A question of terminology. Why do we use "trust" with politicians?

[NRaleighLiberal]

I am not at all referring to any particular candidate. I am referring to pretty much all of them. Maybe I hold the word in too high esteem - consider it a strong, serious word.

From the dictionary -

______________

trust. noun

firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
"relations have to be built on trust"
synonyms: confidence, belief, faith, certainty, assurance, conviction, credence; reliance

_______________

I trust one person in my life - my wife. I trust her because it is exactly as the definition states - my firm belief in her reliability is based upon evidence of 35 years- my experience with her utterly.

Because of that, I don't use the word lightly. I would never say that I trust a politician to represent my best interests, because I don't really know them, and they certainly don't know me. I know what they say in public, but not when they are out of the microphone or video camera.

So I guess my preferred terms are "like" (or "dislike&quot , or "am hopeful about" (or dread) - but trust?

Nope. It is just that when the various groups get into it here at DU (and elsewhere), the word is tossed around so lightly (in my opinion) - and I get curious as to what the basis of the trust is....

That's all - I've been pondering this lately, and just wanted to toss it out there.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. We're not supposed to trust politicians in a democracy.

In a democracy it's the responsibility of the citizens to hold the public servants we hire to account. And, to rid ourselves of them if they fail to do their jobs.

We, as a society, have fallen into the trap of putting "leaders" into office rather than representatives. The constitution begins with "We the people..." not "They the leaders..".

[rock]

2. Because it's so inappropriate

Every body knows you're being sarcastic!

[orpupilofnature57]

3. Checks & Balances were the perfect formula to police Democracy against

the usurpers Jefferson warned us about . Proof of a past or a solidified intention for the future should be the basis for any " Trust " we have for someone that wants to determine our Country .

[treestar]

4. A lot of the time we just have to trust people

Your doctor for the most part. A surgeon, certainly. Whoever we elect we must have trusted until we hear of them doing something differently. It would be nice if we kept up with the actions of all of our elected officials but I don't think we have time. You can go and look at your representatives' votes. If they are Republicans or otherwise undesirable, you may well not trust them to vote as you'd like and pretty much accept that they won't.

Hell we trust the other drivers on the road a good deal of the time. We trust they will stop at red lights.

I don't see trust as such a bad thing and would never say limit myself only to a spouse. I trust a lot of the members of my family. I trust friends.

[malokvale77]

5. Wonderful OP

Through my life I've found this about trust:

a) I always trusted my mother. Not necessarily to do right, but she was predictable. That was helpful.

b) I always trusted my father. He always did right.

c) I now trust my own instincts. Every time I ignored them I got screwed.

[DanTex]

6. I trust some politicians, and don't see the problem.

Some of the politicians I trust: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Obama.

What do I mean by "trust"? I certainly don't mean that I think they never lie, or that they always say what they believe. It's impossible to be a politician and do that. For example, I'm pretty sure that Obama actually believes (as I do) that many people cling to religion, guns, and xenophobia due to resentfulness of their economic situation. But actually saying that was a huge gaffe, which hurt his electoral prospects, so he doesn't say stuff like that anymore, at least not in public. It's part of the system: you can't be frank all the time and still get into office. Bernie Sanders is the closest to a counterexample to this as I have found, but even he politics. For example, I would guess that he has more negative feelings about Hillary Clinton than he makes public.

But I do think that the totality of the words and actions of a politician over the years can give you a pretty good sense of how they see the world. And I think that the three people I mentioned basically see the world the same way that I do, which means I trust their judgements, and I trust that what they are doing is generally for the best.

[LWolf]

7. I don't. nt

[hootinholler]

8. I think it stems from the question of will someone I vote for keep their position?

For any given position they campaigned on. Many like Bernie's campaign in the hope he will "pull Hillary left" however any trust she will maintain a position after election in my estimation is misplaced.

Bernie himself, for me, is someone that I feel I can trust because he seems to be guided by his principles instead of the political weather. That is the rarest politician of all.

[840high]

9. It's been a long time

since I've trusted a politician. I trust Bernie.

[MaggieD]

10. For me the word trust and politician don't go together

I think it's foolish to "trust" any politician. Like you - I can like, dislike, support, agree on this issue, disagree on that issue, etc. But not "trust."

Trust implies they are always looking out for YOU. But they aren't. They have too many competing interests to do that (even if they are just representing various constituencies). Doesn't make them bad, necessarily.

That's the same reason I don't adore any politician. It's Foolish. I've met plenty of politicians. Sadly, in many cases they aren't even the best or brightest among us. Some of them are dumb as a stump when you talk to them in person - on both sides of the aisle.

The only two real requirements for the job are charisma and the ability to raise money.