Ever since watching this movie many years ago where Luke Wilson plays a character thrust into the future where everyone is an idiot, the more I’m beginning to think that Australia is becoming closer to an idiocracy.

None more so prevalent with the situations that have been playing out during our lockdowns here with massive protests by anti-vaxxers claiming conspiracy theories; politicians like Craig Kelly and social media “influencers” like Pete Evans who push dangerous ideas that aren’t based on evidence.

Also, one of the things I find most annoying nowadays is that we’re seeing more people carry their camera around and film themselves being idiotic.

(Maybe that can be a good thing because the rest of us can see their stupidity and have it shared!)

One of the things I’ve been thinking about is that we really have ourselves to blame.

Australia has one of the most concentrated newspaper ownership in the world and much of it is Murdoch owned spruiking fake news. It doesn’t help that our journalists also tend to share opinions more so than reporting actual news from all sides so we can make our own valued judgements. Mainstream journalists are much to blame for our predicament pandering to the ideals of who pays their salary than just simply reporting.

Throw in the mix a government that is corrupt and linked to the media (hello? The first meeting of our prime minister was with Rupert Murdoch in New York) and that muddies up what is ethically correct and moral when it comes to looking after the welfare of its people and the interests of Australia, we get a situation of where Australia is at now.

It’s interesting to spend a bit of time on this website Our World In Data-Trust to see how some countries vary in their trust in government. You can see that the countries who have trust in government, have better economic outcomes.

As for Australia, our trust in government has diminished somewhat (it may have worsened after the French submarine debacle).

Going through this Trust Report for 2021 is a must read as it is thought provoking on the impact of trust not only in our government but also in our business and institutions. Without it, there’s lack of social cohesion, a preference for individualism and perceived rights and privileges without having to reciprocate through doing best for others and the long term.

And that’s going to hurt us. Well, it has already.