t’s fair to say that in 1950’s America, the majority of the population trusted their government. According to Pew Research, in 1958 three-quarters of the country “trusted the federal government to do the right thing almost always or most of the time.” Six decades later, that figure is now at an all-time low, with only 2% of Americans believing that they can continually rely upon the government to do the right thing all of the time.
With the pressures of a global pandemic weighing on our society and a strained economy making the day to day lives of Americans even more difficult, it's unsurprising that the population's faith in the government’s ability to handle domestic issues has plummeted. Yet we also know that the American people’s adherence to public health guidelines is critical to putting this pandemic in the rearview mirror.
These shaky levels of confidence aren’t confined to domestic politics alone. Following last summer’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, it’s no surprise that the number of those who have faith in the government’s ability to handle international issues has dropped from 48% to 39% in a single year, according to a 2021 study by Gallup.
Simply put, the government must do more to deliver for its people. President Biden’s recent Executive Order to improve government customer service is an important step toward delivering upon a service orientation. However, avenues for helping the government do better should not come from within the government alone. Increasingly, our nation is beset by complex crises—whether extreme weather due to climate change or the challenges of evacuating vulnerable Afghans from Kabul amidst a rapidly deteriorating security environment. It’s time to foster frameworks for cooperation between government and civil society to create the added agility and capability that the government lacks.
This partnership model isn’t new. It’s been used to great effect between government and the private sectors for years and the announcement of $1.2bn of private sector investment in Central America serves as a powerful example of how the private sector’s efforts will support the White House strategy to deliver economic growth for the peoples of Central America so that they can have access to meaningful employment without leaving their country of origin.
What’s missing is an analogous mechanism for cooperation between government and civil society.
As Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, Truman launched its Afghanistan Operations Center to facilitate the rapid evacuation of vulnerable Afghans. By creating a mission-center and recruiting over 100 volunteers, we directly evacuated 1,000 people; helped to manifest and fill seven private charter flights; and provided 13,000 case referrals and additional support to the NSC, USAID, State Department, the National Counterterrorism Center, and members of Congress.
Truman’s efforts lent much-needed capacity to the U.S government evacuation effort by crowdsourcing real-time intelligence and converting it to impact on the ground and lives saved. Such efforts can and must inform policy responses to future crises. Gone are the days of neat bilateral skirmishes. Resolving today’s conflicts requires bringing all talent to the table—from across government, the private sector, and civil society working in coordination. Together, we can help the U.S. government deliver for the American people and restore the trust that’s been lost.
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To Restore Faith in Government, Bring Civil Society to the Table
Image by Adobe Stock.
January 18, 2022
Americans don’t trust their government to do the right thing for them and to bridge this trust deficit government must forge partnerships with civil society the way it has with the private sector, writes Truman Center’s CEO Jenna Ben-Yehuda.
I
t’s fair to say that in 1950’s America, the majority of the population trusted their government. According to Pew Research, in 1958 three-quarters of the country “trusted the federal government to do the right thing almost always or most of the time.” Six decades later, that figure is now at an all-time low, with only 2% of Americans believing that they can continually rely upon the government to do the right thing all of the time.
With the pressures of a global pandemic weighing on our society and a strained economy making the day to day lives of Americans even more difficult, it's unsurprising that the population's faith in the government’s ability to handle domestic issues has plummeted. Yet we also know that the American people’s adherence to public health guidelines is critical to putting this pandemic in the rearview mirror.
These shaky levels of confidence aren’t confined to domestic politics alone. Following last summer’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, it’s no surprise that the number of those who have faith in the government’s ability to handle international issues has dropped from 48% to 39% in a single year, according to a 2021 study by Gallup.
Simply put, the government must do more to deliver for its people. President Biden’s recent Executive Order to improve government customer service is an important step toward delivering upon a service orientation. However, avenues for helping the government do better should not come from within the government alone. Increasingly, our nation is beset by complex crises—whether extreme weather due to climate change or the challenges of evacuating vulnerable Afghans from Kabul amidst a rapidly deteriorating security environment. It’s time to foster frameworks for cooperation between government and civil society to create the added agility and capability that the government lacks.
This partnership model isn’t new. It’s been used to great effect between government and the private sectors for years and the announcement of $1.2bn of private sector investment in Central America serves as a powerful example of how the private sector’s efforts will support the White House strategy to deliver economic growth for the peoples of Central America so that they can have access to meaningful employment without leaving their country of origin.
What’s missing is an analogous mechanism for cooperation between government and civil society.
As Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, Truman launched its Afghanistan Operations Center to facilitate the rapid evacuation of vulnerable Afghans. By creating a mission-center and recruiting over 100 volunteers, we directly evacuated 1,000 people; helped to manifest and fill seven private charter flights; and provided 13,000 case referrals and additional support to the NSC, USAID, State Department, the National Counterterrorism Center, and members of Congress.
Truman’s efforts lent much-needed capacity to the U.S government evacuation effort by crowdsourcing real-time intelligence and converting it to impact on the ground and lives saved. Such efforts can and must inform policy responses to future crises. Gone are the days of neat bilateral skirmishes. Resolving today’s conflicts requires bringing all talent to the table—from across government, the private sector, and civil society working in coordination. Together, we can help the U.S. government deliver for the American people and restore the trust that’s been lost.
