You may have heard of the poll Reader’s Digest published sometime ago; The 100 most trusted people in America. Atop the list was, of all people,  Tom Hanks. Hanks is an excellent actor; one of my all time favorite movies is Apollo Thirteen, a story of true grit, valor, and the American can do spirit.  I don’t agree with his politics; so what, who cares?

If you are scratching your head, or perhaps nodding a tentative “Yeah, I can see that” head nod, so am I. Other paragons of virtue include  Jimmy (really?) Carter. In fact, of the top 20, 10 were actors and otherwise well known in front of a television camera.

How did we move our vision of trusted people from the virtuous to the popular?