“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.”
The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation (Federalist No. 57)
From PUBLIUS. As published in The New York Packet.
Tuesday, February 19, 1788
Structural Framework
Why does it matter who the American public trusts? That question has been of social and political importance since our nation’s founding and it’s what led me to create Route 24. Here’s why.
On February 19, 1788 an essay was published under the pen name PUBLIUS (i.e., Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay) in The New York Packet. Titled The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation (Federalist No. 57), it served as a roadmap for preserving public trust. The system was designed to work as a two-way street: those committed to public service were presumed to do so in good faith and, in turn, that faith was reciprocated by the American public when it came time to vote. Should abuse of power occur, surely the American people’s spirit of freedom would help to course-correct. What the essay from 1778 didn’t consider was how the American public could fall victim to interference.
In principle, public trust presumed that all elected officials, members of the press, and their institutions upheld the common good for a better society. In practice, public trust hit roadblocks due to the policies and practices of the party in office. According to recent responses shared from Pew Research Center, with the introduction of computers for data analysis in 1958 under then-President Eisenhower, the results of the American National Election Studies (ANES) survey from that year were promising: approximately 73% of Americans believed the government would do the right thing most, if not all, of the time. Yet since 2007, public trust has not exceeded 30%. While such data transparency signals public trust is a policy issue, that framing alone bypasses how interpersonal dynamics impact perception and, in turn, cultural interest.
The outcome of the 2024 U.S. General Election demonstrated how the mists of misinformation and disinformation obscured the views of voters, which I wrote about here:
In 2025, Route 24 will look closer at the moments of global and national significance and the sensationalist events that contributed to such pervasive distrust in news media and government, at the communities where the effects of partisan polarization are most felt, at whether a lack of public trust would persist in the absence of such heightened levels of disorientation, and the extent to which public trust can be restored.
Driving Force
My name is
, and I founded Millennial Ethics to create original stories that chart a new course for policy conversations between generations. On Medium, I’ve written essays and opinion pieces about public policy forums and film festivals, covering human and civil rights issues. In 2017, I began an independent project, Probable Cause, with Millennial Ethics that merged the lanes of immersive storytelling and politics to make sense of national traffic stop data and better understand the communities most affected. Over the years, people powered Probable Cause - from the talent that helped to create the vision to the supporters that helped to amplify it. People who may not always agree, but who were committed to learn from each other. People from different generations, cultures, perspectives, and walks-of-life who worked together in pursuit of a common purpose. That is what represents America at its best. Not the many roadblocks faced, but the stories that help us get around them.Freeway
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Driver’s Ed - On Mondays, Driver’s Ed shifts your gears on key policy debates and test-drives people-powered solutions.
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2024 Milestone: Route 24 supported the Art for Democracy billboard initiative, helping to sponsor a digital billboard to drive voter turnout in the last week of the 2024 General Election and support reproductive freedoms.
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Road Rules
Route 24 is a people-powered story engine where different perspectives are discussed. Policy debates are encouraged, so long as the lanes of disagreement are fact-supported. Hateful discourse will be deleted. Full stop.
Note: All opinions are entirely my own and not necessarily shared in part or in whole by any named persons, brands, or forums. Millennial Ethics is a pro-union entity and all projects are created in solidarity with union workers demands.
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As always, thank you for your support of independent storytellers, your faith in democracy, and above all, your commitment to humanity.
Stay the course,
Sam
