As a clinical social worker engaged in the practice of child and family therapy, I bear witness with some frequency to situations in which a child has lost confidence in and/or respect for their caregiver(s). This dynamic is often the product of chronically inadequate or inconsistent—and sometimes abusive or neglectful—caregiving and/or poor role modeling. Such a state of affairs is typically secondary to the caregiver(s) experiencing any number of longstanding difficulties: substance abuse, domestic violence/conflict, mental illness, poverty, unstable relationships, characterological issues, legal problems, et al. The consequences for the child are invariably negative, and bearing witness to their distress and confusion and disillusionment never fails to sadden me. It ought not be this way. We should naturally trust that those responsible for the provision of our basic needs and care will, by and large, meet this responsibility and that we are deserving of such. We should respect our caregivers not simply for their power and authority but for the honor and diligence of their actions.

There is a broader context, of course. The families of whom I speak reside in communities and a country that, for some time now, have done them a disservice. Infrastructure, entitlement programs, and human services are all eroding. Corruption is rampant. The public trust has become a public bust. By and large, those empowered to serve on our behalf have, at best, neglected their duties and, at worst, abused their power. Is it any wonder that the citizenry has such little faith in government and views office holders with such little regard? Today, the Gallup Poll issued a news article entitled “Americans Dubious Congress Can Curb Corruption.â€? Respondents to a recent poll were asked, among other questions, to rate their “confidence…in Congress to make sure that its members adhere to high ethical standards.â€? The results are cause for dismay:

While only 6% had a great deal of confidence in Congress to police themselves, a whopping 59% had either no confidence at all or not much. Such disdain is similarly reflected in the low approval ratings received by both the President and Congress in a recent AP-Ipsos poll, as reported in Saturday’s Boston Globe:

• Just 33 percent of the public approves of Bush’s job performance, the lowest of his presidency. That compares with 36 percent approval in early April. Forty-five percent of self-described conservatives now disapprove of the president.

• Just one-fourth of the public approves of the job Congress is doing, a new low in AP-Ipsos polling and down 5 percentage points since last month. A whopping 65 percent of conservatives disapprove of Congress.

These results clearly demonstrate the degree to which Americans on all ends of the political spectrum have lost confidence in and respect for their leaders—a situation that does not bode well for this nation or, indeed, for any of us. We depend on these individuals. We need our leaders to provide leadership, just as we need our caregivers to provide care. In the absence or decline of such, we are little more than orphans.