I think constantly repeating negativity that undermines faith in institutions and our ability to effect change is harmful because it’s self fulfilling.

There. That’s an idea you can debate.

Great, I love to debate. Does that mean that you have faith in our political institutions then? If so, how do you justify that faith?

From my perspective, it’s self evident that our political institutions are hopelessly corrupt, so I can’t imagine what it’s like to have faith in them. And since I’ve lost faith in our institutions, I see criticism as positive, not negative.

I don’t see how pointing out flaws is self fulfilling. It’s the only way to improve anything. My guess is that an internet comment has less effect than the wishes of billionaires who are able to control our political institutions using their economic power.

If you admit that our political institutions are in a bad state, how do you propose we begin to fix them without voicing negativity about them?

You have moved the goalposts from government institutions to political institutions. The department of education is not a political institution. USAID is not a political institution. The IRS is not a political institution. I have faith in these institutions and in congress. I have less faith in the electorate selecting the best people to operate these institutions, largely because of the constant barrage of negativity they see online.

I think the department of education does good work and has been critical in creating an education system that people from all over the globe strive to access. From school lunch programs that support local farmers and provide nutritious meals to students to stewarding our world-class universities.

I think USAID did a great job minimizing suffering in-situ, thus reducing refugee crises and allowing populations to flourish to the benefit of everyone.

I think the IRS was doing great work developing their own e-file system that gives US taxpayers an alternative to predatory commercial options like TurboTax.

When you say “political institutions” I assume you mean congress, which is undisputedly democratically elected. You can engage with your elected leaders to effect change. People do so all the time. You can get involved in the political process and get someone more aligned with your interests elected. This also happens all the time.

So where’s the corruption of our institutions you are so certain exists? If you can’t be specific then I think it is just toxic and lazy to repeat the negativity.