Barack Obama is most worried about ‘divided media’ saying ‘we have different realities’

In a recent interview on “CBS Mornings,” former President Barack Obama expressed his concerns about the future of the United States, identifying the “divided media” as his primary worry.

“The thing that I’m most worried about is the degree to which we’ve now had a divided conversation, in part because we have a divided media”, said Obama.

When asked about what keeps him up at night post-presidency, Obama pointed to the fragmented nature of the media landscape as a significant factor contributing to a divided national conversation.

Reflecting on his own upbringing, Obama reminisced about a time when there were only three TV stations, and people shared a common understanding of what was true and real.

He continued, “When I was coming up, you had three TV stations. And people were getting a similar sense of what is true and what isn’t, what was real and what was not. Today, what I’m most concerned about is the fact that because of the splintering of the media, we almost occupy different realities.”

Obama stressed that his greatest concern lies in the fact that this division has hindered the ability to have a common conversation.

He noted that in the past, even if people disagreed on the solutions to certain issues, they could at least agree on the existence of those issues.

Nowadays, individuals are more inclined to deny or dismiss facts that do not align with their beliefs, making it challenging to establish common ground.

Addressing the goals of the Obama Foundation and his post-presidential endeavors, Obama emphasized the need to restore a shared set of facts and revive the common conversation.

While acknowledging that disagreements are inevitable, he underscored the importance of basing these discussions on an agreed-upon reality.

To illustrate his point, Obama mentioned the contentious issue of gun violence.

“So if we say it’s just a mental health problem, it’s not like there aren’t people with mental health problems in those other countries. What’s the difference. This is probably the difference. Now we can have a debate, but at least we’ve agreed on some facts.”

But where he failed to connect the dots was in regard to laws that could keep those we know to have mental health issues from being able to purchase firearms.