Recently I started to look at all government entities in a very skeptical way. Call it Washington-creep. It was a very troubling reflection. Many who know me call me Mr. Law and Order. I follow the rules, understand procedural tenets and abide by the outcomes. I’d never change my moral compass that parents, family, friends and business and education mentors instilled in me throughout my life.
But recently, I question everything. In the 70s, the mantra was Question Authority. As many aspects of one’s young adult years begin to resurface in a soon-to-be-retired adult, the mantra has a new contemporary take. I am so dismayed that sometimes I think that the Washington way has permeated state and local government. I know this can’t be true, but I have started to imagine it.
So as I started to write this, I really wanted to open with a title that matched my Question Authority mindset. The first wouldn’t have been appropriate, so I asked friends to come up with a different, more palatable version. I even asked Google Gemini and Merriam-Webster to help, and this is what the result was: civic distrust.
“Civic distrust” is a combined phrase rather than a single entry. To understand it, you combine the definitions of its two parts: civic and distrust. Using Merriam-Webster’s definitions, “civic” means of or relating to a citizen, a city, citizenship, or community affairs. “Distrust” means to have no trust or confidence in.
I liked the new version, but I needed a little more help. This again led to a deeper dive with Gemini’s assistance. What could the actual phrase’s definition look like?
Begin AI. Civic distrust is the widespread collective skepticism, suspicion,or lack of confidence that citizens hold toward political institutions, government bodies and public officials. Rather than a personal grievance, it represents a shared societal belief that the systems designed to govern and serve the public are dishonest, ineffective or indifferent to the needs of ordinary people.
Core dimensions of civic distrust are institutional alienation: a belief that government entities (like courts, legislatures and law enforcement) operate with systemic bias, corruption or incompetence. Erosion of social cohesion: a breakdown in trust not just toward leaders, but among citizens themselves, often fueled by intense political polarization. And lastly, diminished civic duty: a feeling that individual actions, such as voting or participating in community meetings, are pointless because the system is “rigged” or unresponsive.
While a healthy degree of skepticism is vital for a functioning democracy — as it keeps leaders accountable — systemic civic distrust can become dangerous. When distrust becomes absolute, it often leads to low voter turnout, widespread political apathy, resistance to public health guidelines or compliance with tax laws, and in extreme cases, civil unrest.
AI responses may include mistakes. End AI.
Now AI does make mistakes, just like it offered, but as I read it line for line, it does retell some of my feelings that my troubled reflection has given me. To counter, I need to push back on the civic distrust that many of my contemporaries and I have. And so, as I have said to myself in the past, the refrain is that our purpose in a democracy is to vote. That’s really all we have. With the midterms approaching, you get a vote. And if you ask Gemini about that, you won’t get the pat ending that “AI responses may include mistakes.”
Peter Osiecki lives in Concord and is a member of the Monitor’s Reader Advisory Board.