Trust is difficult to establish, easy to fracture, and takes a long time to restore. Media outlets are filled with reports of trusts that has been betrayed by individuals - politicians, school teachers, clergy/pastors/imams/rabbis/monks, spouses, significant others, etc.
Trust betrayal by individuals can be eclipsed by that of institutions - Wall Street, banks and financial institutions, religious organizations, political parties, governments, and, most recently, community service organizations. Regrettably these failures arise more from a shortfall of benevolence or honesty than from a lack of competence. Its apparent when the institution breaks from its core principles of service and instead becomes focused on self-perpetualization of the institution itself. The social implications of such are significant, and can lead to societal decay.
Sometimes trust is so badly broken that the institution must re-birth itself. In the mid-80's Datsun Motors changed its design philosophy and quality targets, changed its name and advertising to re-emerge with its parent company name, Nissan Motors. Most people didn't know that Nissan was once the manufacturer under the Datsun brand.
So who do you trust and why? What institutions do you trust?
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