The definition of an “institution” is an established official organization having an important role in the life of a country.

Established practices, customs or laws are also considered institutions. Institutions are the foundational bedrock for how a country and its citizens function and interact. 

Increasingly, it feels like we are destroying our institutions.

One of our most important institutions is our federal government. It’s the basis for our existence as a country.

President Ronald Reagan was one of the first Republicans to begin preaching that government is bad and interferes too much. The irony was that Reagan and his Republican majority WAS the government.

They wanted to defund social safety net programs yet at the same time poured additional money into defense.

They didn’t want government regulation of business yet wanted government to regulate what citizens did in the privacy of their homes.

The Reagan era started the ball rolling in creating doubt and cynicism about our government and leaders. They unleashed something that can’t be controlled, and has begun to affect our confidence in all institutions.

Our churches are another institution in decline. Church membership in the U.S. is now below 50 percent. There are probably many reasons for this, one being the more recent transparency of the abuses by church leaders and the lack of corrective action. 

I suspect the cynicism we’ve been taught about our government has spilled over to our church.

Less than half of us are being reminded weekly of Jesus’ lessons for how to live our lives. Less than half of us have a faith community to support us through difficult times. 

For a majority, hope has been displaced by despair. Surely, no one can think this institutional decline is a good thing.

Confidence in our judicial system institution is at an all-time low. Politics has breached the process of appointing judges based on a history of impartial and reasoned decisions. 

Instead, we have reversals of 50-year-old legal precedents with laughable justifications – except that it’s not funny. More recently, we’ve learned that even our Supreme Court justices receive lavish gifts from political ideologues.

Some Republicans are now willing to defund and dismantle the Justice Department and FBI because former President Donald Trump has been indicted for serious crimes. 

Yet, the system is working exactly as designed, presenting evidence to a grand jury to get an indictment, then proceeding to a trial by jury.

We have an institution of law and order. We used to see police as those who served and protected us. Our modern world has provided increased transparency of indefensible police biases and abuse. 

Our struggles to hold this extreme minority of police accountable has accelerated our erosion of faith.

The result is generations of minorities who do not trust the people who are supposed to serve and protect them.

More broadly, a majority of Americans see the rich and powerful getting away with breaking laws, which is certainly not the “equal justice” promised us as carved into the Supreme Court building.

A free press is an institution. This is such an important institution to a democracy our Founding Fathers embedded it into the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights. 

Journalists are the watchdog of our government, asking the questions we don’t get to ask in person.

We’ve let politicians call journalism “fake news,” taking their word without considering their self interests in avoiding scrutiny and explaining their actions. 

We’ve made millionaires out of narcissistic social media personalities that will say anything to get attention, uncaring about how much damage their lies are causing.

Not all politicians are bad. Many are truly public servants, quietly seeking to make government work through compromise despite the impediments of attention-seeking colleagues. 

Not all priests are bad. The vast majority have sacrificed so much in order to help us find God and connect with a faith community.

Not all judges are bad, or on the take and most work independently from political ideology. Most never make a speech to a political action group and they apply intellect and compassion to the impossible mission of equal justice for all.

Not all police are bad. The vast majority risk their lives daily to protect and serve even when we don’t appreciate it… and they despise bad cops more than we do.

Politicians started all of this, creating fear and doubt to get elected. 

For over 40 years, they have been the earthquake tremors eroding the foundation of our institutions. It’s up to us to shore up our foundation. 

We can do this.

Look harder at all the good government does vs. picking at what’s bad. Look harder to find God in each other, reinforcing our faith. 

Live your faith instead of judging others.

Look harder at the justification of legal decisions. Expect Congress to get back to approving judges based on a history of logical decision-making vs. ideology, and vote out those that don’t. 

Support our police by supporting their efforts to weed out bad cops. Look for positive ways to engage police in the community instead of just experiencing their presence when something bad happens.

Being a cynic is a big part of our problem. Be a builder. Most importantly, vote against those who want to tear down institutions.