The obvious error to your “obvious” solution is that some areas are already low-trust, and thus without removing that low-trust culture/the low-trust individual

The obvious error to your “obvious” solution is that some areas are already low-trust, and thus without removing that low-trust culture/the low-trust individuals there is simply no possible way to change it. Manhattan has had a reputation of being low-trust for longer than I’ve been alive, and that only continues to prove itself. L.A., Detroit, Chicago, really any major city are all low-trust environments. This may not be the whole of the US geographically, however it certainly is from a population perspective.