If someone took money from you and then lied about how they spent it, or if they betrayed you and hurt you over and over again, how easy would it be for you to trust them again? What if that person was your government and the ‘you’ was the most vulnerable people in your community? Would the public’s trust in government tear beyond mending?
Trust between people and institutions is not so different from trust between individuals. Most relationships can survive small, unintentional breaches. We’re all fallible. We know that and accept it in ourselves and others. Deep, wounding betrayals or persistent dishonesty are a different thing. They leave scars that never heal.
