We have dealt with this topic before but I wanted to come back to it because David Gergen , someone widely respected by moderates in the US, has given his thoughts on this problem in an interview with www.derspiegel.de .
“SPIEGEL:Has the economic crisis not been the primary factor for the current polarization? Americans are feeling anxious and insecure.”
“Gergen: Certainly the recent economic crisis has contributed, but it is worth remembering that polarization began to deepen in the 1980s and 1990s, a time when we were creating 20 million jobs a decade. Cultural factors have also been at play, and as someone in the media, I confess that the media has also played a role. I have had senator after senator tell me that they get invited to go on a talk show and be seated next to someone from the other party. Then the producer calls to discuss the segment and if you tell them you’re going to have moderate things to say, you want to work with the other side, the next day you get a call saying, “Sorry, we’re going to get somebody else.”
Interesting to hear his take on the media’s influence on the problem, later in the interview he mentions how a big part of the problem is the current generation of political leaders and that he has already seen signs that the next generation will not be as polarized, here is to hoping he is right. You can check out the whole interview below.
sickunclesam 