No one likes  -- or trusts -- the government. At this point, that's accepted conventional wisdom. And most people assume it has always been like that. (We have a tendency to assume whatever is happening to us right now has always been happening.)

But that lack of trust hasn't always been a part of the American experience -- as this awesome chart from our friends at the Pew Research Center shows. The line below charts the percentage of people who have told Pew they trust the government "just about always" or "most of the time".

The downward trajectory is stark. The collapse began during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, which, not coincidentally, overlapped with the Vietnam War.  The 1970s -- thanks to Vietnam and Watergate -- sped up the loss of faith in the government.  And, after a quasi-resurgence during the 1980s, the trend line for the past few decades is quite clear. With the exception of relatively brief spikes that overlap with the first Gulf War and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of people who trust the government has been steadily declining; the last time Pew asked the question, in February, just 24 percent said they trust the government "always" or "most of the time".

Exit polling from the 2014 midterms makes clear that things haven't improved in the trust department since that Pew poll.  Just 20 percent said they trusted the government to do what's right "always" or "most" of the time, while 79 percent said they trusted the government only "some" of the time or "never."

The collapse of our collective trust in the government -- and, by extension, its ability or willingness to help solve problems -- has massive reverberations for politicians. They are considered less-than-honest brokers by large numbers of the American public, meaning that everything they say or do is viewed with suspicion.  That's a tough starting place for any pol. But, if the chart above is any indication, it's the new normal.