Trust
   We have to trust people unfortunately at the cost of life and death.  
If we don't trust we invite control.
   So there it is.  We either have trust or we have control.  Take your 
pick because humanity is not capable of making the decision.  We just want 
to sate ourselves and be left alone with our comforts.  We are unwilling 
to trust and instead opt for institutional control.
   We trust friends and family but distrust strangers.  If we trust 
stangers we risk harm.  We must have a society that empowers people and 
invites trust of one another where people take responsibility for their 
own actions rather than depending on bureaucracy to control what they do.  
We need a society that makes the sacrifices to achieve trust and empower 
people to take responsibility for their own actions.
   The diversity of humanity is to broad to control.  No matter how many 
controls you put on people, someone will step outside of the rules and do 
harm.  Ultimately we need morals and ethics to drive individual choices so 
that when people are empowered with their own responsibility they won't 
use it for harm.  The only long range hope for society is that which 
empowers individual ethics.  Otherwise people step outside of the controls 
with intent to abuse.  Witness modern technologies power to destroy.
   We trust family and friends but distrust strangers.  With innuendo we 
villainize people we don't know.  We persecute them to the point of 
oppression with our suspicion and paranoia.  The information age has 
boosted gossip, rumors, and false accusation to the point of mass 
oppression and control.  We have stepped beyond an era where we can 
towards trust and empowerment and now fall victim to humanities natural 
state monarchial control.
  I see only one hope for humanity and that's an ethical and moral value 
system that empowers the individual to take responsibility for their 
action.  One that teaches people to put their neighbor before themselves.  
One that shows love and hope, unity, not diversity.  One that goes beyond 
trust to have faith.  It's your choice.
  
Ken Bushnell
17May20