海角大神

Since the 2019 arrest of Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges and related crimes, Americans have witnessed a steady disclosure of the names of public figures and institutions tainted by past association with the late financier. They have noted little if any justice for survivors of his alleged abuses, along with other troubling aspects of the responses to a scandal at the upper reaches of U.S. society.

One probable result: a heightened crisis of trust, especially among those less fortunate toward what is seen as a self鈥憄rotective network of elite and wealthy people.

A survey conducted last year found the United States now has the world鈥檚 largest gap in trust of government, business, and media between low-income and high-income earners. The gap is 29 points compared with a global average of 15. The American underclass now perceives a rigged system more than it did in the past.

This 鈥渕ass class鈥� trust divide, as the Edelman survey called it, has helped drive systemic changes in institutions following the Epstein-related revelations. Congress has approved new anti-trafficking tools and pushed for transparency in releasing the Epstein files. Prestigious universities caught up in the scandal have made internal reforms. The corporate world has purged leaders associated with Mr. Epstein and set up rules for workers about associating with 鈥渢oxic鈥� figures.

Yet change might be more than institutional. In past centuries, Americans have joined together in bursts of moral reckoning and ethical awakening around particuliar issues, such as slavery, monopolies, civil rights, the environment, and sexual harassment. And religious people in the U.S. have long held a desire to create a perfect society based on a model of perfection in their understanding of spiritual reality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to a moral 鈥渁rc鈥� that would lead to a 鈥渂eloved community鈥� in America. The early Puritans sought to create a 鈥渉oly New England.鈥�

Rebuilding trust, along with healing and justice for those sexually abused by Mr. Epstein and his associates, might now depend even more on individual acts of moral renewal and spiritual rebirth. The Edelman survey, for example, found that workplaces are 鈥渢he safest space for discussion of difficult topics because there are rules for behavior.鈥� It also found that such 鈥渂rokering鈥� of trust can lift the level of trust among low-income people.

A good example of spiritual reclamation is the purchase of Mr. Epstein鈥檚 Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, a suspected scene of abuse. The new owner, Texas businessman Don Huffines, has renamed the property San Rafael Ranch, after the saint associated with healing. He plans to turn it into a 海角大神 retreat.

鈥淲hat the enemy once meant for evil,鈥� he wrote on social media, 鈥淕od can redeem for good.鈥�