THAT is an exceptional analysis. I’m going to save it. It explains a lot. And in confession, back when I was parenting young children in the 80s, I didn’t have energy left over for the quest for truth. But, it wasn’t as hard then, before the explosion of social media and alternative “news” organizations.

I’ve often thought about the possibility that a benevolent dictatorship is an interesting model for governing a large country, as opposed to our currently messy and often malevolent democracy, which is quite distressing.

I’m a huge fan of personal agency. But damn! It can be exhausting! Maybe the detail that’s exhausting is the contradiction between thinking we have agency when we really don’t?

Trust seems to be the fulcrum, as you say. I use that when I’m voting for obscure positions like judges, and I don’t know the individuals. In addition to reading about their qualifications in the voter pamphlet, I look to see who has endorsed them. Because, trust.