Why are you skeptical of statistics, and what would it take to convince you they have value?

Mark Twain had the line about lies, damned lies, and statistics. I’m sure he’s right that people invent and misuse statistics regularly—but this seems to have generated a sense in the general population that no statistic can be trusted.

Do you mistrust all statistics by their very nature? If so, why? And what would it take to convince you that statistics are vital to understanding causal relationships in this here universe we live in?