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The Real Reason Americans Hate Politicians
Newsflash! Americans really dislike politicians. In fact, I would argue that if you offered every American a lineup that included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Mitch McConnell 90% of us would use the word hatred at some point. According to polls and analyses the general reasons for America’s hatred of its politicians center on the belief that they are corrupt, out of touch with the ‘common American’, hypocritical and thus untrustworthy.
It is not hard at all to find articles, analyses, and polling data that shows 3 out of 5 Americans have a negative view of politicians. And approval ratings for Congress have not been above 40% since 2005. The great irony of Trump’s promise to conservatives to “drain the swamp” is that most liberals didn’t really believe Washington DC was a swamp until after he was elected. But our dislike of politicians is based upon two misunderstandings that are together holding the country back.
First, Americans have come to view politicians almost as a separate class of citizens that ‘just don’t seem to get it’. Characterizations range from ignorant to evil, but always with an understanding that politicians are two-faced…
