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On New Year's Day, two deadly tragedies occurred, one in New Orleans and the other in Las Vegas, and although the two events are very different, the aftermath of both shows the powerlessness that Americans feel in our most important institutions.
On Bourbon Street, a terrorist born and raised in the United States plowed a pickup truck into a crowd of people, killing 14 people in the process, all in the name of ISIS, or so we understand.
Outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, an Army Green Beret committed suicide, detonating the Tesla Cybertruck he had rented a few days earlier.
Much like responding to Drone sightings in New Jersey In the past month, the FBI's response to these events has been slow and ambiguous, opening the door to countless conspiracy theories.
In New Orleans, for example, the FBI's initial reaction was to tell the American people It is not an act of terrorismperhaps for reasons of political correctness. This is the same motivation that drives impotent headline writers to publish “A truck plows into a crowd of people” instead of “A terrorist commits mass murder.”
Alcides Antunes/via Reuters, left, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police press conference, right. (Alcides Antunes/via Reuters, left, Las Vegas police press conference, right.)
This is also the same FBI that has absurdly insisted for years that conservative white men are the greatest terrorist threat facing America, and it seems that while the feds go after this supposed white supremacist whale, actual Islamic terrorists simply get lost in the mix.
Meanwhile, there are conspiracy theories about the event being an Israeli-funded false flag operation, or some other absurdity, and we wait and wait and wait for more information from federal law enforcement.
Likewise, in Vegas, where the soldier who ended his life in a cultural spectacle that attracted President-elect Trump and the world's richest man Elon Musk fortunately did not kill anyone else, even the most outlandish conspiracy theories abound.
FBI Special Agent Aletha Duncan told the public at a news conference that the attack in New Orleans was not terrorism-related. (Reuters)
Rumors are circulating online that this troubled military man had secret knowledge of China's space-age propulsion systems or some such nonsense. The fact that he made Trump and Musk central to the drama only adds fuel to the metaphorical fire.
There was a time when Americans really trusted what the FBI told them, or the summary of events provided by the media. But today, it seems as if we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, telling us the real story, not the politically correct version.
If the office laments its diminished image, it can thank its history Spying on Trump, Targeting Catholics and Parents trying to hold their children's schools accountableAnd the slave Dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion At the expense of truth and merit.
Hopefully, with confirmation Cash Battle As FBI Director, this troubling trend can begin to change, and we the people can once again believe that we are being told the truth, without any sugarcoating.
But make no mistake, this will not be an easy task for Patel. For a quarter century now, the FBI has often seemed more concerned with social justice than solving crimes. This will not change overnight.
Nor will our intrepid news media move toward “just the facts” and away from the constant, stifling “meaningful context” it provides to suggest that black is white and up is down.
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But as the saying goes, the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one, and as the election of Trump, and the likely confirmation of Patel, attest, Americans know full well what the problem is.
The bond of trust has been abused, something of value has been lost, and Americans' ability to believe what their government and the media tell them has been lost.
This week, outgoing White House press secretary and serial liar Karine Jean-Pierre posted a photo of her staff, calling the group of ne'er-do-well millennials “the best in the business.”
It was a perfect summary of how far the state and the media have fallen. Best in the business? In what? Deceive the American people? They couldn't even do it right.
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Trust is something that can disappear in the blink of an eye. It is also something that can take a lifetime to rebuild once it is lost.
Perhaps the most important thing the Trump administration can do, starting in two weeks, is to begin the process of restoring that trust, because without it no representative democracy will be able to survive and thrive.
Click here to read more from David Marcus
