I blogged earlier on the topic of DNA databases and civil liberties, reading some of the comments here it was clear that many of the respondents were like me, distrustful of those who run things and didn't have very much confidence in their ability to safeguard their data or run things in a fair non invasive way.
It's clear too that on the whole government generally doesn't trust the people, as it, whatever 'it' maybe appears to be absolutely petrified of the people, so will at every opportunity, look at ways of nailing people down and restricting their ability to move outside of their structured confines or agreed ways of behaviour. laws, tax monitoring, proof of this and that.
It's as if people alone can't be trusted to run their own affairs, as if people need some kind of heavy handed controlling force that makes sure that society is allowed to run in a way that suits the existing set of arrangements, even if the existing set of arrangements are clearly askew and in need of redress.
It isn't just government of course, its banks and inurance companies and anyone else on the receiving end of a claim of one sort or another. I myself made a claim just the other day from my insurance company, I could almost hear the scepticism in the mans voice as he listened to my explanation of what happened. I could almost feel him referencing some cue card or watching some program on his computer screen that monitored my voice inflections for traces of suspected fraudulence.
I do of course have a choice to move on and source a new insurance company next time though, one that isn't so distrustful, maybe one that doesn't make me feel like some pseudo criminal, yet the reality is that wherever i go they are likely to treat me with the same level of suspicion as any other 'client'. It's a bad world and everyone is guilty until proven otherwise!
I'm not going to elaborate too much more as it will be interesting to hear what others think on this.
Why do you think there is such a lack of trust in our world? Am I painting an accurate picture of the relationship between the people and the state, people and commerce or is it a whole lot better than I purport?
Are people more dishonest than they once were, is there a declining set of moral standards, are we all to blame for the type of governance we have, or is it simply a reaction to an ever increasingly competitive world that forces a branch of 'every man for himself' mentality on us all?
I_Am_Xenon
Pro 
There's the old saying that people elect the government they deserve. What bothers me is that what may seem like a good idea in principle winds up being a bad idea in practice. The DNA database is a good example. Objectively, having a database of people's DNA would be useful in criminal investigations, for identifying bodies, that sort of thing. The problem is that such a database would be maintained and used by human beings, which means a huge potential for abuse and misuse.
A more personal example, the provincial government's health department is now requiring all pharmacists to record the sales of any product containing codeine. (In Canada, one can purchase painkillers containing small amounts of codeine without a prescription, but they have to ask the pharmacist for it. And the pharmacist can refuse without explanation if they so choose.)
I take AC&C tablets -- the generic equivalent of 222's (Aspirin + Codeine) -- for the headaches I get from fluorescent lighting. It's the only thing that works.
Now, my friendly neighbourhood pharmacist said that it was so that if for example I was in an accident and taken to the hospital, the hospital could call up what I've been taking (prescriptions and otherwise) as a precautionary measure. I an accept that. But what I don't want is people (government bureaucrats) spying on me.