The former US President Barack Obama has said that the nation faces a huge task of reversing the culture of conspiracy theories that have extended division in the US. He further said that the country is more sharply split than four years ago when the incumbent won the Presidential office.
Obama suggested that his former vice-President’s victory in the latest presidential election is just the beginning of the repairing process. He said that “It’ll take more than one election to reverse those trends.”
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President Obama argued that tackling the increasing polarization should be left only to the decision of elected leaders, but it requires deep structural changes, and American people have to first agree on a “common set of facts” before working on a solution. However, he expressed optimism and passionately urges the youth to be part of the change.
The former president accused the incumbent of stoking the divide among the Americans, saying that it was good for his politics. He pointed out another factor that has contributed to creating the divide, and that is misinformation through social media and mainstream media. During his interview, Obama said that half of the Republican voters have the notion that the President-elect Biden is a staunch socialist.
He further appreciated the big media houses that have promoted fact-checking making sure that people don’t believe in such theories. Something else that has stocked the polarization among Americans is the socioeconomic disparities between urban and rural America.
Barack Obama, who also made history after being elected as the first President of color, said that the issue of race has been one of the key fault lines in American history. Referring to the mass protests that unfolded in the summer prompted by the killing George Floyd, he said the events created both moments of “despair and optimism.”
