Let’s see a quick show of hands. How many of you are feeling fairly comfortable with the current state of American politics, trust the strength and integrity of the system, and believe that things are going to work out in the end? [Pauses to count… one… two… two…] So almost nobody, eh? Well, if you’re one of the people who didn’t raise their hands, you’re not alone, at least according to the most recent Pew Research survey. The American political system is letting people down and the level of trust people feel in their government is hitting all-time lows. And this isn’t simply a reflection of partisans having no faith in “the other party.” There has been a sharp jump in the number of people who have an unfavorable view of both parties, particularly as compared to twenty years ago. (Axios)

Americans’ views of the U.S. political system have reached new lows, according to a survey that reveals near-record distrust of the government, disgust with both political parties and general exhaustion over all the divisiveness.

The survey by Pew Research Center reflects the growing distaste with the nation’s politics as congressional infighting threatens a government shutdown and the 2024 presidential race appears headed toward a Biden-Trump matchup most Americans don’t want.

Four times as many Americans have unfavorable views of both parties today than they did in 2002 — an all-time high, with Republicans and Democrats equally unpopular, the survey found.

Four times as many people souring on both parties in just twenty years is a pretty drastic decline. But the widespread disgust goes further than that. The survey also asked about trust in the federal government. So how many people said that they trust the government at least “most of the time?” Sixteen percent. That’s not even one out of five. If this was just some sort of partisan distrust, you would expect the number to at least be up near forty percent because most of the Democrats would currently look on Washington a bit more charitably. But no. The distrust runs across the board.

This survey was particularly interesting because it didn’t stick to straight A, B, or C answers. When asked how people “felt” when thinking about politics today and what the best word to describe those feelings would be, the most common answer was “exhausted.” (Speaking as someone who covers this for a living, believe me, America, I can relate.) Respondents were asked to pick the two words that best describe U.S. politics in 2023. The top choices were “divisive” and “corrupt.”

Is this something we’ll grow out of as new generations come up? Not any time soon, at least from the sound of the demographic breakdown. Younger voters in the 18-29 year range were more than twice as likely (37%) to have an unfavorable view of both parties than voters aged 65 and up (16%). So if anything, the resentment and anger will only increase in the coming decades absent some major changes.

So does all of this say something about We the People? Are we too jaded and cynical? Are we unappreciative of our hardworking government servants in Washington? I would argue almost certainly not. If anyone is to blame, it is the swamp creatures in Washington themselves who have enriched themselves and their families while failing to deliver for working-class Americans.

If you don’t want the voters talking about scandals and corruption in the government, perhaps you should stop engaging in such high levels of scandal and corruption. When someone brings forward a bill to completely ban insider trading by members of Congress and their families, perhaps you should all resoundingly vote for it. If credible evidence is brought forward suggesting that a powerful political figure has been growing wealthy off the backs of adversarial foreign powers, maybe everyone from both parties should stand up and demand answers and hold them accountable. And if you want to start passing laws forbidding people from doing or having certain things in the name of whatever the cause du jour is, maybe… just maybe… you give up those things and stop doing those things yourself first. But that’s just crazy talk, right? It’s just not how the system works, so go back to your pods and eat your bugs. For Pete’s sake. Honestly, I’m shocked that the trust in the government number was as high as sixteen percent.