November 22, 2013 marked the 50-year anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. On that day 50 years ago, Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy from the sixth-floor window of a book depository 81 meters away. Americans lost more than just one of their beloved presidents that day; they lost a person whom they had great faith in as a person and as a leader.

Today, the people’s faith in government isn’t nearly as strong as it was in 1963; in fact, it’s at an all-time low.

In a recent Economist/YouGov Poll, only 6% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing. This is the lowest approval rating of Congress in the history of this nation. This shocking statistic presses the question: Why have Americans lost faith in their government? Well, three possible aspects may have caused Congress’ approval rating to plummet over the years.

The first aspect was the recession of 2008. The recession caused unemployment rates to drastically increase. It also left people without homes, as the recession was the result of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007. From January 2007 to December 2011, over 4 million completed foreclosures occurred and more than 8.2 million foreclosures started.

The second aspect was the emergence of the Tea Party, a far-right wing political movement that emerged on the scene in 2010. The Tea Party began as a grassroots movement that people rallied behind due to its advocacy of lower taxes and reduced government spending. In the 2010 midterm elections, about 100 Tea Party members and candidates endorsed by the Tea Party won seats in the House of Representatives.

Today, the House has about 60 Tea Party members. Although their initial cut-taxes agenda was respectable, the Tea Party has evolved into a metaphorical roadblock on passing legislation. The Tea Party has refused bipartisanship and has stopped Congress from getting anything done. Their most notable attempt at destroying America was the 2013 government shutdown that they, in large part, caused.

The recent government shutdown is the third event that has caused Americans to lose faith in government. The shutdown lasted for 16 days and left about 800,000 people out of work. Another 1.3 million people had to report to work without knowing when they would get paid or even if they would get paid at all. The shutdown was the result of ineffective Tea Party-Republican members of Congress, who could not garner the support for or wield the power to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After 40 attempts to repeal the act, the Republicans resorted to terror tactics such as holding the entire federal government hostage. Repeal Obamacare or we’ll shut down the government. This ultimatum showed Americans the true face of the Tea Party. They’ll do anything to get what they want, no matter what or who the casualties are.

Due to these three aspects, is it any wonder that Americans don’t have faith in their government anymore? They just don’t seem to have anyone in the nation’s government that they as a nation can truly get behind. In 2008, the nation elected President Obama hoping for change, yet he has been just like everyone else who has come before him over the last 50 years. The nation needs a charismatic hero to lead it to new heights. It needs someone who can unite a nation; who can bring the fire and passion that John F. Kennedy brought so many years ago.