"Maybe it is the media that has us divided"
About this Quote
"Maybe it is the media that has us divided" is a soft-gloved accusation: a blame sentence disguised as a shrug. Laura Bush couches it in "maybe", a word that signals civility while still floating a clear culprit. Coming from a First Lady - a role built around decorum, unity, and the performance of nonpartisanship - the line reads as strategic restraint. She can’t (or won’t) indict political actors directly, so she points to the loudest intermediary: the information system that turns conflict into a product.
The intent isn’t just to criticize journalism; it’s to relocate responsibility. Division becomes something done to us, not something we choose, vote for, fund, or amplify. That framing is comforting, especially in eras when partisan identities harden and every institution feels suspect. It also subtly absolves leadership, including the governing apparatus she’s adjacent to, by implying polarization is a media artifact rather than a political strategy.
The subtext is classically establishment: the country is fundamentally coherent; it’s the coverage that makes it look broken. That’s a seductive narrative for audiences exhausted by outrage cycles, but it also carries a warning to the press: your spotlight is the problem. Coming from the Bush-era cultural atmosphere - defined by post-9/11 patriotism, cable-news escalation, and bitter debates over Iraq - it lands as both critique and self-protection. If you can convince people the messenger caused the fight, you don’t have to reckon as directly with why the fight began.
The intent isn’t just to criticize journalism; it’s to relocate responsibility. Division becomes something done to us, not something we choose, vote for, fund, or amplify. That framing is comforting, especially in eras when partisan identities harden and every institution feels suspect. It also subtly absolves leadership, including the governing apparatus she’s adjacent to, by implying polarization is a media artifact rather than a political strategy.
The subtext is classically establishment: the country is fundamentally coherent; it’s the coverage that makes it look broken. That’s a seductive narrative for audiences exhausted by outrage cycles, but it also carries a warning to the press: your spotlight is the problem. Coming from the Bush-era cultural atmosphere - defined by post-9/11 patriotism, cable-news escalation, and bitter debates over Iraq - it lands as both critique and self-protection. If you can convince people the messenger caused the fight, you don’t have to reckon as directly with why the fight began.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
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