Social Cohesion through Trust

I am not sure why we need a grandiose new study to show something that most of us know already. Your mental health and emotional well-being depend in large part on your belonging to a socially cohesive group. As noted previously, social cohesion correlates with trust. 

If the group is cohesive, we are more likely to trust each other. And if we trust each other we are more likely to be happier and more content.

Of course, it is not especially clear whether trust produces social cohesion or whether social cohesion produces greater trust. 

One understands that the most common current explanation for the current societal malaise is-- smart phones. People are so completely absorbed in their phones that they tune out others. And then, they feel alone and disconnected, to the detriment of their happiness and mental health.

I have hesitated to blame it all on a gadget. At the least, we know that these gadgets are not limited to America. Not all children and not all societies are promoting social disorganization. 

Study Finds explains the research:

A massive new study involving more than 2.5 million people across the globe has found something remarkable: our willingness to trust others — whether it’s our neighbors, institutions, or strangers — has a profound impact on our mental well-being. And this connection holds true whether you’re 6 years old or 83.

The research, published in Psychological Bulletin, analyzed nearly 1,000 studies to paint the clearest picture yet of how trust and happiness are intertwined. The finding works both ways: not only does trusting others make us happier, but being happy makes us more likely to trust others. As the researchers put it: “Trust and well-being mutually reinforce each other over time.”

What matters is feeling connected, in performing the actions that make you a functioning member of a community. It’s not about how you feel or what you believe:

Those moments when you felt most content probably involved feeling secure in your relationships, confident in your community, or optimistic about the institutions around you. Conversely, times of deep mistrust, whether toward a partner who betrayed you or a government that disappointed you, likely coincided with periods of anxiety or sadness.

Smart phones notwithstanding, young people face the challenge of making social connections. One understands that weaning you from your phone is not the same as learning how to form and sustain connections:

For young people, the researchers explain that “forming and maintaining supportive social connections is one of the most important tasks for youth development and consequently a strong predictor of well-being.” Trust plays a crucial role in this process.

As it happens, trust and cohesion seem highest in countries that are more homogeneous. We are not allowed to say this, so pretend that I did not:

 In countries where people generally trust each other more, like Nordic nations such as Finland and Denmark, the individual benefits of being trusting were even greater.

The researchers found that higher national-level generalized trust reflects individuals’ belief in “a country’s ability to provide a safe, prosperous, and cooperative social environment for its citizens.” Living in such an environment amplifies the psychological benefits of individual trustfulness.

Of course, the more these countries open themselves to migrants from cultures that are disharmonious with the local variety, the more trust erodes and the more people will be living for the drama.

In an era marked by declining institutional trust and growing social polarization, the research offers both warning and hope. As trust erodes, so too may our collective well-being. But understanding that trust and happiness can reinforce each other means that investments in building more trustworthy communities could pay dividends in public mental health for generations to come.

As for what builds social cohesion,  we should list patriotism, that is, love of country and pride in its achievements. And we should add success. It is difficult to feel proud of a nation that bumbles its way through history. 

Wednesday Potpourri

First, from Eric Metaxas, the last word about the No Kings protest movement:

"NO KINGS" is a pathetic and ineffective slogan. It's unappealing on every level. It simply SOUNDS dumb and weak. And of course it is. These Meathead-era Boomers need better PR and marketing!

Second, a few words from Eizabeth Barcohana, addressed to the crowd that believes the current war is not our war.

Since Democrat Jimmy Carter gave birth to the Islamic Republic of Iran:

 • 66 Americans were held hostage in the Iran Hostage Crisis for 444 days in 1979. (8 US servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed helicopter rescue attempt) 

• Hezbollah held up to 10 Americans hostage in the 1980s in Lebanon, resulting in 2-3 deaths. 

• Since 1979, Iran has detained at least 25 Americans on accusations of espionage.

• April, 1983 Beirut Embassy Bombing by Hezbollah killed 17 Americans.

• October, 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing by Hezbollah killed 241 American servicemen. 

• 1984 Beirut Embassy Annex bombing by Hezbollah killed 2 Americans. 

• 1996 Khobar Towers Bombing by Hezbollah killed 19 American airmen.

 • In 2007, Iran-backed militias in Iraq took 4 Americans hostage and killed them. 

• In the Iraq War (2003-11), Iran-backed militias killed between 600 and 1,000 US forces. 

• On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed 45 Americans and took 12 hostage. But it’s not our war?

Third, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard has seriously damaged her political prospects. She asserted that Iran had stopped uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons development. This at a time when the International Atomic Energy Administration said that Iran was on the verge of nuclear weapons.

CNN asked President Trump what he thought of Gabbard’s remarks:

CNN: You’ve always said you don’t believe Iran should have a nuke. Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon.

Trump: I don’t care what she said. They were very close to getting a nuke.

Fourth, regime change has become a dirty word. It is apparently not American policy toward Iran and might not even be Israeli policy.

And yet, if you ask what regime change would mean, chances are good that it would involve the restoration of the rule of the Shah of Iran.

Colin Rugg reports:

NEW: Exiled crown prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi says the Islamic Republic has "come to an end," says what has begun is irreversible. Pahlavi ripped Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for hiding like a "scared mouse." 

"The Islamic Republic has come to an end and is falling. What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright and together we will navigate this sharp turn in history. Now is the time to stand; it is time to take back Iran. May I be with you soon."

So, restoration, not regime change.

Fifth, Ellie Cohanim offers a similar analysis:

My analysis on Iran’s domestic situation right now & “what next”: 

1. Israel’s historic campaign has been a game changer. There is no return to “status quo” whenever this campaign ends-even if it were to end right this minute. 

2. IRI Regime completely discredited, even the Regime’s few supporters are seeing what IRI policy has wrought upon them. Many smart people who are observing the same ask—so what next?

This question, combined with what I call the “trauma” of US experience in Iraq, is causing a lot of understandable concern. 

Let’s be clear though-Carter helped create this mess in 1979; Obama fed it & empowered it & Biden kicked it down the road—now 46 years of failed US policy on Iran (minus 4 short Trump years, interrupted) have come home to roost.

So to answer what next?:

There is a trusted individual-Iran’s Crown Prince in Exile @PahlaviReza who has offered to lead a transition government & shared a 100 day plan to transition to democracy. 

The elegance of supporting Pahlavi is it restores the rightful heir back in place, and “picks up” where the horrific mistake of the IRI Regime grabbing power in 1979 left off…it’s a sort of course correction. That’s not to say Iran goes back to Empire, but perhaps a Constitutional Monarchy. 

But at the least, Pahlavi can help oversee a peaceful transition which would block the rise of terrorists or Mullahs. 

As it comes to the question of resources to help in a transition period: I believe the Sunni Arab countries will be willing partners in such an endeavor, having had the Shi’ite threat finally removed from over their heads after almost half a century. 

Lastly, I expect Iranian leaders to emerge from within the country—the very people who will have to lead any Regime Change.

Sixth, meanwhile in once Great Britain, morality has been turned on its head.

Tommy Robinson reports:

A child who was raped by Muslim gangs was prosecuted & taken to court for alleged racist hurty words. Say that out loud , the police & cps used the judiciary to attack a child who was raped by Muslim men for saying mean words to them in response to their racist rape ordeals . This shows exactly where the authorities sat. Rape against white girls ok , mean words against Muslims prosecuted.

Our Ongoing Cultural Revolution

The song does not date to yesterday. We owe it to Bob Dylan, and especially the line:

You know something is happening, but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?

This past Friday I wrote about the collapse of the knowledge economy, via Ted Gioia. The world of symbolic analysts, of people who work with their minds, is collapsing around us. 

Now, Joel Kotkin suggests that we are watching the fallout from the AI revolution. Blaming it on AI feels like a bit of a stretch, but still, Kotkin recognizes that the job prospects of Humanities majors are evaporating. 

It is not merely the case that universities are not educating young people. They are not preparing them for tomorrow’s jobs. The group in question will be inclined to become rebellious, at the least. So suggests Kotkin:

Today we may again be creating an assertive and angry class — as evidenced in the recent LA riots and the pro-Palestine protests on US campuses over the last year and a half — made up of degree holders. We can see this in recent reports that show the job market getting tougher for graduates. Hit hardest are those professionals on the “soft” side of the economy (finance, accounting, law, coding) whose jobs are increasingly threatened by the rise of artificial intelligence.

As I said, he blames it on AI:

As AI grows, there won’t be enough jobs to go round, and even if those graduates do get a job, their employers, with so many candidates to choose from, won’t pay well.  

The group most likely to be hurt by these developments are feminists, upper middle class women:

These developments may be felt most by upper-middle class young women, who make up almost two thirds of humanities graduates. This demographic has also been the driving force for campus radicalism. If they were alienated before by the patriarchy and capitalism, just wait till they can’t find a decent job and lose economic power.

As it happens, universities are not doing their job. Their graduates are incapable of doing a good job anyway:

At the same time, employers are increasingly disappointed with the quality of college students, according to the Harvard Business Review. Even the students know the score: more than half (53%) of these college graduates feel unqualified for an entry-level job in their field with nearly half (42%) admitting they did not have all the skills listed in the job description.

Not to be overly persnickety, but if young people are incapable of doing their jobs, it’s a bit of a stretch to blame it all on AI. As for the role of women in all this, we are chagrined to learn that feminist studies programs do not prepare women to work in the world. Again, it is a stretch to blame it on AI.

So, the academic left has been running a racket. Reality is now catching up with them.

People with training in hands-on professions — notably in medical fields as well as technology and engineering — remain in high demand. In contrast, the humanities, where faculty tends to be overwhelmingly Left-of-centre, have lost 25% of their students since 2012.

After all, if there’s no Green New Deal, where does a newly-minted environmental engineer or diversity expert get a job?

How much of the leftist program is simply make-work jobs for people who have been made into social justice warriors. If Trump is eliminating these programs, no wonder they are marching in the streets.

Losing Social Capital

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said that the states are the laboratories of democracy. You can try out policy on the state level before you go more global with it. 

Fair enough.

But now, we have nations that have become testing grounds for policy. In this case, for immigration policy. What happens to your country when you allow in masses of illegal migrants who do not conform to the local customs and mores.

Were you to listen to certain talking heads, illegal migrants are the salt of the earth. They do the jobs that citizens disdain. They pay their taxes and show up on time for work. As even President Trump has recognized, deporting too many illegal migrants will damage the economy, especially the hospitality and gardening businesses.

And yet, most Americans, by a large margin, do not want the illegal migrants to stick around. They might have noticed what has been happening to Great Britain, thanks to the recent analysis offered by one Daniel Hannan in The London Telegraph.

Hannan describes a nation that once  had great social capital, where everyday transactions are frictionless:

It was little things that made me fall in love with Britain. You didn’t have to count your change in shops. You almost never saw private security guards. You could drink from the tap. You could flick a switch and the light would actually come on.

You could get into a taxi, confident, not only that you wouldn’t be mugged, but that you’d be driven by the shortest route and charged the correct fare. If you stopped at a red light, you would not have every car behind you hooting in fury. You could send valuables by post.

He continues:

Because Britain was a high-trust society, everyday transactions were frictionless. The cost of doing business was low, because neither side had to take expensive precautions against fraud. Social capital gave Brits a sense of patriotism and responsibility. They accepted election results when their party lost, obeyed laws with which they disagreed, paid their taxes grumblingly but honestly.

Now that Britain has been flooded with illegal migrants, social capital is disappearing. It shows itself in everyday transactions:

Take the epidemic of shoplifting. Last year, retailers logged 20.4 million incidents of theft, an increase of 3.7 million on 2023. Or look at our filthy streets. The touristy parts of central London manage to pick up most of the debris, but every other part of the capital is grubbier than before lockdown, with fast-food wrappings and cartons blowing about forlornly.

Traditional Britain was a socially cohesive, high trust society. People felt connected to their neighbors and would not imagine sowing social chaos. 

How did it break down? At the least, those disparate groups that migrated to the nation did not feel like they belonged. They did not know the rules and did not play by them. They were untrustworthy and did not trust anyone else.

The consequences have been stark:

We should be asking the same questions about stealing from shops, which now costs retailers (or, rather, non-shoplifting customers) £2 billion a year. The thing that used to hold most people back from shoplifting was not fear of criminal sanction – few are caught, fewer detained and almost none prosecuted – so much as a feeling that it was unacceptable. That feeling, like so many things, was vitiated by the pandemic. At the same time, mass immigration dilutes the homogeneity on which high-trust societies depend.

As happens today in Los Angeles, the wealthy have retreated from social commerce. They live in gated communities and have their own private security.

The rich are retreating into gated communities, hiring security firms, posting sentries (these are especially obvious outside synagogues, which have felt unprotected since anti-Israel protesters were allowed to behave menacingly at their doors while the police looked on). Walls are springing up – including a hideous new fence around Parliament.

Bring in a lot of third world people, too many to assimilate, and you end up with a third world nation. 

It is in this sense that we are most authentically becoming like a developing nation. A Government that aspires to do things that are none of its business simultaneously fails in its core responsibilities – above all, in its duty to provide a functioning justice system that protects property.

How long before we move from confronting people who push through ticket barriers to actual vigilantism? A friend in Islington tells me that his local Co-op recently removed some items from its shelves and put everything else – even food – behind anti-theft locks. It was responding to a spate of aggressive shoplifting that had seen its guachimán beaten up twice.

Of course, migrants are not likely to assimilate. Certain members of the intelligentsia tell them that they need not do so. When you learn that traditional culture is repressive and oppressive, and that you are its victims, you are not likely to learn how to trust.

Sundaze

It’s that time of the week, again!

With a warm welcome to new subscribers. And, a special thank-you to paid subscribers.

Being as today is Sunday, we take the day off from opining in order to request donations. They are the fuel that keeps this work going. It allows everyone to show that they want me to continue. Dare I say, requesting donations is preferable to tithing.

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Saturday Miscellany

First, for a change of pace, from New Zealand. A young girl died from anorexia because the medical authorities thought she was trans. 

Tragic story from NZ. The death of a teenage girl from anorexia following the failure of multiple agencies so focused on affirming Vanessa's "gender identity" that they "did not pay the same attention to the eating disorder which would kill her". https://rnz.co.nz/news/national/563855/teenager-starves-to-death-alone-in-emergency-accommodation

Adam Kimberly, an eating disorder specialist, responds:

This is tragic indeed. For years I was an eating disorders specialist. That program is now full of young women with alternative identities and neo pronouns. There’s a huge overlap between ROGD and eating disorders. It’s very difficult to die from starvation and most recover with treatment.

Second, you recall the hysterical stories about how people are starving in Gaza. Recently, an aid convoy went to the region. Hamas interdicted it, and murdered the aid workers. And No, it was not Greta’s group. 

Bonchie writes:

Noticing a distinct lack of coverage of Hamas attacking an aid convoy and murdering and kidnapping over a dozen people. Weird, right? I guess if it doesn't come from the "Gaza Ministry of Health," it's not fit to print.

Third, Sen. Jose Padilla, who no one had heard about before Thursday, managed to make a fool of himself at a Kristi Noem press briefing. As you know, his behavior was so disturbing that security was forced to remove him from the room.

Jonathan Turley describes the scene:

Sen. Padilla just gave a statement that he merely "had a question and began to ask a question" and was "immediately force out the room . . . and handcuffed." That is not what we all just watched on live television. Padilla was yelling at Noem and then resisted security trying to move him outside of the room...

Dinesh D’Souza offers another commentary:

The really shocking thing about the @SenAlexPadilla episode is to see a US Senator acting like a street thug, and then, when he is appropriately ejected, quickly playing the victim.

Fourth, DEI may be on life support, but in many places it still exists. Christopher Rufo explains:

Disgusting: Lockheed Martin keeps a spreadsheet of employees by race, then instructs managers precisely how many whites they must eliminate from the bonus list, even if those employees performed better than their peers. And they wrote it all down, even though it is illegal.

Fifth, in the matter of the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Katie Pavlich has a candidate for the most stupid commentary. It comes from Connecticut senator Chris Murphy:

The dumbest take is already on the internet. But, the night is young.

Israel's attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Tehran, is further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies - have for President Trump.

Sixth, it might be satire, but it makes good sense. Peachy Keenan writes:

BREAKING: A federal judge in San Francisco has just ordered Israel to rebuild Iran's nuclear facilities.

Seventh, on the matter of the Israeli military operation, Rep. Nancy Mace spoke for most Republicans:

We stand with Israel, fully and without hesitation. Iran was days away from a nuclear weapon. They fund terror and want Israel wiped off the map. Israel has the right, and the duty, to fight back. We pray for Israel, we pray for all Jews around the world, we pray for our U.S. military deployed overseas tonight. God bless each and every one

Eighth, Tucker Carlson does not count among those politicians offering the most stupid remarks about Israel and Iran, but he chose to go down swinging. I will confess that I always found his commentaries intelligent. And yet, now that he is no longer on Fox News, he has been going downhill, embarrassing himself:

Here’s what Tucker Carlson, who has been aggressively advocating against military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, had to say in his newsletter this morning: “This could be the final newsletter before an all-out war.” 

“U.S. says it was ‘not involved.’ That’s not true.” 

“Despite being complicit in an act of war, the president…”

Ninth, a more seasoned military hand, General Mike Flynn offers a good analysis of the ongoing military operations:

ATTENTION! Current Situation in the Middle East (apologize for the necessary length). First, a reminder about war…it is NOT FAIR, it is NOT FREE, & the longer it takes, EVERYONE LOSES. 

Lastly, speaking for myself, I am anti-stupid war (not anti-war). However, when a nation’s leadership (Iran) calls for the annihilation of another nation (Israel and America), there will eventually be a price paid. 

I must say, Israel showed not only great restraint & patience over many years to make this monumental decision to conduct this decisive & very strategic offensive series of strikes but a level of military prowess & capability that is historically without par. 

As of June 13, 2025, Israel has launched a large-scale military operation named Operation Rising Lion against Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities, ballistic missile programs, and key military and scientific leadership. The operation began in the early morning hours of June 13, with airstrikes reported across Tehran and other cities, hitting Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, nuclear weaponization programs, and military infrastructure. 

Notable casualties include Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, among other senior officials. 

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated the strikes were preemptive, based on intelligence that Iran was close to producing a nuclear weapon, with enough enriched uranium for up to 15 bombs within days. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the operation as ongoing, aimed at neutralizing Iran’s nuclear threat and defending Israel’s survival, while also claiming to protect regional allies from Iranian aggression.

Iran has responded with over 100 drones launched toward Israel, according to the IDF, though no significant retaliatory missile strikes have been confirmed as of 04:35 AM Israel time. 

Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran, with airbases closed and leadership convening to discuss retaliation. Iran’s air defenses, already weakened by prior Israeli strikes in October 2024, which destroyed all four S-300 systems, have left the country vulnerable….

The strikes follow months of escalating tensions, including Iran’s missile attacks on Israel in April and October 2024 (Operation True Promise 1 and 2) & the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, which Iran attributed to Israel. 

Israel’s actions are driven by concerns over Iran’s nuclear advancements, with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declaring Iran non-compliant in June 2025 for accelerating uranium enrichment to 60%, close to weapons-grade, & possessing enough material for multiple bombs. U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, ongoing since April 2025, have stalled, with Iran rejecting demands to halt enrichment, prompting Israel to act unilaterally. 

The U.S. has not provided offensive support, though it may assist in defending Israel against retaliation, as it did in 2024. The situation remains volatile, with risks of a broader regional conflict. Iran’s weakened proxies (HB & Hamas) & degraded military capabilities limit its immediate response options, but its long-range missile technology, capable of reaching 3,000 km, poses a threat to Israel & potentially Europe. Social media posts on X reflect anxiety among Iranians, with some expressing fears of war, though these sentiments are not conclusive. The international community (esp, China & Germany), has urged de-escalation.

That’s an excellent overview of the situation.

Tenth, back on the transmania front, statistics inform us of what happens when people are given cross-sex hormones, hormones for the opposite sex. 

Stats for gender reports:

NEW STUDY reveals what happens when males take estrogen: 5x blood clots 10x strokes 26x testicular cancer 40x breast cancer 80% higher death rate Permanent infertility Brain damage Autoimmune diseases These risks INCREASE over time.