Skepticism toward government lies can convert into apathy rather than critique.

Evidence

When people simply shrugged and said that there was no way to know the truth, since the government lies, they were not always saying it as a criticism of government secrecy. Sometimes, they were simply stating a fact, as Betsy did when discussing her housemate’s annoying fretting over the Persian Gulf war. Some, like Fred and Brian, said this as a way of simultaneously displaying superior knowledge to protesters (”the protesters think they know what’s happening, but they’re wrong”). But instead of blaming himself for his ignorance or blaming protesters for their ignorance, George blamed the government’s active effort to keep us ignorant. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1018

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels diagnostics of cynicism vs. critique in civic culture literature; contrasts with the reader’s focus on positive-solidarity mechanisms. — connects to: Distrust of government may follow rather than cause civic disengagement — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1215; People rationalize political non-involvement through differing accepted explanations. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 60; Elections convert political confidence into trust, but vertrust can revert when influence seems futile. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1383 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Distrust of government may follow rather than cause civic disengagement #expands (0.85) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1215
• Elections convert political confidence into trust, but vertrust can revert when influence seems futile. #corroborates (0.80) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1383
• People rationalize political non-involvement through differing accepted explanations. #complicates (0.78) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 60