I am a baby boomer. I am part of that generation that emerged following World War II. Yes, we're the ones who will soon be clogging the social security system. We're the ones who climbed to adulthood during the 1960s. We grooved to the Beatles and rocked to the Rolling Stones. We got political and protested a war, and many of us — many more than ever before — went to college. We were the ones who were going to change the world. Well, so much for good intentions. Some things, though, did change during those times.

Perhaps the most significant thing that shifted during those years was the way people trusted their leaders. Prior to the '60s, or more precisely, prior to the Vietnam War and Watergate, there was a deep and abiding trust in those who were our leaders. I can recall my parents and…