Commenting partly in the hope that more people read this. My gut reaction to this article is something akin to yass gurl but I'm genuinley curious if you guys recognize your country in this. He gets at a few fundamental criticisms; racial segregation, governmental incompetence and corruptness, dysfunctional media, etc. Is he simplifying things too much, or simply speaking the quiet parts out loud?
Hey I was at the rally. Were you? I sympathize with the criticism, but think his approach is informed by traditional journalism. My guess is that Jon sees it as his duty to shine a light on an issue, rather than be the one to resolve it. However, I think the ground changed during his watch. The issues he started highlighting at the outset of the Today Show (which he ingeniously transformed from celebrity gossip) became commonplace as political tribalism and propaganda became the norm.
I think his analogy of police as border patrol between the segregated Americas is pretty spot on. I've tried to argue that the police are now if a symptom than a cause, and I've never really found the right words to express that. I tend to also believe that media generally and social media in particular have stoked resentment between us to their benefit and our detriment. I have lots of conservative friends, and we get along great, but every now and then one of us will say something that is just completely alien to the other sounds we basically live in different information environments. Really strange and not at all helpful how our "marketplace of ideas" has differentiated over the years. I think Jon is spot on with his media analysis. But also thanks for commenting. I also hope now people will read this.