Whom Can You Trust?

EVERY normal person wants friends and neighbors whom he can trust. He also wants men who exercise authority to be those whom he can trust.

Yet, in history, rarely has the trust of so many people been as badly shattered as in our time. This is true in many places, but a prime example is found among many persons in the United States.

This has come as a result of “Watergate.” Of this affair, Senator Sam Ervin, Jr., said: “I think that Watergate is the greatest tragedy this country has ever suffered”​—even greater than the Civil War. It is an affair that has been given much international publicity.

Watergate is the name of a group of buildings that include a hotel, apartments, shops and offices. Located in Washington, D.C., it housed the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 presidential election campaign.

On June 17, 1972, in the early morning hours, five men were caught illegally entering the Democratic headquarters at Watergate. A government official dismissed the break-in as a “third-rate” burglary attempt.

But it was much more than that. It proved to be just the tip of a vast iceberg.

One of the men arrested and jailed decided to tell what he knew to a federal judge. After that, it was revealed that the “burglars” had been in the employ of the Republicans’ Committee to Re-elect the President. Swiftly, the matter then grew into the greatest scandal in the history of the United States government.

What it really means goes far beyond anything you may have read in your newspapers or heard on your radio or television. The deeper meaning of it affects your future in a profound way.

But first, let us see what others are saying about the matter.

Alleged Crimes Committed

Investigators have uncovered what they consider a vast array of crimes. These alleged crimes were committed by many officials in high levels of government.

Senator Lowell Weicker, Jr., a Republican member of the special Senate Committee appointed to look into the matter, listed the alleged crimes over national television. He claimed that the violation of seventeen different laws had been “proven or admitted.” In addition, he noted that officials had committed many “gross” or immoral acts.

Thus, “Watergate” has become a word that encompasses a wide pattern of alleged illegal, unconstitutional and gross acts, such as burglary, spying on citizens, deceit, lying under oath, and conspiracy to commit and cover over crimes. It includes the attempted misuse or subversion of various government agencies. Also included was the illegal use of election money to pay off those who committed the break-in at Watergate, in an effort to keep them from telling the truth.

What Makes It Different?

Because of what has been uncovered, the New York Times called the Watergate scandal “a political earthquake of such unprecedented magnitude and intensity that it would strain any institutional arrangements.”

But why is this scandal considered so much more serious than others in the past? An editorial in the Easton, Pennsylvania, Express answers:

“Watergate is profoundly different from any other White House scandal in the nation’s history. . . . What makes Watergate unique is the nature and purpose of the misuse of power. Almost without exception, past scandals have involved betrayals of the public trust for the sake of money or goods.

“But Watergate’s ultimate aim seems to have been to undermine the political process itself, to ‘fix’ a presidential election. And with that came a wholesale disregard of federal and state laws.”

Also, in Vital Speeches of the Day, news commentator Walter Cronkite said:

“It was an attempt, on the national level, to subvert the two-party system, which is right at the roots of our system. It was a naked attempt to use power for the perpetuation of power, and down that road dictatorship thrives and democracy cannot survive.

“It was a naked attempt to circumvent the democratic system of law that its perpetrators had sworn to uphold.”

Many People Shaken

The Watergate revelations resulted in a further erosion of trust in government by large numbers of people.

Rarely in American history has such a feeling of betrayal been felt by so many people. One high Administration official lamented: “I don’t know why any citizen should ever again believe anything a Government official says.”

While that view was no doubt an exaggeration, it reflected the bitter mood of many, including officials. An article in the National Observer reported: “Talks with bureaucrats at all levels reveal a general demoralization.”

Not Really New

For the United States, the Watergate scandal is unprecedented in its scope. Yet corruption in government is certainly not new. The Los Angeles Times reported that even in the early 1950’s, 42 percent of those polled in a presidential election said that the issue of corruption had most influenced their vote.

Too, corruption is widespread at nearly every level of government. U.S. News & World Report stated:

“It’s not only Watergate. All across the country, official skulduggery keeps surfacing​—at national, State and local levels. Result, as shown by a . . . survey, is a growing distrust of politicians in general. . . .

“Many people are describing politics as a ‘shady business’ and adopting a scornful attitude toward politicians generally. Some appear to regard misconduct as the rule, rather than the exception. . . .

“The cumulative effect: growing disenchantment with politicians as a group.”

But growing distrust of government is not just an American problem. It is widespread in practically every country on earth. For example, in England, last June, two government officials, one a senior minister, resigned because of their involvement with prostitutes. One was photographed in bed with two harlots.

In the Soviet Union, the government recently admitted that it had lied to the people regarding an economic matter. It conceded that a huge Siberian power generator that was reported to have been ‘put into service’ five years ago had not been installed at all, but had burned out on the factory floor. Yet, at that time, a public inauguration ceremony, with band music and speeches, had accompanied the “installation.”

Government instability is widespread too. In mid-1973 the Italian premier and his cabinet resigned. That represented the fall of Italy’s thirty-fourth government since the defeat of Fascism! In Japan, the prime minister had once enjoyed a rousing 65 percent favor. But, in midyear, polls showed that his popularity had dropped to only about a third of that.

The failure of human governments to inspire trust is almost universal now. This, in spite of the fact that all forms of human government have been tried in our time. But none have really satisfied the needs of the people. They have been unable to provide true peace and security. Corruption, crime, economic insecurity, pollution, congested cities, fear and hatred advance like a tidal wave. In a report from Washington, D.C., editorial writer James Reston said: “Nobody in this town in either [political] party has any clear answer to all the complicated and distracting problems that confront the nation at home and abroad.”

It is no different in other countries. As the National Observer said: “Every major industrial nation is undergoing a ‘crisis of confidence,’ its people frustrated by the persistence of problems that their governments appear incapable of solving.” Smaller nations have proved themselves no more able to solve their problems, as the constant rise and fall of their governments shows.

Institutions of All Kinds Failing

It is not only government that is being exposed as unable to solve man’s problems. Institutions of every kind are being confronted with the same failure. And they are coming under attack as a result.

The Los Angeles Times stated: “The families of today aren’t receiving much help from the institutions around them, including government, schools and churches.” In view of skyrocketing prices and shortages, confidence in business and industry is also sinking.

Dr. Phillip Converse of the University of Michigan declared: “There has been a very progressive, alarming deterioration of trust in our institutions. One really has almost a sense of despair when Watergate is piled on what was already an enormous erosion.”

What makes the situation so frustrating for people is that in the past, when one institution failed them, they could turn to another for comfort and direction. But now the failure is evident on all sides. It is no wonder that Dr. A. Spilhaus, former chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, concluded: “There is this fundamental disbelief in your fellow man or in society’s ability to solve its problems.”