On the recordJanuary 15, 2017
Fiction was useful as a reminder of the truths under the surface of what we argue about every day and was a way of seeing and hearing the voices, the multitudes of this country.
Source
presidency.ucsb.edu“Fiction was useful as a reminder of the truths under the surface of what we argue about every day and was a way of seeing and hearing the voices, the multitudes of this country.”
Interview with Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times
Share
More from Barack Obama
It is a decision about how do we face and embrace this finite amount of time we have on the planet.
People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.
I think when we act on that basis, it doesn't always work out, but over time things do get better.
If I had a blame pie for why politics is so polarised and why we're seeing a rise of populism in many places, it's because of that information that is going into our brains every day.
Other voices in this conversation