Keeping the 'faith' in democratic government

Last week I wrote an essay that claimed that American democracy is a religious experience. According to the essay, it is based on "sacred" beliefs and rituals and has a "church" of citizens with faith in our system. While it looked good as a topic for a religion paper, the more I think about the truth of the claim, the less I am convinced. Despite all the triumphs of the American system, many people do not seem to have any confidence towards our system at all. It seems that there is an increasingly visible lack of faith in our government and its decisions, and more and more faith in conspiracy theories when trying to explain world events. There appears to be a disconnection between people's perceptions of the government and the reality of the situation, as more and more people seem to be convinced the government is out to "get" them rather than look out for them. This is indeed a troubling phenomenon because it has bred hostility and fear in some, and caused others to be jaded and apathetic. No religion can survive without a heartfelt faith from its believers, and our democracy cannot flourish without active participation and trust from its citizenry. In order for our system to evolve, there must be a change in perceptions about our relationship to the government, away from conspiracy and doomsday theories and towards more realistic assessments.

One of the seeds of distrust towards the government has been the wide appeal of conspiracy theories. From classic examples such as the "conspiracy" that allowed George W. Bush to "steal" the presidential election to newer inventions such as the Iraq war being a "conspiracy" to stimulate the economy and give Halliburton government contracts, conspiracy theories provide an alternative reality for those disgruntled with the government. These fictions have been around forever, but they have recently gained increased legitimacy that they do not deserve. These were not far-out tales told from "hippie A" to "hippie B," they are real scenarios presented as "fact" during student discussions such as in the Global Issues Forum. Not only do they spread distrust about the government, they are just "fun" enough to tell that people are very tempted to believe them — even very intelligent people.

However, the reality of the government is very different from these types of perceptions. When I think of the government, I think of my father, who spends eight hours a day in a cubicle working to alleviate the poverty of people he has never met. When I think of the CIA, I do not think of a bunch of black-suited murderers waiting to overthrow governments on the whim of George Bush. I instead see former Inspector General Frederick Hitz, a former top spy who is now a professor here. Far from being a gung-ho adventurer, Professor Hitz is more likely to speak about the importance of being "true to yourself" academically than assassinating a foreign leader. The point is, the government is made up of normal people just like you and me, and not some huge conspiracy. While there is waste and excess like in any bureaucracy, our government functions as a network of "regular" people working to prevent exactly the type of situations that conspiracy theorists espouse. It only takes one honest person to bring down a conspiracy, and the government is full of such people. Despite their outlandishness, these theories have contributed to a general perception that our government is incompetent, if not evil. This is perhaps even more dangerous than conspiracy theories, since they are just plausible enough to be believed.

The disconnection of perception and reality towards government was very evident during the recent Iraq war. Despite remarkable progress in both the ground and air campaign during the first week of the war, the questions posed towards Pentagon officials did not reflect confidence — they reflected a sense of dread. Why had we not won the war already? Why were the Iraqis still fighting? Had something gone wrong? Peter Arnett even went so far as to broadcast on Iraqi state television that our war plan had been "scrapped" and a new one was being written ad-hoc. There was more faith that something had gone horribly wrong than in the best efforts of our military. Of course, these predictions turned out to be total rubbish, as the war went brilliantly. Nevertheless, they continue to erode faith in our system because they make people believe that something is amiss when it is not. The same phenomenon is happening now with the rebuilding of Iraq, as one day after Baghdad fell reporters were more concerned with the (relatively) minor problem of looting than the major victory just won.

Even I am not so naïve to say the government is perfect; far from it. There have been many unsavory episodes in our nation's history, especially in our dealings during the Cold War. However, the conspiracy theories that are so fun to spread around have migrated from the realm of internet chat message boards to real academia, and so has the perception that the government is either incompetent or out to "get us." We must realign our perceptions of government with reality, and revitalize our faith in government to prevent becoming so jaded that we no longer care. Our government is not evil, despite reports to the contrary. However, don't believe it from me — I may be part of the conspiracy as well.

David Sillers is a politics major from Potomac, Md.