Nowhere have the weak social foundations of American liberal institutions been more evident than in the battered and tattered nature of the welfare state, and in the cynicism with which it is viewed by nearly the entire populace — from the wealthy to the poor, for different reasons. (religion-online.org)
Okay, Fred, so you have this god who is nobody who can understand, who revealed himself to Bronze Age people who had been inventing gods right and left, but he can't even convince the entire populace. (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
Open murder of political dissidents and opposition both at home and abroad, ww2 style land grabs, purposely bombing syrian hospitals, censorship of the entire populace with intelligence services meting out punishments, having a sham of a judiciary and media while telling more lies than truth to its populace thereby eroding their confidence in any information to enlighten them (much like what the authoritarian right is trying to do here). (sbnation.com)