Democracy Forum

Distrust in Government: A Necessary Evil or a Weapon of Destruction? Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne Key Discussion Points: a) the waxing and waning of Americans’ trust in government b) why a little skepticism may be a good thing c) how partisanship plays into the equation d) how too much distrust may be a self-fulfilling prophecy Guests: Amy Fried, Professor & Department Chair, Political Science, University of Maine umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/amy-fried/ Thomas E. Mann, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution and Resident Scholar, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley www.brookings.edu/experts/thomas-e-mann/ To learn more about this topic: – Public Trust in Government: 1958-2017, Pew Research Center, December, 2017. – The Strategic Promotion of Distrust in Government in the Tea Party Age, Amy Fried, 2015. – Finding the Common Good in an Era of Dysfunctional Governance Thomas E.