Maybe you’ve heard by now that the Reader’s Digest has put out its list of the 100 most trusted people in America. Yes, there still is such a thing as a Reader’s Digest. Trust me.
Anyhoo, what you may not have done is actually looked closely at that list. I think there is an interesting subtext buried in this prioritized group of trustworthy guys and gals that might be worth mulling.
What does it mean, for instance, that some of the nation’s most prominent, well-known leaders are eclipsed by celebrities, media moguls and TV hosts? I mean, our president is way down the trust pyramid at number 65, just beneath … Adam Sandler. And the Supreme Court? Well, the public would far sooner give credence to Judge Judy’s word.
Now, it is worth noting that this “who do you trust” list is based on the polled opinions of only 1,000 Americans. And, well, who knows who those folks were. (Or if they were telling the truth, for that matter.) Their Top 10 played out like this: 1. Tom Hanks; 2.Sandra Bullock; 3. Denzel Washington; 4. Meryl Streep; 5. Maya Angelou; 6. Steven Spielberg; 7. Bill Gates; 8. Alex Trebek; 9. Melinda Gates;10. Julia Roberts.
If you just look at the top four slots—which are all well-known actors—you might think the poll only included agents who happened to be questioned while waiting for the crosswalk light to change in front of Universal Studios. But taking it for granted that those polled peoples were actually made up of heartland America’s average citizens, their first four trusted choices of Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep actually say quite a lot.
I mean, sure, those four may in truth be fabulous, über-trustworthy sorts, but the fact is we the public don’t really know them at all. We only know them from their characters who smile and figuratively put their arms around us up on the big screen. Yep, Forrest Gump did seem to be an earnest trustable sort, but that’s not Tom Hanks. He and the other three in the top four are actually people whose job it is to create make-believe characters all the time—and then lie so well that we believe that’s who they are.
In fact, half the people on the list are either actors, TV hosts or folks otherwise connected to big media infotainment. And maybe that makes sense. We tend to like people who are like us and, well, these people can sure seem like us at times. They’re people we’ve had positive experiences with. With that focus, then, it makes perfect sense that we might have a tendency to push political figures down the list (let’s face it, sometimes they’ve got all the credibility of those guys who want to sell you your own bridge in Brooklyn) and lift those friendly actors up.
Actors and TV hosts make us laugh, after all. We’ve conquered worlds with them, discussed social wrongs with them, lived in run-down towns as their neighbors, and made it through teary happy endings by their side. All those experiences were shaped for us with well-crafted scripts and warmly lit sets, but they seemed real. They seemed good. And by extension, they made us feel like better people as we scarfed our popcorn and imprinted our seat cushions.
Isn’t it interesting, though, that most all of those entertainment frontmen have their own bridges to sell? They’re selling, well, an ideal. They’re selling a story—and very often, selling their character, too. After all, we have to like these people for the story to work.
Is it any wonder, then, that we want to buy into the person behind the character, too? Is it any wonder we want to trust that sale?
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