Erick-Woods Erickson
When World War II concluded with the surrender of the Japanese, a countless number of Americans poured into government jobs as a means of patriotic service because the threat of the Soviets was only just beginning. These people inherently believed that the United States was the last best hope for humanity and that it was the obligation of the best and brightest to serve their country.
The generation of government bureaucrats that followed witnessed their commitment firsthand and experienced the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. However, just like a third-generation business owner typically drives the business in the ground, this post-WWII third-generation government bureaucrat has taken for granted the competencies of their predecessors because that’s all they’ve ever known.
The lack of government competency in recent years has created a crisis-level deficit in institutional trust. The result is that a growing number of people are willfully falling for the latest conspiracy theory that tickles their ears.
