We have become increasingly suspicious of others over the past decade, no doubt connected to the internet’s constant flow of information. Spend a few minutes on social media, then you will hear every opinion under the sun. The most sensational it is, the more we stare or leer. Soon, we find that government and friend alike must be up to some nefarious ends.
Such suspicion makes us fear others (and so isolate) and be angry at others who fail us.
Suspicion Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
In the latter case, our expectation of the government or group or person’s failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since we do not think they will succeed and are nefarious at the core, we do not contribute or join them to make a positive change. Then time passes and tribes develop. A group falls or fails, and the accuser says, aha! I told you so.
But then what if we started without a baseline of suspicion? What if we committed to mutually support each other? Would we not see government or group as part of who we are, a community of people whom we can affect and work with?
