I think 1 Bigun and Tommyguns nailed it. Government is out of touch with the people. There is a political battle being waged by extremists on either side, and average Americans are paying the price.
On the left, you have liberals, by small margins, driving huge economic and social changes with environmental and social ideals. The goals may be attractive and even worthwhile, but the reality is they are going to create real chaos in the country with zero emission vehicles (mostly electric vehicles) being given political priority, by hard and fast rules, rather than setting the stage for economic change that might or might not occur the way government wants. The critics on the right hit the nail on the head when they point out the high environmental cost of the heavy metals in the batteries, the lack of infrastructure for supporting a change to electric vehicles, and the inefficiency of using generators with fossil fuels, to charge batteries, where the infrastructure won't support the ev's. Socially, the drive to protect everyone's individual choices, using the heavy hand of government, has led to broad alienation and backlash on the right. I support individual freedom, and protecting individuals from harm by people who hate them. But that should be sufficient. Putting the finger on the scales in sports, in the classroom, etc. using the strong arm of government, is taking it too far. Yes, protect individuals freedom, use government to prevent hate crimes, make sure people aren't denied basic services, but don't use government to promote liberal political and social agendas. The social agendas should be done without the heavy hand of government.
On the right you have conservatives, now also by small margins, dragging us back to the 1950's, where denial, rather than intelligent discussion, is the norm. A political witch hunt for anyone not conforming to the right's political and social ideals. Again, I don't have a problem protecting people from hate, from being denied basic services, etc. but we shouldn't be using the heavy hand of government to weigh the scales in favor of an extreme political, religious or social agenda. Those things should be decided by families and communities, without government involvement. Just as there are good arguments for ending affirmative action because we can focus on income instead of race to promote access to education, jobs, etc. those same arguments are relevant when we talk about ending government promoting the goals of distinct groups of private individuals, whether liberal or conservative, whether religious or atheist, etc.
Government should be focused on health and welfare, transportation, safety, protecting the homeland, and promoting our nation's interests on the global setting. It should not be promoting social agendas. It should not be promoting religious agendas, etc.
On top of it, our society is evolving so that a large portion of people do not have hands on experience in what it takes to survive outside their comfortable lives. They have safe jobs in big organizations, they go to work, watch the news, raise their families, go on vacation, and never have to understand what it really takes to put food on the table, what it takes to run a business, how hard it is to make ends meet if you don't have the cushion of a large organization buffering you from reality. They get their news and world experience and beliefs about what is important online, and not in their daily lives.
At the same time, we have the increasingly lack of responsiveness of government and business to individual needs and situations, with mindless drones handling large masses of people as though we were all the same. Too bad if your situation is a-typical, because if it is, you fall through the cracks and get treated like a persona non-grata.
The crisis in confidence in government, is driven in large part, because it is becoming so very hard if not possible for people who are not working for government or large business, to make an honest living. It is also driven by a sense that the government is working against us. The sense that if you don't fit into the warring tribes (whether liberal or conservative) you will be overlooked, fall between the cracks, etc. because you don't fit in. Because you aren't part of one machine or the other.
I don't know what the fix to all of this will be. I keep waiting for the crazy right wing nuts to come face to face with reality. I keep waiting for the liberals to recognize they are driving mom and pop out of business, making it hard to live differently than in the cookie cutter suburbs, while working for big government or big corporations....
But I have been waiting for 25 years now, and it has gotten much worse, rather than better.
That is why I agree with 1 Bigun and Tommyguns. Things are getting a lot worse, but there doesn't seem to be any way to make it better.
For a short time after 9-11 we all came together as a nation. I hope that isn't what it takes to bring us together and focus our minds and politics on what is truly important, i.e. our freedoms, the rule of law, with the law rooted in a sense of fundamental fairness, with respect for our worthy opponents such that we don't bulldoze them given the smallest opportunity, etc.
End of rant!
