Voting

Americans' trust in government has hit an all-time low. But that lack of trust hasn't always been a part of the American experience. A chart published by the Pew Research Center shows the dramatic decline.

For example, in 1964, 77% of Americans said they trusted the government. Then the collapse began during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, which overlapped with the Vietnam War. The 1970s—thanks to Vietnam and Watergate—sped up the loss of faith in the government (62%).

After a slight resurgence during the 1980s, the trend line for the past few decades is quite clear. With the exception of relatively brief spikes that overlap with the first Gulf War and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of people who trust the government has been steadily declining.

By 2024, only 22% of people said they trusted by government.

The collapse of our collective trust in the government—and, by extension, its ability or willingness to help solve problems—has massive reverberations for politicians. They are considered less-than-honest brokers by large numbers of the American public, meaning that everything they say or do is viewed with suspicion. Sadly, this lack of trust is the new normal.

Possible Preaching Angles:

(1) God is the source of our help, hope, and trust. (2) Our need to pray for our government and to be salt and light in our community.

Editor’s Note: You can view all 66 years of the survey results here.

Just how bad are the polls for those in political office right now? It turns out more people are putting their faith in the dead than in living politicians. A new survey finds there are more people who believe in ghosts than trust their government.

The poll of nearly 1,000 people in the United Kingdom, found that 50% believe in the existence of ghosts. Meanwhile, just one in five say they have faith in the government. It also turns out that more than twice as many people believe in ghosts than trust in the media.

A belief in ghosts (50%) is more common than believing in astrology (23%) or magic (12%). In fact, 18% of respondents say they’ve had contact with an actual ghost. Luckily, many of these are not the horror movie kind of encounters—as only 23% say they’re afraid of these spirits.

When it comes to religion, Catholics are more likely to say they believe in ghosts (64%) than Protestants (53%), agnostics (42%), and atheists (37%). Although atheists are the least likely to fear a spooky ghost (17%), just one in three Catholics said the same—pointing to most people actually having a positive opinion of these supernatural visitors.

Interestingly, one in three young adults in Gen Z say they’re afraid of ghosts, making them the most fearful of any generation in the poll. Just 16 percent of baby boomers say ghosts creep them out.

According to a 2022 poll, most Americans believe the United States Congress is morally corrupt. Sixty-three percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, told pollsters they believe the House and Senate are immoral.

Nearly 9 out of 10 said morality is important to them, but at the same time, only a few people prefer a moral candidate to an effective one. The poll asked Americans:

Would You Prefer a Candidate Who Is More Moral but Less Effective?

26% More moral

19% More effective

40% Neither

15% Don’t know

When people refer to political corruption in American politics as a cesspool, it’s usually just a metaphor. But in one recent case, the term could be taken literally.

In early April, former Hawaii state representative Ty Cullen was sentenced to two years in prison for taking bribes in order to influence legislation restricting the use of toxic cesspools in properties around the state.

Industry analysts believe that cesspools proliferated in Hawaii during the latter half of the twentieth century. This was when infrastructure investments in things like sewer lines were outpaced by the money to be made through rapid development. New cesspools have been banned since 2016.

Cullen was charged because of his involvement in legislation that affected cesspool conversions, which are costly construction upgrades. The news has caused consternation among political players, but rejoicing from environmental advocates. Stuart Coleman, director of Wastewater Alternatives said, “We were joking that, ‘Oh, now these politicians have given cesspools a bad name.’”

Possible Preaching Angle:

When public servants behave dishonorably, they confer dishonor on the offices that they hold, and people lose faith in local authorities. In the same way, servants of God cause a loss of trust when they behave dishonestly.

When Americans go to the polls, they go to town halls, high school gyms, fire stations, and churches. There are more than 60,000 polling places in America, and roughly one out of every five is located in a church.

Conflicts over the correct relationship between religious communities and the state frequently grab headlines. But church polling places are rarely controversial. Here, governments rely on churches to be safe, trusted civic spaces. And 12,875 houses of worship extend hospitality to their neighbors, opening their doors for elections.

Top Six States in Percentage of Polling Places that Are Churches:

62% - Arkansas

58% - Oklahoma

38% - Florida

36% - Kansas

35% - Arizona

35% - Ohio

Non-violent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts. Those engaging a threshold of 3.5 percent of the population have never failed to bring about change.

The Singing Revolution in Estonia and the Rose Revolution in Georgia along with others are given as examples of successful protests that resulted in serious change. Not only are peaceful protests more ethical than violent protests, but they also are more likely to gain the popular support needed.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The disciples and the early church, though small in numbers, changed the entire world through a peaceful preaching of the gospel. So too believers today, though in the minority, can change a home, a neighborhood, and beyond.

Rumors have been circulating that Mathew McConaughey might be considering a run for governor of Texas in 2022, and perhaps a higher office after that. In a recent interview in Men's Journal, Jesse Will cornered the Hollywood star on the topic. McConaughey, resisted confirming or denying his thoughts on the matter. But when pressed to give a hypothetical campaign slogan, he shared that his favorite suggestion has been, "Make America All Right, All Right, All Right, Again." Then he paused and said, "But for me . ..It’s ‘Meet Me in the Middle—I Dare You.'" He then explained:

When facing any crisis, I’ve found that a good plan is to first recognize the problem, then stabilize the situation, organize the response, then respond. You can’t have unity without confrontation. And to have confrontation, you have to at least validate the other’s position. We don’t even do that. So, I’d say, I’ll meet you in the middle. I dare you. It’s a challenge, a radical move. You come this way, I’ll come your way. That’s how democracy works.

In other words, to explain to another human why they are wrong (if in fact it is them and not us in error), we must listen to them. We must understand where they are coming from? Why do they make the choices they do? You must meet them in the middle.

On August 18, 1920 state lawmakers in Tennessee filed into the statehouse to cast their ballots on the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Carrie Chapman Catt had lobbied hard for the rights of women to vote. The 19th Amendment had already been ratified by 35 of the required 36 states. With other states refusing to call special ratification sessions, Tennessee remained the suffragists’ last chance to vote in 1920.

The debate in Nashville raged for days, in the chamber, in committee rooms, and spilling out into restaurants and hotels. By midday on August 18, the outcome was still too close to call. Then, young legislator Harry Burn switched his vote to “yes’” The Amendment passed by his single vote.

Most of his constituents opposed women voting, but the constituent who mattered most to him was his mother. That morning she had sent a note urging him to “be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt.”

Pastor Eduardo Davila tells this story:

I have here an extremely important document. We all have important documents: a marriage certificate, the title to your car, your birth certificate. This one is my naturalization certificate.

My family and I came to the United States as political asylees, leaving the remnants of a country ravaged by war and destructive socialism that did not deliver on its promises. When we came, we had Nicaraguan passports. We were able to come to the US, but we were not given full citizenship. We were not protected by the US. We were not allowed to vote.

But all that changed in 2008, when we walked into an office in Miami, took a few tests, and swore an oath of allegiance to the United States. We were granted full permanent citizenship status. We were fully in.

During the whole process, one aspect that stuck with me was realizing the seriousness of a statement that then-President Bush wrote: “We are united not by race or culture but the ideals of democracy, justice, and liberty.” Beautiful.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:19 that "Now you are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family." Praise God! When you come to Christ, you are no longer a stranger or foreigner. You have the full blessing and protection of the kingdom of Christ. You are no longer undocumented. You no longer need to fret over where you belong or how to survive.

At baptism, you renounced your old citizenship and swore allegiance to Jesus, and you were given a naturalization certificate. You are now part of the new humanity: you are no longer strangers and foreigners. Once a citizen of a different kingdom, your ruler was your vices, addictions, and fears. Your ruler was the prince of this world. That is what you left behind when you were baptized and chose to submit yourself to Jesus as your new King.

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never its tool."

(Note: Although this story was written in 2016, it still is very much applicable to today)

This year's U.S. presidential race is sure getting interesting—to put it mildly. But to international observers, our current political fracas is entertaining, weird, and even freakish. A journalist at BBC News wrote: "For sheer entertainment value it is hard to beat the 'Road to the White House,' as it zigzags through the cornfields of Iowa, the snowfields of New Hampshire and so very many airfields that one becomes indistinguishable from another. Surely no other country can rival this electoral blockbuster. … With a new installment every four years, presidential elections have not only become an exercise in the franchise, but an exercise in franchising.

The problem is that the greatest democratic show on earth also doubles as the most outlandish. For international onlookers, it can seem freakish and bizarre: a long-running farce populated by cartoonish characters, which works as entertainment but is a poor advertisement for American democracy. … Like many good dramas, it is episodic. … Like every good soap opera, it can produce cliffhanger after cliffhanger … Like all good theatre, it brings together a compelling repertory company."

Possible Preaching Angle:

Sometimes it's painful but ultimately healthy to get that outside view, to hear from those people that speak the truth in love.

This year's presidential candidates might know you better than you know yourself. According to Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica, candidates' campaigns are utilizing consumer research data firms to learn exactly how to cater their advertising to specific lifestyles. Nix says that his company maintains between 4,000 and 5,000 data points on every single person registered to vote in the United States. These could be websites you have visited, cars you've shopped for, and even groceries you've purchased. All of these data points are then categorized by analytics firms and presented to presidential campaigns, who can target their advertising messaging to best fit the needs and desires of voters. The entire process of compiling such massive troves of data is an effort that has taken years, millions of dollars, and thousands of sophisticated algorithms. But it's worth it to candidates who want to convince voters that they can provide them with solutions to their needs.

Possible Preaching Angle:

It's funny-God tries to convince us of the same thing in Scripture: "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!" The only difference is that God has the credentials to back his promises up.

There is nothing quite like a presidential election year to reveal how empty and dissatisfying our political process has become. ... Television has taken over the role in choosing candidates that party bosses once played, but that can hardly be called reform.

If Jesus is Lord then he must also be Lord of our politics. That's an unarguable Christian truth--that everybody argues about. ... Too many of us Christians confuse political convictions with spiritual convictions. Insecure with ambiguity, we assume people of one Lord, one faith and one baptism must also promote one political agenda. That assumption leads the church into trouble. First, it prompts us to make judgments about people that ought to be left to God. ... Second, when the church confuses spiritual and political convictions it is tempted to use political power to forward a "spiritual" agenda.