>>Which is exactly why I welcome this so-called erosion of trust. Trust needs to be earned, not imposed.

Bill's not arguing against that. He's asking what institutions can step up and provide moral/civic leadership if everything else is habitually trash-talked.

These days I always try to reflect that "perfect is the enemy of good" and that pragmatic solutions often prevail over long-winded pure efforts. It's also true that a well-marketed mediocre product usually trumps an indifferently marketed superior effort. That's our reality and I'll take that, same as I stop at red lights, if that's part of the price for contented society. JMHO.