The erosion of trust in our society

Bruce Schneier wrote an excellent piece about how the recently revealed, secret government surveillance programs have eroded the trust that is so critical to a healthy, functioning society.

Both government agencies and corporations have cloaked themselves in so much secrecy that it's impossible to verify anything they say; revelation after revelation demonstrates that they've been lying to us regularly and tell the truth only when there's no alternative.

Secret courts making secret rulings on secret laws, and companies flagrantly lying to consumers about the insecurity of their products and services, undermine the very foundations of our society. -Bruce Schneier

Hopefully, trust in our government and corporations can be rebuilt over time. But as long as they keep playing word games and intentionally deceiving the people while secretly redefining the laws of the land, it will only erode further.