Disclaimer: The Trust Score Politics Index team acknowledges that ranking elected officials based on their speech alone is a slippery slope to capturing and regulating speech in society. Freedom of speech has been limited and infringed upon in places like China with the use of a social credit score that can increase or decrease your score—and as a consequence the ability to buy food and travel—based on whether or not the government agrees with your speech. The decrease in freedom of speech has also found its way to England where over 3,000 individuals have been arrested as a result of what they have said on their social media.
TSP wholeheartedly disagrees with a score being based on whether or not speech was considered kind or not, and believes that evaluating speech in this way will lead to a society where freedom of speech declines, censorship reigns, and a social credit score will have its foot in the door for Americans.
A good way to implement a social credit score in society would be to first get the public comfortable with scoring their elected officials on universal virtues like kindness, respect, or dignity; second, the public would begin to score each other—especially those they disagree with; and lastly, this could allow the government to score individuals. Society would have been groomed for it, and they’d be more likely to accept it.
Trust Score Index
A Trust Score Index is a score given to elected officials that ranges from 1 – 9, and is based on trust. Trust is earned by telling the truth and by acting in accordance with that truth. Actions matter. Voting records matter. Evidence matters. By keeping their word and doing what they say they’ll do, a political leader can increase their Trust Score Index.
The Trust Score Index was developed by adults for adults who can handle the truth. In a world full of marketing and propaganda, the Trust Score Index takes into account that there is always a political game being played. The Trust Score Index aims to get to the heart of the matter in identifying the virtues that effect your hard-earned money and your freedoms.
When an elected official tells the truth, does what they say they are going to do, admits their mistakes, and puts the public interests above their own political career they are trustworthy and deserve a high Trust Score Index; however, when political leaders say one thing but do another, use the public for financial advancement, use their power for lobbyists advantages, or violate fundamental rights their score naturally should be low.
There’s a crisis of trust in America. Americans find it more and more difficult to trust their political leaders. Politicians that are honest, humble, do what they say they are going to do, and work in the best interest of their constituents and not for the gains of big money lobbyists (non-governmental organizations and public private partnerships) seem to be a rarity. A Trust Score Index that allows the public to see through the rhetoric, polished presentations, and mega-funding that increases appeal allows voters to make better decisions with their sacred vote.
Two major distractors that fool the general public into thinking that an elected official is trustworthy: intelligence and kindness. Although two good qualities, just because a person is either intelligent or kind does not make them trustworthy. Being intelligent does not automatically make a person moral and ethical, nor does a kind demeanor. Kindness—although a worthy virtue—does not necessarily stop a politician from voting in favor of legislation that impacts your money or freedom negatively. Kindness is great, but what is greater than kindness is TRUST.
The Trust Score Index is bridging the political gap by looking at objective actions that increase trust and keep America strong. Understanding that everything that sparkles isn’t gold is the first step to political alignment that protects you.
