Former US president tells Sydney audience that media coverage has helped exacerbate divisions and that we no longer have a ‘shared story’
, about the history of bipartisanship in the US political system, Obama reflected on the largely Anglo-American male makeup of senators and representatives at the time he was elected to the US Senate in 2004, and on the divisions that have persisted since.“Here’s the good news about the US, though. We’re not quite as polarised as we seem. 60 to 65% of the country, let’s call it 70%, does occupy a reality-based world,” Obama said to laughter. “And that’s true within the Republicans.
Obama lamented a rise in people only consuming media they felt they were ideologically aligned with – including on the progressive side. “You no longer have a joint conversation and a shared story. And the economics of the media, the clicks, are now based on how do I attract your attention? Well, the easiest way to attract attention without having to have a lot of imagination, thought, or interesting things to say, is just to make people angry and resentful and to make them feel as if somebody’s trying to mess with them and take what’s rightfully theirs.
Asked about his greatest regret, Obama raised the lack of action on gun control in the US despite continued mass shootings.
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