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Trust: America's Best Chance
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Nonfiction (2020)Pete Buttigieg demonstrates how a breakdown of trust is central to our nation’s current predicament—and how our future depends on finding ways to instill confidence in the American project, and in each other.
Trust is the essential foundation of America’s democracy, asserts Pete Buttigieg, former presidential candidate and bestselling author of Shortest Way Home . In a century shaped by terrorism, financial collapse, Trumpist populism, global pandemic, and systemic racism, trust—in our government, corporations, experts, and, most tragically, in one another—has precipitously eroded and, for so many, never existed in the first place. Recognizing that we are now experiencing disastrous consequences, the former South Bend mayor offers a direct reckoning with the corruption of social responsibility, interweaving history, political philosophy, and affecting passages of memoir, offering a new outlook for how we can confront the next decade’s challenges by building accountability. In this urgent work, Buttigieg confirms his status as a visionary political thinker.
Trust is the essential foundation of America’s democracy, asserts Pete Buttigieg, former presidential candidate and bestselling author of Shortest Way Home . In a century shaped by terrorism, financial collapse, Trumpist populism, global pandemic, and systemic racism, trust—in our government, corporations, experts, and, most tragically, in one another—has precipitously eroded and, for so many, never existed in the first place. Recognizing that we are now experiencing disastrous consequences, the former South Bend mayor offers a direct reckoning with the corruption of social responsibility, interweaving history, political philosophy, and affecting passages of memoir, offering a new outlook for how we can confront the next decade’s challenges by building accountability. In this urgent work, Buttigieg confirms his status as a visionary political thinker.
Audio CD
First published October 6, 2020
About the author
Pete Buttigieg
2 books609 followersPete Buttigieg, born in Indiana in 1982, is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transportation (2020- ). He was the 32nd mayor of South Bend, Indiana from 2012 to 2020, which earned him the nickname "Mayor Pete."
A dynamic national lecturer and TEDx speaker, as well as a Rhodes Scholar and Navy veteran, Buttigieg was educated at Harvard and Oxford. He and his husband, Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, live in Washington, D.C. and South Bend, Indiana.
A dynamic national lecturer and TEDx speaker, as well as a Rhodes Scholar and Navy veteran, Buttigieg was educated at Harvard and Oxford. He and his husband, Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, live in Washington, D.C. and South Bend, Indiana.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 569 reviews
October 10, 2020
Audiobook…
Less than five hours of listening....
read by Pete Buttigieg
I could sit and listen to Pete read the phone book...
That’s not what he reads…but I don’t think I’ve been a bigger fan of any politician than I am of the forever known*Mayor Pete*.
By the third chapter I was in tears...
By the ending...I was smiling and crying and smiling and crying and so goddamn moved....
There’s much I could say about this book- it’s reinforcing message of urgent substance....
From the history of trust, and miss-directed trust, nationally and internationally...
with a maddening piece of information I never knew about....(Trump so obviously missing at a global pandemic conference).... another piece to the puzzle to one of the most unsettling chaotic years in American history: 2020.....
.....
to Pete himself, his easy way of deepening our understanding of the importance of a government that we can trust that unifies everyone of us...
I couldn’t pull away and I listened to this 4 hour and 47 minute tape in one swoop.
I just love the guy —
I love what Pete
stands for—
I’m thankful for his intelligence and articulate ease in which he communicates so every day people can understand issues of political importance better.
I remember hearing a phrase years ago, that tears will come to a persons eyes when they get who they really are.
My own eyes are still in tears this very second....
from listening to Pete....his inspiration deepened my own experience of who I am, too.
Pete brings out the best in people.
We have 25 days before the election....
I can’t think of another book I would’ve rather have spent time with more at this time.
Thank you so so so so so much, Pete.
With grateful tears.....
Thank you for writing this book. Thank you for your dedication and work— for the skills that you have that you pass on to others.
Thank you for continuing expressing your vision for hope with our government, the trust and joy that American people can have again — the possibility- is still there.
Thank you for explaining global warming the way in which you did. I actually wish I could listen to you speak about global warming even more. You explain it well.
This thin-gem is important....
I wasn’t bored for a second...
Honestly....I just can’t thank Pete enough!!!!
Less than five hours of listening....
read by Pete Buttigieg
I could sit and listen to Pete read the phone book...
That’s not what he reads…but I don’t think I’ve been a bigger fan of any politician than I am of the forever known*Mayor Pete*.
By the third chapter I was in tears...
By the ending...I was smiling and crying and smiling and crying and so goddamn moved....
There’s much I could say about this book- it’s reinforcing message of urgent substance....
From the history of trust, and miss-directed trust, nationally and internationally...
with a maddening piece of information I never knew about....(Trump so obviously missing at a global pandemic conference).... another piece to the puzzle to one of the most unsettling chaotic years in American history: 2020.....
.....
to Pete himself, his easy way of deepening our understanding of the importance of a government that we can trust that unifies everyone of us...
I couldn’t pull away and I listened to this 4 hour and 47 minute tape in one swoop.
I just love the guy —
I love what Pete
stands for—
I’m thankful for his intelligence and articulate ease in which he communicates so every day people can understand issues of political importance better.
I remember hearing a phrase years ago, that tears will come to a persons eyes when they get who they really are.
My own eyes are still in tears this very second....
from listening to Pete....his inspiration deepened my own experience of who I am, too.
Pete brings out the best in people.
We have 25 days before the election....
I can’t think of another book I would’ve rather have spent time with more at this time.
Thank you so so so so so much, Pete.
With grateful tears.....
Thank you for writing this book. Thank you for your dedication and work— for the skills that you have that you pass on to others.
Thank you for continuing expressing your vision for hope with our government, the trust and joy that American people can have again — the possibility- is still there.
Thank you for explaining global warming the way in which you did. I actually wish I could listen to you speak about global warming even more. You explain it well.
This thin-gem is important....
I wasn’t bored for a second...
Honestly....I just can’t thank Pete enough!!!!
February 16, 2021
Ever the scholar, Pete Buttigieg approaches this follow-up to Shortest Way Home less as a personal memoir and more of a political scientist's dissection of the electorate's motivations and dissatisfactions. He applies the broad concept of "Trust" to nearly every issue we face, from combatting climate change to combatting conspiracy theories, creating effective policy to addressing racial inequality. There's also some lessons learned from his historic election.
For the most part it's an engaging conversation. Though a slim volume, not a word is wasted and you can feel your brain cells multiply rather than subtract. That's not always the case with political writing. Buttigieg does a great job of identifying the issues we face and the thread that ties them together, that's for sure. The missing ingredient is, of course, the solutions. Identifying the problem is a crucial first step, and I don't expect him to have all the answers, but it would have been nice to be given a bone of optimism.
My love for Pete mirrors my love for Hillary, in that I admire someone who does their research and walks into any room as the smartest one there. Both are political junkies, for better and for worse. Pete is much better at media relations. Arguably he's too good. Being polished always runs the risk of seeming inauthentic, or "untrustworthy" as he might say.
It will be nice to see what he accomplishes as Secretary of Transportation. Once he has more experience with solving problems and not just identifying them, he may well be a mighty political force to reckon with. I hope so! I enjoy following politics, but there are very few figures who actually inspire me. He's one of them. I will certainly enjoy following the bright future ahead of him.
I recommend this book to Buttigieg fans, but also those who look for politics analyzed on an academic level. This reads very much like a master's thesis and not like the usual political memoir. He cites academic resources and turns to history for relevant examples to convey his message. It's well-organized, carefully thought out, and only occasionally catered to political spin. While I hope to someday read a sequel entitled "Answers" where he discusses solutions for all the problems identified, you got to start somewhere. And this is as good a place as any.
For the most part it's an engaging conversation. Though a slim volume, not a word is wasted and you can feel your brain cells multiply rather than subtract. That's not always the case with political writing. Buttigieg does a great job of identifying the issues we face and the thread that ties them together, that's for sure. The missing ingredient is, of course, the solutions. Identifying the problem is a crucial first step, and I don't expect him to have all the answers, but it would have been nice to be given a bone of optimism.
My love for Pete mirrors my love for Hillary, in that I admire someone who does their research and walks into any room as the smartest one there. Both are political junkies, for better and for worse. Pete is much better at media relations. Arguably he's too good. Being polished always runs the risk of seeming inauthentic, or "untrustworthy" as he might say.
It will be nice to see what he accomplishes as Secretary of Transportation. Once he has more experience with solving problems and not just identifying them, he may well be a mighty political force to reckon with. I hope so! I enjoy following politics, but there are very few figures who actually inspire me. He's one of them. I will certainly enjoy following the bright future ahead of him.
I recommend this book to Buttigieg fans, but also those who look for politics analyzed on an academic level. This reads very much like a master's thesis and not like the usual political memoir. He cites academic resources and turns to history for relevant examples to convey his message. It's well-organized, carefully thought out, and only occasionally catered to political spin. While I hope to someday read a sequel entitled "Answers" where he discusses solutions for all the problems identified, you got to start somewhere. And this is as good a place as any.
February 9, 2021
For the past several years, whenever I thought of our federal government, President I had several emotions. Anger, frustration, fear, helplessness, incredulity, many more but I never thought of trust, or lack of as being at the bottom of each. After listening to this, I can see that it is and how profoundly that affects to many things.
Mayor Pete, or I guess Secretary Pete now takes us through the lack of trust in our scientists, environmentalists, and how this shows up in climate change and Covid stances. Some just simply don't believe, don't trust what they are being told. It's the basis for the spread of misinformation on social media and other news sites. Also of course, in our government, elections, politicians , which has proved quite costly to our society, democracy.
He explains ways needed to regain trust. Abiding by your word, transparency, telling the truth etc, but aware the other side, other news sites are spreading falsehoods, conspiracy theories. It's really a challenging, timely problem.
Tells a little about himself, his service in Afghanistan, his Presidential runs, his run-in with conspiracy theories aimed at himself after the Iowa caucus. The last part is narrated by his husband Chastain. This was rather short, but good and informative. I could listen to his voice again and again, he is a fantastic narrator.
Mayor Pete, or I guess Secretary Pete now takes us through the lack of trust in our scientists, environmentalists, and how this shows up in climate change and Covid stances. Some just simply don't believe, don't trust what they are being told. It's the basis for the spread of misinformation on social media and other news sites. Also of course, in our government, elections, politicians , which has proved quite costly to our society, democracy.
He explains ways needed to regain trust. Abiding by your word, transparency, telling the truth etc, but aware the other side, other news sites are spreading falsehoods, conspiracy theories. It's really a challenging, timely problem.
Tells a little about himself, his service in Afghanistan, his Presidential runs, his run-in with conspiracy theories aimed at himself after the Iowa caucus. The last part is narrated by his husband Chastain. This was rather short, but good and informative. I could listen to his voice again and again, he is a fantastic narrator.
October 12, 2022
"To love a country, as to love a person, is to love a flawed and exquisite creation, to see what is best in it, to be angry when it is not what it could be, precisely because you have seen glimmers of its greatness."
A gracefully worded, perceptive, and inspired examination on the nature of trust, and its fundamental effects in all of our daily interactions, dispositions and patterns of thinking. A reflection of individual attitudes on trust in American societal landscape - political and otherwise -, and on international scale; most refreshingly expanding its self-study to comparisons on models US rarely dares or realizes to consider would be beneficial and viable inspirations to its struggle for welfare and equality, as well.
Pete's concise writing conveys an insightful, involved, active, and globally aware perspective. The personal, and captivatingly anecdotal viewpoint is not afraid to admit vulnerability, but shows courage and strength in the wont to constant growth and learning, and in the capability to take responsibility and extend trust to others.
Compelling, coherent, convincing, compassionate, and comprehensively comforting read on the indispensable importance of trust.
_______
(Reading updates).
A gracefully worded, perceptive, and inspired examination on the nature of trust, and its fundamental effects in all of our daily interactions, dispositions and patterns of thinking. A reflection of individual attitudes on trust in American societal landscape - political and otherwise -, and on international scale; most refreshingly expanding its self-study to comparisons on models US rarely dares or realizes to consider would be beneficial and viable inspirations to its struggle for welfare and equality, as well.
Pete's concise writing conveys an insightful, involved, active, and globally aware perspective. The personal, and captivatingly anecdotal viewpoint is not afraid to admit vulnerability, but shows courage and strength in the wont to constant growth and learning, and in the capability to take responsibility and extend trust to others.
Compelling, coherent, convincing, compassionate, and comprehensively comforting read on the indispensable importance of trust.
_______
(Reading updates).
November 2, 2020
It's delightful just to hear Pete Buttigieg's mind work. He manages to frame issues in ways that feel intuitively simple and down-to-earth, yet are intricately constructed from pragmatism, positivity, rigorous study and anticipation of counter-argument. His words are carefully chosen to break up cliché and draw focus where it's needed. As a politician, he is able to do this off-the-cuff, and his extemporaneous remarks are almost indistinguishable from prepared statements. One might call it manipulative if he weren't so darned intent on being helpful.
In Trust: America's Best Chance, Buttigieg employs his characteristic clarity of thought to craft a compelling case that trust is our most pressing national deficit. Trump's presidency and rhetoric have catalyzed an ongoing decline of confidence in government, systems, institutions, media, science, medicine, and our fellow Americans. So much of the order that makes our society possible rests on a bed of faith in the actions of our representatives, institutions, and neighbors. When people don't understand or trust that order, they are willing to burn it all down. When they accept conspiratorial thinking, it erodes the very connective fiber that holds our democracy together. It's a cancer that has metastasized, and Pete wants to give us tools to understand and combat the spread.
This is a quick book that is more interested in imparting a clear and simple point than overstaying its welcome. Buttigieg shares personal stories from childhood to Afghanistan to Washington, and speaks powerfully to the dangers of conspiracy theory, hyperpartisanship, and Trump's special brand of doubt- and fear-mongering. This is Pete we're talking to, though, so you'll leave more inspired to be-the-change-you-want-to-see than to wallow in despair. If you listen to the audio version, you can hear it from Pete himself in just under 5 hours. Important and recommended.
In Trust: America's Best Chance, Buttigieg employs his characteristic clarity of thought to craft a compelling case that trust is our most pressing national deficit. Trump's presidency and rhetoric have catalyzed an ongoing decline of confidence in government, systems, institutions, media, science, medicine, and our fellow Americans. So much of the order that makes our society possible rests on a bed of faith in the actions of our representatives, institutions, and neighbors. When people don't understand or trust that order, they are willing to burn it all down. When they accept conspiratorial thinking, it erodes the very connective fiber that holds our democracy together. It's a cancer that has metastasized, and Pete wants to give us tools to understand and combat the spread.
This is a quick book that is more interested in imparting a clear and simple point than overstaying its welcome. Buttigieg shares personal stories from childhood to Afghanistan to Washington, and speaks powerfully to the dangers of conspiracy theory, hyperpartisanship, and Trump's special brand of doubt- and fear-mongering. This is Pete we're talking to, though, so you'll leave more inspired to be-the-change-you-want-to-see than to wallow in despair. If you listen to the audio version, you can hear it from Pete himself in just under 5 hours. Important and recommended.
November 17, 2020
’To love a country, as to love a person, is to love a flawed and exquisite creation, to see what is best in it, to be angry when it is not what it could be, precisely because you have seen glimmers of its greatness.’
How refreshing it is to hear someone speak about politics, and to maintain a calm, but frank and open personal story on both his journey as a soldier and a politician, and what it means to love a country. To see the promise, and be honest about how that promise can be diminished, treated with disdain, and ultimately destroyed by those with ulterior motives, who seek to promote a personal agenda. How can we trust a government that repeatedly lies to the people it is supposed to represent?
‘This feature of the Constitution was itself an expression of trust: trust in future generations. The founders were flawed men who were also cognizant of their limitations (much more so than some who would come along later, insisting that laws must only be understood according to the exact attitudes of the men who wrote them). They built into the system a way for it to become bigger than their own biases, trusting their successors with the power to improve upon what they had created. Decades after the founding, Jefferson wrote in a letter to a friend: “Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind . . . we might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.’
Listening to Pete speak in a respectful, dignified way while he shares his thoughts on trust, the characteristics of trust in our everyday lives, and the importance of being able to have trust in our future was so refreshing and soothing. I loved that he speaks not only of our future as a country, but as global citizens, for all of us.
I spent a wonderfully comforting few hours listening to him share his impressive story, and his views on the importance of trust.
October 5, 2020
I do agree with others who have reviewed early that this book does not contain anything particularly revolutionary, I do dissent in that the cohesion of stories and the structure shines a light on this important issue.
We’re at a time when trust is at an all time low. If we hope to continue this country then re-establishing trust is paramount.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s thoughts and insight on how to regain trust help to provide a way forward. While I want to say a number of things about our last 4 years and our current election I would rather echo Mayor Pete’s sentiment on needing to invest in our democracy so that we can break the cycle we’re in and have a happier tomorrow.
We’re at a time when trust is at an all time low. If we hope to continue this country then re-establishing trust is paramount.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s thoughts and insight on how to regain trust help to provide a way forward. While I want to say a number of things about our last 4 years and our current election I would rather echo Mayor Pete’s sentiment on needing to invest in our democracy so that we can break the cycle we’re in and have a happier tomorrow.
January 4, 2021
Dec 31, 2020 1pm ~~ Review asap. Meanwhile, I wish I could get every person in America to read this book!
Jan 3, 230pm ~~ If, like me, you have wondered over the past four years how in the heck we in the United States got ourselves to this perilous point in our history, this book will help explain what has happened.
One of the sources of information for this book was a report by the Pew Research Center called Trust And Distrust In America. Buttigieg takes this report, combines it with snippets of data from many other sources (listed in the Notes), adds his own experiences and memories from his political, military and civilian life, and presents the reader with an intelligent yet easy to understand explanation of where we are in 2020 and how we got here.
And just as important, he offers ideas for solutions that could bring us back from the edge of the abyss we are staring into.
I was so impressed with this book. It is easy to blame Trump for everything that is going wrong these days. but while he does deserve the blame for so very many things, a lot of the trouble in America began decades ago, long before Trump ever thought to pretend to be a person of consequence.
This is a personal book that will resonate most clearly with Americans who are upset about our country, but it would also be interesting and perhaps even helpful to people all over the world who may also be confused about our current meltdown and concerned about our future.
Whatever the rest of the world thinks, I wish that each American would read this book and face the facts of both our history and our present. Then we need to decide where we take America next: off the edge of the cliff into ruin? Or back to work on the fulfillment of all those ideals we were taught in school?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AABTO...
Jan 3, 230pm ~~ If, like me, you have wondered over the past four years how in the heck we in the United States got ourselves to this perilous point in our history, this book will help explain what has happened.
One of the sources of information for this book was a report by the Pew Research Center called Trust And Distrust In America. Buttigieg takes this report, combines it with snippets of data from many other sources (listed in the Notes), adds his own experiences and memories from his political, military and civilian life, and presents the reader with an intelligent yet easy to understand explanation of where we are in 2020 and how we got here.
And just as important, he offers ideas for solutions that could bring us back from the edge of the abyss we are staring into.
I was so impressed with this book. It is easy to blame Trump for everything that is going wrong these days. but while he does deserve the blame for so very many things, a lot of the trouble in America began decades ago, long before Trump ever thought to pretend to be a person of consequence.
This is a personal book that will resonate most clearly with Americans who are upset about our country, but it would also be interesting and perhaps even helpful to people all over the world who may also be confused about our current meltdown and concerned about our future.
Whatever the rest of the world thinks, I wish that each American would read this book and face the facts of both our history and our present. Then we need to decide where we take America next: off the edge of the cliff into ruin? Or back to work on the fulfillment of all those ideals we were taught in school?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AABTO...
October 15, 2020
I only heard about this book a few weeks ago and I wasn’t sure if I was gonna read it, but when I found the audiobook narrated by Mayor Pete himself and realized it’s pretty short as well, I picked it up because I wasn’t really in the mood to read a new fantasy anyways.
This turned out to be a good one. As you can see from the title, it’s about trust, mistrust and misplaced trust and the consequences of it all. The information that the Mayor presents here isn’t something new or what we’ve unheard of, but seeing it all put together, with historical as well as contemporary contexts and his own personal anecdotes, it makes for a thought provoking read. In his well spoken words, he emphasizes the importance of having trust in facts, in science, in our fellow human beings - to have a successful and well functioning society. And how decades of being lied to, presented with endless amounts of sensational misinformation, politicization of important issues like climate change etc have all now come to head in an election year ravaged by the pandemic, where both the government’s incompetence and unscientific ideology driven inaction and a significant amount of the population’s mistrust in basic facts and misplaced trust in a lying authoritarian leader - have led to more than 200K+ deaths with no clear end in sight.
As I said above, this is nothing new. But in these very cynical times where it feels like every fight for equal rights and protections, just basic healthcare and some competence from the government is too much of an ask - it’s important to remember that we need trusted sources to move forward, and people who believe in the same inclusive and equitable future should trust each other, and fight together for the solutions. All in all, it’s a well written, engaging and incisive read and I would definitely recommend the audiobook.
This turned out to be a good one. As you can see from the title, it’s about trust, mistrust and misplaced trust and the consequences of it all. The information that the Mayor presents here isn’t something new or what we’ve unheard of, but seeing it all put together, with historical as well as contemporary contexts and his own personal anecdotes, it makes for a thought provoking read. In his well spoken words, he emphasizes the importance of having trust in facts, in science, in our fellow human beings - to have a successful and well functioning society. And how decades of being lied to, presented with endless amounts of sensational misinformation, politicization of important issues like climate change etc have all now come to head in an election year ravaged by the pandemic, where both the government’s incompetence and unscientific ideology driven inaction and a significant amount of the population’s mistrust in basic facts and misplaced trust in a lying authoritarian leader - have led to more than 200K+ deaths with no clear end in sight.
As I said above, this is nothing new. But in these very cynical times where it feels like every fight for equal rights and protections, just basic healthcare and some competence from the government is too much of an ask - it’s important to remember that we need trusted sources to move forward, and people who believe in the same inclusive and equitable future should trust each other, and fight together for the solutions. All in all, it’s a well written, engaging and incisive read and I would definitely recommend the audiobook.
October 13, 2020
It's no secret that I adore Pete Buttigieg. I think this book made a lot of excellent points very eloquently. I also thought it wasn't exactly a book so much as a very long article, or perhaps a TED talk.
October 8, 2020
Whether one thinks he would be the best presidential candidate or not, Pete always has had a clear, insightful, and grounded take on complex issues. His sober and precise communication reminds me of that of Obama in its ability to increase my understanding of the world, rather than confuse or muddy it. Three of the biggest selling points of this book: it's short, to the point, and it sticks to the facts. It has a message to deliver, and Pete delivers it compellingly. The book doesn't feel perfect: he seemed to overexplain some weak points of his campaign in a way that felt helpful to the reader at first, but gave off a feeling of over-justification after it occurred more than once. In the grand scheme of things this is beside the point though. If anything, I might just be trying to find a chink in his otherwise seemingly-perfect armor. The book is both important and timely. Trust is something I'm going to be thinking about a lot in the months ahead. I read this book because one of the first goodreads reviews I saw for it said "I felt smarter after reading this book". It's an apt description.
November 9, 2020
Hallie’s thoughts! For Brooke
- Interesting read for me as a not super political person
- Writing was okay, kind of choppy because he kept skipping around to different historical examples and randomly (sometimes awkwardly) inserting memoir bits from the campaign, but those were probably the best parts of the book. His style of writing brings me back to thoughts I had after reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming—that being a good speech writer/speaker does not always correspond to being a good memoir writer, and perhaps all this information would have gone over better in verbal form.
- Majority of book is spent on the idea that trust is incredibly important and bashing the Trump presidency/conspiracy theorists/etc. for breaking that trust with the American people. But those two opinions bring nothing new to the table, and I wish he would’ve spent more time discussing more unique ideas. I wasn’t quite sure what his main argument was, beyond that a Democratic President was going to fix all of America’s trust issues. The fifty-fifty debate thing was interesting though!
- Questions that I thought about while reading:
Blind faith is as dangerous as a lack of faith. How do we maintain a healthy level of trust in the government/a political party while resisting mob mentality?
Are we as humans capable of creating a governmental system which is deserving of perfect trust? If not, how “good” can our government get?
Is America still able to regain historical “higher levels” of trust? Or are there other factors that have changed us?
- Interesting read for me as a not super political person
- Writing was okay, kind of choppy because he kept skipping around to different historical examples and randomly (sometimes awkwardly) inserting memoir bits from the campaign, but those were probably the best parts of the book. His style of writing brings me back to thoughts I had after reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming—that being a good speech writer/speaker does not always correspond to being a good memoir writer, and perhaps all this information would have gone over better in verbal form.
- Majority of book is spent on the idea that trust is incredibly important and bashing the Trump presidency/conspiracy theorists/etc. for breaking that trust with the American people. But those two opinions bring nothing new to the table, and I wish he would’ve spent more time discussing more unique ideas. I wasn’t quite sure what his main argument was, beyond that a Democratic President was going to fix all of America’s trust issues. The fifty-fifty debate thing was interesting though!
- Questions that I thought about while reading:
Blind faith is as dangerous as a lack of faith. How do we maintain a healthy level of trust in the government/a political party while resisting mob mentality?
Are we as humans capable of creating a governmental system which is deserving of perfect trust? If not, how “good” can our government get?
Is America still able to regain historical “higher levels” of trust? Or are there other factors that have changed us?
December 31, 2020
An interesting and fast read from Buttigieg. He does a good job explaining a complicated metric which is fundamental to a function nation-state: trust. From trust in one's neighbor to trust in one's government, this little book of ideas is a great starting point for thinking about how to repair the crisis of trust in our 21st century reality.
November 27, 2020
Meh. Superficial thoughts on trust while positioning himself for future political roles.
August 25, 2022
After finishing Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, and being left raw and sad and horrified and kind of soul-crushed, I (in a rare move for me) needed something uplifting.
And so I turned to Mayor Pete.
Not long ago, I listened to Chasten Buttigieg's memoir I Have Something to Tell You, and absolutely loved it. And after listening to that one, I knew that I would need to read Pete Buttigieg's books as well, but it would have been too on-the-nose for me to read them back to back like that. So I just kept it in the back of my mind. Like an ace in my pocket waiting for me to need it.
And when I did, Mayor Pete was there for me. As I honestly think that he would have been in real life, if I knocked on his door wanting to have a conversation about the brutal book I had just read and what it says about America that this is who and how we are. He just seems like that kind of guy.
Instead, he treated me to his views and opinions and some stories from his life and service (both military and public) that shaped his views on trust and how we earn it and why it's necessary for a healthy social culture and system. His perpetual faith in humans and this experiment that we call a country, and his acknowledgement of its flaws, and perhaps more importantly, his OWN flaws, really endear Pete Buttigieg to me, and the more I see or hear or read his work, the more I respect him.
I was left in tears at the end of this book, just like the last one, but they were entirely different tears. This book ends with the speech he gave ending his presidential campaign, and though it was a recording of a live event, and the sound was awful and sometimes the crowd applause was so loud that the speakers blared terribly, I loved every second of listening to it. It was such a positive, uplifting, hopeful speech, full of love and trust, and it seriously moved me. I felt like I was in the audience. It was powerful.
It was just what I needed, and he, I think, is just what we as a nation need. I hope he runs again. :)
And so I turned to Mayor Pete.
Not long ago, I listened to Chasten Buttigieg's memoir I Have Something to Tell You, and absolutely loved it. And after listening to that one, I knew that I would need to read Pete Buttigieg's books as well, but it would have been too on-the-nose for me to read them back to back like that. So I just kept it in the back of my mind. Like an ace in my pocket waiting for me to need it.
And when I did, Mayor Pete was there for me. As I honestly think that he would have been in real life, if I knocked on his door wanting to have a conversation about the brutal book I had just read and what it says about America that this is who and how we are. He just seems like that kind of guy.
Instead, he treated me to his views and opinions and some stories from his life and service (both military and public) that shaped his views on trust and how we earn it and why it's necessary for a healthy social culture and system. His perpetual faith in humans and this experiment that we call a country, and his acknowledgement of its flaws, and perhaps more importantly, his OWN flaws, really endear Pete Buttigieg to me, and the more I see or hear or read his work, the more I respect him.
I was left in tears at the end of this book, just like the last one, but they were entirely different tears. This book ends with the speech he gave ending his presidential campaign, and though it was a recording of a live event, and the sound was awful and sometimes the crowd applause was so loud that the speakers blared terribly, I loved every second of listening to it. It was such a positive, uplifting, hopeful speech, full of love and trust, and it seriously moved me. I felt like I was in the audience. It was powerful.
It was just what I needed, and he, I think, is just what we as a nation need. I hope he runs again. :)
October 3, 2020
Received my copy early for some reason. Very quick and satisfying read. I started it and burned through the whole thing in one sitting without really meaning to. The book is basically a combination of vignettes, both personal and historical, that weave together an account of how our government lost the trust of its people as well as a larger thesis about the challenges ahead around rebuilding that trust (in our government and in ourselves). I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the book is definitely about politics, it’s almost as much about human psychology and behavior. Mayor Pete is an interesting figure. I suspect he’ll continue in politics, though I could see him evolving into a public intellectual of sorts. I felt smarter having read this book.
November 25, 2020
I love watching Pete Buttigieg do a town hall, because he seemingly can engage on any topic of interest to his audience with intelligence and warmth. Unfortunately, the same quality limited my enjoyment of Trust. A lot of interesting ideas are discussed, with very little connective tissue to hold them together. The book is also too partisan for my taste, positing that all of America’s problems with trust were caused by right-wing policies, and can be resolved with left-wing solutions.
April 14, 2021
This is no "Why we're polarized" or "Upswing," in that it is as much about personal experiences and ruminations on trust and American politics, rather than a well-developed study on trust in the US government. It read like Buttigieg wanted to write two books: one of his experience running for president, and one on what America needs to turn itself around, and putting them together sort of works, but not entirely.
November 26, 2020
During the 2020 primaries, I pledged my support for Mayor Pete. I remain convinced that he possesses the intelligence, open-mindedness, integrity, temperament, poise, and compassion to lead America as president someday. Immersing myself in the reflections, observations, and solutions that Buttigieg sets forth in Trust: America’s Best Chance only strengthened my belief that he has the qualities and credibility to be successful in holding the highest office in the land. Buttigieg believes our ability to emerge from the catastrophic Trump years depends on whether we can solve what he identifies as the “threefold crisis of trust.” This crisis concerns how Americans distrust both our institutions and each other while thirdly the world harbors distrust of America’s motives and policies.
Buttigieg provides the sad and sobering overview of how America has always struggled throughout its history to ensure all its people are included and recognized as valued and equal. He also makes clear how whenever those who are excluded have fought for and gained inclusion, America has become a better, more prosperous nation because we have been able to trust our institutions to do what is right. The sad reality has been that the struggle to gain equality has never been civil, decent, or rational. Even sadder has been the fact that anytime gains have been made, White supremacy has reacted with a backlash of racial terror.
We may have experienced moments in our history where America can celebrate technological progress, LGBTQ+ inclusion, gender equity, and life expectancy, but Buttigieg also makes clear how we have failed to answer economic equality, racial justice, incarceration rates, health equity, and social acceptance of one another. In addition, he reminds us how momentous eras like the Civil Rights Movement show us how history can be altered by social sacrifices and political efforts. He explains how the marchers at Pettus Bridge were unable to trust their institutions, whether police or state, nor could they trust the federal government to do what was right on its own. Regardless, they trusted each other and their reliance on nonviolence as their strategy. Moreover, they trusted the moral cause of the movement and they trusted that the system could be changed, and so they confronted it head on and changed it.
Buttigieg further explains how America’s continued strength and standing in the world relies upon whether we the people can be trusted to do what is right when having power over our own leaders. He says, “The U.S. Constitution exists as a kind of standing claim that populations are more trustworthy than individual officeholders.” However, he is wary when he remembers, “Racism, implicit and explicit, is America’s most pernicious form of distrust. It is responsible for more death, more destruction, and more despair than any other force in American life. And that has always been true, robbing Black Americans of their social as well as physical freedoms.”
After the murder of George Floyd, Buttigieg feels that many White Americans must face the realization that many Blacks are unable to trust White-dominated systems and institutions to change on their own. At the same time, he sees hope in the multiracial protests and the prospect that more people understand how the burden of making change cannot be left to the responsibility of only Blacks.
Buttigieg calls out Trump for emboldening widespread racism with his words and actions in order to make himself a spokesman to comfort and support the agenda of White nationalists. Buttigieg worries that the efforts of antiracism to defeat unapologetic racists are not enough because those singular efforts don’t address the bigger and deeper problem of systemic racism, which requires White Americans to acknowledge racism exists at every level before we can even think about building a better society. The power and role of advocacy, volunteerism, and voting demonstrate trust in the possibility of our flawed institutions to address and eventually solve problems. Buttigieg fears, however, that America is headed down a dangerous path where we can’t trust our institutions, each other, or the facts of reality. Fox News and other media conspiracy platforms know how to play to their audience’s distrust of others so that then their audience will embrace their lies.
Buttigieg contends that two-sided debates are troublesome because too often the Trumpist side has no validity and their arguments can be disregarded due to lack of facts, proof, and evidence. Therefore, when Trumpist ideas are given attention, they want only “to institutionalize false equivalence” within the social media and political discourse, especially in regards to climate change and racism. Buttigieg worries about allowing undeserved or discredited voices to have attention because they only distort the truth and deny the facts, as if the facts are somehow open to debate.
Buttigieg points out the irony of how inequality is often the result of policies that eliminate the role of government, even though it is designed to support workers and families. These types of policies lead to more distrust of the government whose function is supposed to help the disadvantaged and unprivileged with services and fairness. In addition, Internet technology was supposed to democratize knowledge and ensure the truth emerges, but instead people weaponize social media platforms to assault facts and truth. In order to combat the lies, Buttigieg advocates that we need strong journalism more than ever in our information era of online mania. He says we need “honest and courageous reporting and editorial work to investigate, to corroborate, and to amplify” the truth and to check the facts in order to hold authority figures to account.
Russia attacked American democracy by weaponizing false news and by riling up the already-existing frictions among class, race, and income inequalities. Because the Internet has enabled falsehood and lies to thrive and pose as credible, experts and government institutions have become targeted as our enemies. When online agitators induce paranoia and proclaim no one can be trusted, they hope new followers will latch on to their falsehoods and lies and become skeptical of the facts, which the agitators pretend that they have exposed those facts as lies in favor of uncovering secrets only a few people know about.
Containment of Covid-19 and our nation’s safe reopening required cooperation between and among governing authorities and the citizenry to have testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing, and social distancing. Trump undermined and prevented every one of these strategies from happening, and instead his handling of the virus reflects his sustained effort to declare the media, science, and experts as distrustful. Buttigieg is exactly right when he says, “We can see it as a problem of misplaced trust in a president who cared little for his country’s (or, indeed, his supporters’) well-being.”
Both the response to the pandemic and to climate change demands we trust in science and pledge cooperation and coordination among government agencies, across party lines, and throughout the international community. Trusting experts must become a consensus accepted by the people, and then we must trust that solving problems are investments worth making. Buttigieg says, “We do better at confronting hard moral and factual truths when a credible and reassuring voice can help establish their veracity, leaving us less room for denial and pressing us instead into the realm of action. The tougher the message and the less we want to hear it, the more depends on whether we can trust the message.”
Buttigieg’s travels revealed to him that regardless of how people around the world became angry towards the policies of the U.S. government, they didn’t blame individual Americans. World leaders know that Trump and his Republican enablers have abandoned their obligation to be reliable and trustworthy. In doing so, they have sacrificed America’s standing in the world. America was founded and it has thrived because of our inclusive civic identity, regardless of anyone’s ethnic identity. In our democracy, this requires trust in our American identity of belonging, a nation where we are all accepted as equals.
The ability and need to amend the Constitution was part of the trust that the founders gave future generations. Some founders recognized their own flaws and limitations, more so than many contemporary politicians who demand adherence to exact attitudes from hundreds of years ago. The fact is that the founders wanted our system to adapt and become better. Therefore, they entrusted future generations with the power to improve upon what they had created. Since 1971 we have had no new amendments, but we need some to validate what the founders envisioned. We need to use our powers to help improve society.
Buttigieg explains how most efforts to manipulate votes have not focused on switching the results, but on preventing people from voting from the start or stripping them of their vote after the fact. America achieves its greatest potential through inclusion and acceptance, and Buttigieg says, “America has been at its best when widening that circle of belonging, politically and also socially.” Belonging relies on kinship, ethnicity, group membership, and faith communities, all of which need trust to function. To the contrary, Trump has pushed forth an idea that the only real Americans are those who “comprise White, Christian, non-college-educated residents of the Midwest and South.” That means only one in five Americans qualify as real citizens, yet we know American ideals reflect a nation where we all belong as valued and equal.
Buttigieg believes experiences of voluntary service enable trust and respect to develop among people of all backgrounds and differences. He explains how service builds bridges among and across regional, economic, racial, and ideological divides. Trust can also be gained when the tax code and tax system reflect fairness where corporations pay their fair share and where loopholes and incentives don’t allow billionaires to pay lower effective rates than schoolteachers. We must have political purpose to tax fairly and invest responsibly in infrastructure, healthcare, racial equity, and educational opportunities to break the cycle of distrust.
Buttigieg believes reckoning and truth-telling about our past is not anti-American, but rather it is uniquely American to do so, to show compassion and do what is right. This reckoning with the truth can begin the process of rebuilding the trust we need in our institutions and in each other to enable America to head in the right direction. When we move forward and do what is right, we embody an inclusive nation where everyone belongs and where our ideals set the example for other countries and where America stands as a world leader. If Buttigieg runs again for president, he has my support.
Buttigieg provides the sad and sobering overview of how America has always struggled throughout its history to ensure all its people are included and recognized as valued and equal. He also makes clear how whenever those who are excluded have fought for and gained inclusion, America has become a better, more prosperous nation because we have been able to trust our institutions to do what is right. The sad reality has been that the struggle to gain equality has never been civil, decent, or rational. Even sadder has been the fact that anytime gains have been made, White supremacy has reacted with a backlash of racial terror.
We may have experienced moments in our history where America can celebrate technological progress, LGBTQ+ inclusion, gender equity, and life expectancy, but Buttigieg also makes clear how we have failed to answer economic equality, racial justice, incarceration rates, health equity, and social acceptance of one another. In addition, he reminds us how momentous eras like the Civil Rights Movement show us how history can be altered by social sacrifices and political efforts. He explains how the marchers at Pettus Bridge were unable to trust their institutions, whether police or state, nor could they trust the federal government to do what was right on its own. Regardless, they trusted each other and their reliance on nonviolence as their strategy. Moreover, they trusted the moral cause of the movement and they trusted that the system could be changed, and so they confronted it head on and changed it.
Buttigieg further explains how America’s continued strength and standing in the world relies upon whether we the people can be trusted to do what is right when having power over our own leaders. He says, “The U.S. Constitution exists as a kind of standing claim that populations are more trustworthy than individual officeholders.” However, he is wary when he remembers, “Racism, implicit and explicit, is America’s most pernicious form of distrust. It is responsible for more death, more destruction, and more despair than any other force in American life. And that has always been true, robbing Black Americans of their social as well as physical freedoms.”
After the murder of George Floyd, Buttigieg feels that many White Americans must face the realization that many Blacks are unable to trust White-dominated systems and institutions to change on their own. At the same time, he sees hope in the multiracial protests and the prospect that more people understand how the burden of making change cannot be left to the responsibility of only Blacks.
Buttigieg calls out Trump for emboldening widespread racism with his words and actions in order to make himself a spokesman to comfort and support the agenda of White nationalists. Buttigieg worries that the efforts of antiracism to defeat unapologetic racists are not enough because those singular efforts don’t address the bigger and deeper problem of systemic racism, which requires White Americans to acknowledge racism exists at every level before we can even think about building a better society. The power and role of advocacy, volunteerism, and voting demonstrate trust in the possibility of our flawed institutions to address and eventually solve problems. Buttigieg fears, however, that America is headed down a dangerous path where we can’t trust our institutions, each other, or the facts of reality. Fox News and other media conspiracy platforms know how to play to their audience’s distrust of others so that then their audience will embrace their lies.
Buttigieg contends that two-sided debates are troublesome because too often the Trumpist side has no validity and their arguments can be disregarded due to lack of facts, proof, and evidence. Therefore, when Trumpist ideas are given attention, they want only “to institutionalize false equivalence” within the social media and political discourse, especially in regards to climate change and racism. Buttigieg worries about allowing undeserved or discredited voices to have attention because they only distort the truth and deny the facts, as if the facts are somehow open to debate.
Buttigieg points out the irony of how inequality is often the result of policies that eliminate the role of government, even though it is designed to support workers and families. These types of policies lead to more distrust of the government whose function is supposed to help the disadvantaged and unprivileged with services and fairness. In addition, Internet technology was supposed to democratize knowledge and ensure the truth emerges, but instead people weaponize social media platforms to assault facts and truth. In order to combat the lies, Buttigieg advocates that we need strong journalism more than ever in our information era of online mania. He says we need “honest and courageous reporting and editorial work to investigate, to corroborate, and to amplify” the truth and to check the facts in order to hold authority figures to account.
Russia attacked American democracy by weaponizing false news and by riling up the already-existing frictions among class, race, and income inequalities. Because the Internet has enabled falsehood and lies to thrive and pose as credible, experts and government institutions have become targeted as our enemies. When online agitators induce paranoia and proclaim no one can be trusted, they hope new followers will latch on to their falsehoods and lies and become skeptical of the facts, which the agitators pretend that they have exposed those facts as lies in favor of uncovering secrets only a few people know about.
Containment of Covid-19 and our nation’s safe reopening required cooperation between and among governing authorities and the citizenry to have testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing, and social distancing. Trump undermined and prevented every one of these strategies from happening, and instead his handling of the virus reflects his sustained effort to declare the media, science, and experts as distrustful. Buttigieg is exactly right when he says, “We can see it as a problem of misplaced trust in a president who cared little for his country’s (or, indeed, his supporters’) well-being.”
Both the response to the pandemic and to climate change demands we trust in science and pledge cooperation and coordination among government agencies, across party lines, and throughout the international community. Trusting experts must become a consensus accepted by the people, and then we must trust that solving problems are investments worth making. Buttigieg says, “We do better at confronting hard moral and factual truths when a credible and reassuring voice can help establish their veracity, leaving us less room for denial and pressing us instead into the realm of action. The tougher the message and the less we want to hear it, the more depends on whether we can trust the message.”
Buttigieg’s travels revealed to him that regardless of how people around the world became angry towards the policies of the U.S. government, they didn’t blame individual Americans. World leaders know that Trump and his Republican enablers have abandoned their obligation to be reliable and trustworthy. In doing so, they have sacrificed America’s standing in the world. America was founded and it has thrived because of our inclusive civic identity, regardless of anyone’s ethnic identity. In our democracy, this requires trust in our American identity of belonging, a nation where we are all accepted as equals.
The ability and need to amend the Constitution was part of the trust that the founders gave future generations. Some founders recognized their own flaws and limitations, more so than many contemporary politicians who demand adherence to exact attitudes from hundreds of years ago. The fact is that the founders wanted our system to adapt and become better. Therefore, they entrusted future generations with the power to improve upon what they had created. Since 1971 we have had no new amendments, but we need some to validate what the founders envisioned. We need to use our powers to help improve society.
Buttigieg explains how most efforts to manipulate votes have not focused on switching the results, but on preventing people from voting from the start or stripping them of their vote after the fact. America achieves its greatest potential through inclusion and acceptance, and Buttigieg says, “America has been at its best when widening that circle of belonging, politically and also socially.” Belonging relies on kinship, ethnicity, group membership, and faith communities, all of which need trust to function. To the contrary, Trump has pushed forth an idea that the only real Americans are those who “comprise White, Christian, non-college-educated residents of the Midwest and South.” That means only one in five Americans qualify as real citizens, yet we know American ideals reflect a nation where we all belong as valued and equal.
Buttigieg believes experiences of voluntary service enable trust and respect to develop among people of all backgrounds and differences. He explains how service builds bridges among and across regional, economic, racial, and ideological divides. Trust can also be gained when the tax code and tax system reflect fairness where corporations pay their fair share and where loopholes and incentives don’t allow billionaires to pay lower effective rates than schoolteachers. We must have political purpose to tax fairly and invest responsibly in infrastructure, healthcare, racial equity, and educational opportunities to break the cycle of distrust.
Buttigieg believes reckoning and truth-telling about our past is not anti-American, but rather it is uniquely American to do so, to show compassion and do what is right. This reckoning with the truth can begin the process of rebuilding the trust we need in our institutions and in each other to enable America to head in the right direction. When we move forward and do what is right, we embody an inclusive nation where everyone belongs and where our ideals set the example for other countries and where America stands as a world leader. If Buttigieg runs again for president, he has my support.
August 16, 2023
Such a smart, compassionate, sensible man. Buttigieg illustrates how the collapse of trust in our government, public leaders, and institutions has led us to a crisis point. He then discusses ways to rebuild that trust. He’s direct, helpful, and hopeful.
November 17, 2020
Over the course of four essays, Mayor Pete takes the time to explore the concept of trust and how it is important to society and for the American government. Each essay icludes personal experiences from his time in the military, his terms as mayor of South Bend, and coming out as well as an exploration of both current events and our nation's history, particuarly with an eye to how government and trust go hand in hand. It definitely has the upbeat feel of the way Mayor Pete talks about the future while also being filled with some of his policy ideas relating to health care, race, the pademic, and the environment. He even explores the need to trust how our elections work, which seems quite timely even though the book was completed quite a bit before Election Day.
Fans of Mayor Pete will find a lot to like in this volume ... it is hard to not like the optimism and his ideas.
Fans of Mayor Pete will find a lot to like in this volume ... it is hard to not like the optimism and his ideas.
November 23, 2020
I find Pete Buttigieg to be a fascinating, charismatic guy, and personally thinks he's quite a good role model.
Interestingly, I find he writes the same way he speaks: very animated, but also quite naturalistic, even when talking about deep, impactful subjects (that may even be controversial to some.)
But more (most?) Importantly, he always has a rationale behind his words, and conveys those thoughts in an easy to understand manner.
While not the most revelatory or ground-breaking political tome out there, there's definitely alot to take away and contemplate from this book!
Interestingly, I find he writes the same way he speaks: very animated, but also quite naturalistic, even when talking about deep, impactful subjects (that may even be controversial to some.)
But more (most?) Importantly, he always has a rationale behind his words, and conveys those thoughts in an easy to understand manner.
While not the most revelatory or ground-breaking political tome out there, there's definitely alot to take away and contemplate from this book!
January 8, 2021
Nice and short audio book🎧...
though - for me - it only scratched the surface.
I expected him to go deeper into the subject. Guess the time was too short...
though - for me - it only scratched the surface.
I expected him to go deeper into the subject. Guess the time was too short...
November 16, 2020
I liked Pete Buttigieg from the moment he became nationally known. This book only enhanced my feelings.
This is a call to action for helping to heal our country and the rift that seems to divide us. The most jarring information is comparing the percentage of people who trusted our government in the 1950s compared to the substantially lower percentage in 2020. (I'd almost forgotten that we DID use to trust.) Now, we can't even find someone to discuss our differences with. Only tossing innuendo and epithets against those on the other side. How will we ever find common ground if we don't discuss these things?
This is a call to action for helping to heal our country and the rift that seems to divide us. The most jarring information is comparing the percentage of people who trusted our government in the 1950s compared to the substantially lower percentage in 2020. (I'd almost forgotten that we DID use to trust.) Now, we can't even find someone to discuss our differences with. Only tossing innuendo and epithets against those on the other side. How will we ever find common ground if we don't discuss these things?
January 22, 2021
Trust: America's Best Chance by Pete Buttigieg
“Trust: America's Best Chance” examines the importance of regaining trust in order to give America the best chance moving forward. Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg takes the reader on a well-thought out examination of trust. The book includes the following four chapters: 1. The Necessity of Trust, 2. The Loss of Trust, 3. Trust for a Deciding Decade, and 4. Rebuilding Trust.
Positives:
1. A well-written and well-examined topic.
2. Interesting topic, trust. Examined honestly and with compassion. “But Trust is not a sweeping account of how we got here, or a full assessment of what it is to be alive and American in 2020. Volumes have been, and will be, written about that. Rather, this book is written in the spirit of what must come next.”
3. The importance of trust. “What I came to realize is this: trust, often unseen, is indispensable for a healthy, functioning society. And in the absence of trust, nothing that works can work well.”
4. Examines what is trust. “By perceiving a pattern in how someone behaves, and learning what to expect from them in the future. If we think of trust as the belief that someone will do what is hoped or promised, the most basic human way to decide whether to trust that person is to notice what they have done before. To the extent that trust is about expectations, expectations are shaped by experience.”
5. Find out what is America’s most pernicious form of distrust.
6. Eye-opening observations. “In this sense, Ailes recognized what the purveyors of conspiracy theories often do: that by playing to an audience’s distrust of others, you can more quickly secure their trust in you.”
7. Interesting findings backed by studies. “The study found that posts that exhibited “indignant disagreement” earned double the engagement of other content on Facebook.”
8. Doubt as their product. “By promoting a cloud of “fifty-fifty” messaging on a matter of settled medical and scientific consensus, the overall effect was to create doubt in the truth.”
9. How Trump created distrust. “When it was confirmed that masks were a powerful tool in slowing the spread of the virus, he at first mocked the idea of wearing one.” “As with other patterns of trust, we can see the American coronavirus experience as two sides of a coin. We can think of this as a reflection of distrust in the media, science, and expertise. But we can also see it as a problem of misplaced trust in a president who cared little for his country’s (or, indeed, his supporters’) well-being.”
10. Human nature. “It is the nature of the human condition that we are inclined to deny the truth of things that would be painful to face.”
11. Outside forces creating distrust in our institutions. “Russian information operations stealthily target U.S. audiences to reduce our trust in our own institutions. But they also work, often just as determinedly, to reduce the trust that international audiences have in America.”
12. Democracy and trust. “This means that for us, even more than for most other people around the world, a sense of trust is not just strategically important, but existentially meaningful: if the cornerstone of American identity is democracy, the cornerstone of democracy is trust.”
13. A look at the Constitution. “The Constitution’s most elegant quality—its capacity to be amended—made it possible for our republic to grow more democratic and inclusive. And many of the most important and constructive steps in American history—women’s suffrage, the abolition of slavery, the legal (though at first not realized) extension of voting rights to Americans of all races, the direct election of U.S. senators—came about by means of hard-won constitutional amendments.”
14. Rebuilding trust moving forward. “For America, in this equation of trust, our most actionable opportunity is to start by intervening with a fairer tax code.”
15. A fair legal system. “In fact, the entire legal system could be viewed as a way of establishing, shoring up, and, where necessary, restoring trust.”
16. Provides two helpful appendices: 1. Trust and Distrust in America—A Report of the Pew Research Center, and 2. Closing Address of the 2020 Pete Buttigieg Campaign for President.
Negatives:
1. Not as in depth as I would have liked.
2. A section on the science of trust would have added value.
3. No formal bibliography.
In summary, a solid brief look at the importance of rebuilding trust in America. Buttigieg does a good job of examining the aspects of trust impacting America and how we can regain it. His honest and empathetic approach will win over readers. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “In Mistrust We Trust: Can Democracy Survive When We Don’t Trust Our Leaders” by Ivan Krastev, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey” by Kamala Harris, “It Was All a lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump” by Stuart Stevens, “Why We’re Polarized” by Ezra Klein, and “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky.
“Trust: America's Best Chance” examines the importance of regaining trust in order to give America the best chance moving forward. Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg takes the reader on a well-thought out examination of trust. The book includes the following four chapters: 1. The Necessity of Trust, 2. The Loss of Trust, 3. Trust for a Deciding Decade, and 4. Rebuilding Trust.
Positives:
1. A well-written and well-examined topic.
2. Interesting topic, trust. Examined honestly and with compassion. “But Trust is not a sweeping account of how we got here, or a full assessment of what it is to be alive and American in 2020. Volumes have been, and will be, written about that. Rather, this book is written in the spirit of what must come next.”
3. The importance of trust. “What I came to realize is this: trust, often unseen, is indispensable for a healthy, functioning society. And in the absence of trust, nothing that works can work well.”
4. Examines what is trust. “By perceiving a pattern in how someone behaves, and learning what to expect from them in the future. If we think of trust as the belief that someone will do what is hoped or promised, the most basic human way to decide whether to trust that person is to notice what they have done before. To the extent that trust is about expectations, expectations are shaped by experience.”
5. Find out what is America’s most pernicious form of distrust.
6. Eye-opening observations. “In this sense, Ailes recognized what the purveyors of conspiracy theories often do: that by playing to an audience’s distrust of others, you can more quickly secure their trust in you.”
7. Interesting findings backed by studies. “The study found that posts that exhibited “indignant disagreement” earned double the engagement of other content on Facebook.”
8. Doubt as their product. “By promoting a cloud of “fifty-fifty” messaging on a matter of settled medical and scientific consensus, the overall effect was to create doubt in the truth.”
9. How Trump created distrust. “When it was confirmed that masks were a powerful tool in slowing the spread of the virus, he at first mocked the idea of wearing one.” “As with other patterns of trust, we can see the American coronavirus experience as two sides of a coin. We can think of this as a reflection of distrust in the media, science, and expertise. But we can also see it as a problem of misplaced trust in a president who cared little for his country’s (or, indeed, his supporters’) well-being.”
10. Human nature. “It is the nature of the human condition that we are inclined to deny the truth of things that would be painful to face.”
11. Outside forces creating distrust in our institutions. “Russian information operations stealthily target U.S. audiences to reduce our trust in our own institutions. But they also work, often just as determinedly, to reduce the trust that international audiences have in America.”
12. Democracy and trust. “This means that for us, even more than for most other people around the world, a sense of trust is not just strategically important, but existentially meaningful: if the cornerstone of American identity is democracy, the cornerstone of democracy is trust.”
13. A look at the Constitution. “The Constitution’s most elegant quality—its capacity to be amended—made it possible for our republic to grow more democratic and inclusive. And many of the most important and constructive steps in American history—women’s suffrage, the abolition of slavery, the legal (though at first not realized) extension of voting rights to Americans of all races, the direct election of U.S. senators—came about by means of hard-won constitutional amendments.”
14. Rebuilding trust moving forward. “For America, in this equation of trust, our most actionable opportunity is to start by intervening with a fairer tax code.”
15. A fair legal system. “In fact, the entire legal system could be viewed as a way of establishing, shoring up, and, where necessary, restoring trust.”
16. Provides two helpful appendices: 1. Trust and Distrust in America—A Report of the Pew Research Center, and 2. Closing Address of the 2020 Pete Buttigieg Campaign for President.
Negatives:
1. Not as in depth as I would have liked.
2. A section on the science of trust would have added value.
3. No formal bibliography.
In summary, a solid brief look at the importance of rebuilding trust in America. Buttigieg does a good job of examining the aspects of trust impacting America and how we can regain it. His honest and empathetic approach will win over readers. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “In Mistrust We Trust: Can Democracy Survive When We Don’t Trust Our Leaders” by Ivan Krastev, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey” by Kamala Harris, “It Was All a lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump” by Stuart Stevens, “Why We’re Polarized” by Ezra Klein, and “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky.
December 31, 2020
Phenomenal. Mayor Pete does an excellent job of breaking down a seemingly easy concept like trust and applying to American politics, life, and culture, that makes the reader think hard about how and why we got where we are. As he mentions at the onset - this book isn't a map so much as a signpost and his goal isn't too preach at us - but to make Americans understand how important trust is in each other, in our daily lives, and in our government. He talks about how trust used to be so high, how we lost it (or in some cases never received it), and what we can do to gain it back. Mayor Pete's examples, research, and insight into American trust is astonishing and really makes readers think how different our lives could really be. Fantastic.
July 23, 2022
Americans distrust the institutions on which we depend. Increasingly we distrust one another. And the world trusts America less than perhaps it ever has. Whether we rebuild that trust will determine whether we can build a better future. (p. 13)
Most of us in the US would agree that we are living in a period of crisis, although we might disagree what that crisis is. Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2020, identified that crisis as a crisis in trust – and made a compelling argument for that label. According to a Pew Research Center study, excerpted in Appendix A, a significant majority of respondents of Americans see trust in both the government and each other as shrinking but necessary. Its absence making it harder to solve problems. Buttigieg: "trust, often unseen, is indispensable for a healthy, functioning society. And in the absence of trust, nothing that works can work well" (p. 27).
Political parties in the US are increasingly attempting to win elections by any means, even disenfranchising voters who might not vote as desired. Buttigieg argued, "To believe that your hopes of election depend on fewer people voting is to have a tragically weak level of trust in the value of your own positions, and your ability to defend them" (p. 136). This is ironic, as our "most radical founding premise was that people could be trusted to govern themselves—and that the people, trusted in this way, would produce leaders who themselves are worthy of trust" (p. 14).
Ultimately, Buttigieg asserted that trust can be rebuilt. In the early part of the 20th century, US tax rates for the rich were very high (70% +) and public trust was also high; trust dropped when President Reagan downsized government and began a cycle of increasing inequity. Similar patterns are found in other countries. We can make government more transparent and invest in our citizens and infrastructure. We can accept responsibility for errors: "Yes, I made a mistake. How can I make this up for you?" We can help all feel that they are seen, valued, and belong.
Buttigieg was thoughtful, wise, and gracious in Trust, bringing together a wide range of perspectives and a large amount of information. He was and is impressive.
I read this with my mother.
Most of us in the US would agree that we are living in a period of crisis, although we might disagree what that crisis is. Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2020, identified that crisis as a crisis in trust – and made a compelling argument for that label. According to a Pew Research Center study, excerpted in Appendix A, a significant majority of respondents of Americans see trust in both the government and each other as shrinking but necessary. Its absence making it harder to solve problems. Buttigieg: "trust, often unseen, is indispensable for a healthy, functioning society. And in the absence of trust, nothing that works can work well" (p. 27).
Political parties in the US are increasingly attempting to win elections by any means, even disenfranchising voters who might not vote as desired. Buttigieg argued, "To believe that your hopes of election depend on fewer people voting is to have a tragically weak level of trust in the value of your own positions, and your ability to defend them" (p. 136). This is ironic, as our "most radical founding premise was that people could be trusted to govern themselves—and that the people, trusted in this way, would produce leaders who themselves are worthy of trust" (p. 14).
Ultimately, Buttigieg asserted that trust can be rebuilt. In the early part of the 20th century, US tax rates for the rich were very high (70% +) and public trust was also high; trust dropped when President Reagan downsized government and began a cycle of increasing inequity. Similar patterns are found in other countries. We can make government more transparent and invest in our citizens and infrastructure. We can accept responsibility for errors: "Yes, I made a mistake. How can I make this up for you?" We can help all feel that they are seen, valued, and belong.
Buttigieg was thoughtful, wise, and gracious in Trust, bringing together a wide range of perspectives and a large amount of information. He was and is impressive.
I read this with my mother.
July 12, 2021
I despise and distrust most politicians, especially those at the top of the Democratic and Republican parties. Pete Buttigieg is one of the few that seems to be trustworthy, so it seems appropriate that he set out to write this book.
I don't agree with Secretary Pete on a lot of things, especially many policy positions, but throughout his presidential campaign and his two books, he has correctly identified the problems in this country and proposed solutions that would likely improve matters.
In this book, Buttigieg identifies America's problem with trust, in each other and in our institutions: how it broke down and what can be done to repair it. Pete is eloquent and quotable, and there are some great things in here to think about.
We do not all have to agree with each other on everything, but we need to find a way to trust each other, empathize, and work together toward a stable, free society, where our people and our economy have room to grow. Pete Buttigieg started a conversation about that in his presidential campaign and continues it in this book.
I don't agree with Secretary Pete on a lot of things, especially many policy positions, but throughout his presidential campaign and his two books, he has correctly identified the problems in this country and proposed solutions that would likely improve matters.
In this book, Buttigieg identifies America's problem with trust, in each other and in our institutions: how it broke down and what can be done to repair it. Pete is eloquent and quotable, and there are some great things in here to think about.
We do not all have to agree with each other on everything, but we need to find a way to trust each other, empathize, and work together toward a stable, free society, where our people and our economy have room to grow. Pete Buttigieg started a conversation about that in his presidential campaign and continues it in this book.
December 31, 2020
Short and sweet. Pete writes well and conveys his ideas clearly. it’s a bit sugarcoated but didn’t tip the line into being over done. He’s not saying anything groundbreaking but this is a strong reiteration of the fact that the low levels of trust we have in community and government is more of an anomaly than the rule Over the past couple hundred years. I think the most disappointing thing about the book is just how reasonable Pete is when he has a chance to write longform compared to being compressed into soundbites.
“trust is just as often about how we handle failure”
“trust is just as often about how we handle failure”
November 15, 2020
It was fine, it didn’t really change the way I think. It is important to reinforce how important it is to be ethical, honest and try to do the right thing when it’s hard. I was actually surprised he didn’t poke at Trump and the Republicans more (which is good)
I think Pete is a pretty good guy and tries to do the right thing. He has a cool origin story on what he has accomplished before 40.
Overall, not worth reading again. Not very memorable, nothing new, so-so written. It was okay.
I think Pete is a pretty good guy and tries to do the right thing. He has a cool origin story on what he has accomplished before 40.
Overall, not worth reading again. Not very memorable, nothing new, so-so written. It was okay.
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