The Oval: Trust – a Two-Way Street

They say America has a trust deficit. That we don’t trust our institutions any more. We don’t trust Congress. Or the White House. Or the Supreme Court. Everyone’s cutting deals! Everyone’s looking out for themselves! Liberals and conservatives agree – you can’t trust the media. The stories are slanted to fit an agenda… or just flat-out wrong! And you sure can’t trust the banks! If you’re late on your loan, they might foreclose on you. If you invest with them, they might sell you junk wrapped in a pretty wrapper. And we just learned this week, that they’ve been lying. Lying about the interest rate they charge each other. All so they would look better to regulators. And so they wouldn’t have to pay savers and investors as much.

We profess to be shocked. Shocked! How could banks lie? How could the media get it wrong? How could politicians be so inept?

I wonder. I wonder what the trust deficit means. Does it mean that America’s great institutions. Its leaders and functionaries. Have their work cut out for them? And that all they have to do is start telling the truth? Start being honest? Start being accountable? I am not so sure.

It’s not just because I don’t think they CAN be honest. It’s because I don’t think we should EXPECT them to be honest.Because frankly, that’s not how America was designed. The Founding Fathers were suspicious of big institutions: The Church of England, the big trading companies of London, the King.

Exploiters. Taxers. It was their way – or banishment.

So the Founders chose revolution. They trusted the individual and placed power in the citizen. They wrote the Constitution with this in mind. They didn’t want America dominated by a new Church, a new King. Because they knew that at the heart of trust is dependency.

Trust is wonderful, don’t get me wrong! Trust is at the heart of friendship, of all enduring human relationships - especially marriage.

But trust between people is a two-way street. Trust between people and institutions is a dead-end. The individual trusts. The institution is indifferent.

So maybe this is a good thing. To have our trust shattered. It’s a wake up call. It’s a reminder. We are citizens, not children. It would be nice to trust our leaders, but we shouldn’t have to. We should have to trust only ourselves. We should trust those we know - not distant bureaucrats, not even our elected leaders. Certainly not self-appointed experts, and media pundits, and the CEOs of banks and corporations.

But this is easier said than done.

We have been trained...trained to wait like a damsel in distress for someone else to save us.

When the banks lied to us we ran into the arms of the bank regulators! And when the regulators fail, we are told: 'Hire more regulators! Create more regulations!'

Last week, there were storms across the country. Trees down. Power outages. Houses destroyed. The east coast took quite a hit. And one area – Washington DC – stayed dark for days. After a few days of sitting in the heat,the people of Washington rose up!

What did they do? They complained! They wrote letters! And what did they say? They said: Where are the utility regulators? Why isn’t our government protecting us from these evil and lazy utility companies?

Typical.

It’s a habit. It’s a bad habit. Imagine what the Founding Fathers would say? 'Why are you so dependent? Where did America go so wrong? What happened to the Republic?'

If our institutions fail us we shouldn’t run into the arms of another big giant institution - we should take on the work of fixing things.

Stop delegating the work to others. Stop complaining when others don’t do things right. That’s what children do. And we’re not children.

Let’s make our institutions earn our trust. But if they can’t…if they won’t…someone else has to the job. Will it be you?

Many thanks for watching. God bless you and God bless the Republic.

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Below, Glenn introduces The Oval and discusses the nature of truth and the importance of lasting principles.

COVID is back! Or that is what we’re being told anyway...

A recent spike in COVID cases has triggered the left's alarm bells, and the following institutions have begun to reinstate COVID-era mandates. You might want to avoid them if you enjoy breathing freely...

Do YOU think institutions should bring back COVID-era mandates if cases increase? Let us know your thoughts HERE.

Morris Brown College

Both of Upstate Medical's hospitals in Syracuse, New York

Corey Henry / Senior Staff Photographer | The Daily Orange

Auburn Community Hospital, New York

Kevin Rivoli / The Citizen | Auburn Pub

Lionsgate Studio

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor | GETTY IMAGES

United Health Services in New York

Kaiser Permanente in California

Justin Sullivan / Staff | GETTY IMAGES

There was a time when both the Left and the Right agreed that parents have the final say in raising their children... Not anymore.

In the People's Republic of California, the STATE, not parents, will determine whether children should undergo transgender treatments. The California state legislature just passed a law that will require judges in child custody cases to consider whether parents support a child’s gender transition. According to the law, the state now thinks total affirmation is an integral part of a child’s “health, safety, and welfare.”

We are inching closer to a dystopia where the state, not the parents, have ultimate rights over their children, a history that people from former Soviet nations would feign repeating.

Glenn dove into the law AND MORE in this episode titled, "Parental Advisory: The EXPLICIT plot to control YOUR kids." To get all the research that went into this episode AND information on how YOU can fight back, enter your email address below:

If you didn't catch Wednesday night's Glenn TV special, be sure to check it out HERE!

The Biden admin has let in MORE illegal aliens than the populations of THESE 15 states

GUILLERMO ARIAS / Contributor | Getty Images

There are currently an estimated 16.8 MILLION illegal aliens residing in the United States as of June 2023, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). This number is already 1.3 million higher than FAIR's January 2022 estimate of 15.5 million and a 2.3 million increase from its end-of-2020 estimate. Even Democrats like New York City's Mayor Adams Mayor Adams are waking up to what Conservatives have been warning for years: we are in a border CRISIS.

However, this isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010. In the first two years of the Biden administration alone, the illegal alien population increased by 16 PERCENT nationwide, imposing a whopping net cost of $150.6 BILLION PER YEAR on American taxpayers. That is nearly DOUBLE the total amount that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine.

This isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010.

These large numbers often make it difficult to conceptualize the sheer impact of illegal immigration on the United States. To put it in perspective, we have listed ALL 15 states and the District of Colombia that have smaller populations than the 2.3 MILLION illegal immigrants, who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. That is more than the entire populations of Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota COMBINED—and the American taxpayers have to pay the price.

Here are all 16 states/districts that have FEWER people than the illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration.

1. New Mexico

Population: 2,110,011

2. Idaho

Population: 1,973,752

3. Nebraska

Population: 1,972,292

4. West Virginia

Population: 1,764,786

5. Hawaii

Population: 1,433,238

6. New Hampshire

Population: 1,402,957

7. Maine

Population: 1,393,442

8. Montana

Population: 1,139,507

9. Rhode Island

Population: 1,090,483

10. Delaware

Population: 1,031,985

11. South Dakota

Population: 923,484

12. North Dakota

Population: 780,588

13. Alaska

Population: 732,984

14. Washington DC

Population: 674,815

15. Vermont

Population: 647,156

16. Wyoming

Population: 583,279

POLL: Should the Government control the future of AI?

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Earlier this week, tech titans, lawmakers, and union leaders met on Capitol Hill to discuss the future of AI regulation. The three-hour meeting boasted an impressive roster of tech leaders including, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and others, along with more than 60 US Senators.

Tech Titans and Senators gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room.The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The meeting was closed to the public, so what was exactly discussed is unknown. However, what we do know is that a majority of the CEOs support AI regulation, the most vocal of which is Elon Musk. During the meeting, Musk called AI "a double-edged sword" and strongly pushed for regulation in the interest of public safety.

A majority of the CEOs support AI regulation.

Many other related issues were discussed, including the disruption AI has caused to the job market. As Glenn has discussed on his program, the potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real, and many have already felt the effects. From taxi drivers to Hollywood actors and writers, AI's presence can be felt everywhere and lawmakers are unsure how to respond.

The potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real.

Ultimately, the meeting's conclusion was less than decisive, with several Senators making comments to the tune of "we need more time before we act." The White House is expected to release an executive order regarding AI regulation by the end of the year. But now it's YOUR turn to tell us what YOU think needs to be done!

Should A.I. be regulated?

Can the government be trusted with the power to regulate A.I.? 

Can Silicon Valley be trusted to regulate AI? 

Should AI development be slowed for safety, despite its potential advantages?

If a job can be done cheaper and better by AI, should it be taken away from a human?

Do you feel that your job is threatened by AI?