United we distrust

President Obama recently spoke of the “simmering distrust” between many police departments and minority communities. The president is correct in his assessment, but dramatically understates the problem.

Rather than being just a feature of the minority communities in our nation, distrust of law enforcement is widespread. Whether it’s the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, regulators targeting small businesses or NSA officials using the agency’s excessive spying capabilities to spy on love interests, the abuse of power creates legitimate distrust.