KW, you are so right, what would life be like if you could trust no one?
but it does come at a price, always to be determined later and small only if you're lucky.
i'm the same way, but sometimes i feel very foolish as a result.
thank goodness there are so many who are worthy of our trust.

this is what i call the "Good Guy Burden".
people on the other end of that extreme are likely to be 'good' people too,
tho betrayed trust has taught them to trust no one. but not all of them.
some are also greedy selfish violent criminal types, and the GGB makes it easy for those nasty creatures to abuse trust.

it's attitude and perspective rolled together with beliefs and concerns.
my personal guess is that it takes somewhere between 10 and 100 people,
with the GGB to counter balance just one evil presence, depending on how much evil they are dealing with.

i have no idea what to do about it, other than what i already do - constant vigilance.
(but at least now people think i got it from Mad Eye Mooney instead of PTSD.)

sometimes the only way to find the ones you shouldn't trust is to trust everyone.

that's a dangerous gamble in the game of politics.
and of course politics is built on the foundation of trust,

in the end, you could do worse than to listen to the words of Pete Townsend.

"I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss"

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remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. sometimes you have to go around the block to get what you left behind. happy trails and safe travels, ed.