In a January survey by the Pew Research Center, just 26% of people said they trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time. 53% percent of people said they feel the government is a threat to their personal freedoms and rights.
How do you feel? We asked Local 15 viewers to share their thoughts, and many of you agreed with the survey.
"They're sneaky, they tell stories, they make things up," said Connie Collie.
Collie tells us she's not surprised about the statistic on personal freedoms.
"They've lied, we're in a lot of debt, they're leading us to socialism," said another woman who declined to give her name.
But others were more confident in our lawmakers. Julie Simmons says she thinks our congressmen and women are overall good people.
"I guess its just because I think it's better than any other government we can have," she says.
Simmons says she understands why so many are distrusting of our lawmakers.
"Right now they aren't getting anywhere," she says. "They're not doing anything, they're not accomplishing anything, they seem to fight more or care more about their own point of view."
So what can our elected officials do to win back your trust?
"There has to be some severe change in government," Collie says. "But you know, we elected these people."
Here are the questions we asked:
1. First, do you trust the federal government to do the right thing? Why/why not?
2. Do you think the federal government is a threat to your personal freedoms an rights? Why/why not?
3. Would it surprise you to know that 53 percent of people in this Pew Research DO believe the government is a threat to their personal freedom and rights?
4. In 2003, that number was 45 percent. In 1995, it was 36 percent. What do you think is driving this feeling that the federal government is a threat to personal freedoms and rights?
5. In recent decades, the most overall trust in government was in the early 1960's when up to 75 percent of people trusted government. How do we get back to that kind of trust?
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