June 20 2014: Americans tend not to be introspective. We’re too busy working, consuming, and being entertained to question. Perhaps we should re-think that—because our confidence in the institutions that underpin the American Way of Life sucks. Could it be that the time has come for some fresh thinking? Or are we so conditioned that we are no longer capable of coming up with fresh answers?

“One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.”

Oscar Wilde

“In the end, you have to choose whether or not to trust someone.”

Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic & Baby

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

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U.S. Confidence in Institutions—a massive and systemic breakdown in trust