Agency Popularity Contests

I'm always both interested in and annoyed by Gallup's annual survey that seeks to measure how Americans view different parts of the federal government. It makes sense to me that the military is held in high esteem, if only because Americans are generally fond of their homeland, and even if they aren't fond of how the military is used, no one can really deny the sacrifice that members of the military make that most of us wouldn't. But I also think the fact that most Americans have no direct experience with the military or intelligence agencies (which also scored high this year) actually makes it easier for Americans to think highly of them.

Think of it this way. While Americans may have complex feelings about issues like the treatment of detainees, it's not an issue they're directly affected by. The Central Intelligence Agency isn't coming after you because they think you owe more taxes than you do. They aren't taking longer than you'd like to remediate a former industrial site you think might make a dandy playground for neighborhood kids. You never have to stand in line to mail a package to your aunt at a CIA field office. It's much harder to have a personal good experience of an institution you never interact with, but it's impossible to have a bad customer service experience with an agency that's totally inaccessible to you.