever (at least within my lifetime).

[prolesunited]

5. Never again

I wasn't totally gullible and maintained a healthy bit of skepticism. But all of that has been totally destroyed in the past five years, beginning with the hunting of Clinton, continuing through the trashing of Gore and ongoing during this illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq.

When people used to speak of plots and conspiracies and rich white men controlling the world, I would smile and nod, thinking they had their tinfoil hats on too tight. I used to hang out at Salon's Table Talk. Right after Bush's selection, they were speculating on how soon we would be going to Iraq — and it wasn't just one or two, but a whole group. I thought they were a little off the wall. Unfortunately, how wrong I turned out to be.

I've learned a tremendous amount in the past few years, things about our country's history and its leaders never covered in the history books for obvious reasons. For example, reading the Northwoods report was particularly chilling. Participating here at DU has been an invaluable part of that education.

However, this crisis of faith has be more active and determined to be a part of the process. For far too many, this sense of disillusionment leads to apathy and non-participation. The RW benefits from this because analysis shows they benefit from low voter turnout.

Florida was a debacle on a whole other level because it said to people, "Why bother voting since it won't be counted anyway." As I see it, our task is to convince people that they MUST make their voices heard.

[dmr]

6. No

I will rely on my trusted news sources here on the internet - praying they don't mess with the internet as we now know it.

[Brucey]

7. Never believe anything you read or hear.

And only believe half of what you see. I have been a nonbeliever since Viet Nam. I think one should get educated, listen to many diverse possibilities, and decide what to believe on the basis of logic, circumstance, ethics, people you trust, and experience. Even then, I'm usually wrong.

[laura888]

9. Yes, the last several months have been a wake-up call

I never used to have "propaganda" radar like I have now. The sad thing is that I no longer have the faith in our democratic system that I used to.