LettersWith US fault lines exposed, can media rise above bias to heal the divide?

Name: As Biden enters White House, world leaders express ‘relief’ and welcome ‘friend’ and ‘mate’ back
Uploaded: 2021-01-26T22:15:10.000Z
Duration: 4 min 33 s
Description: As Biden enters White House, world leaders express ‘relief’ and welcome ‘friend’ and ‘mate’ back

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Supporters of then-US president Donald Trump enter the US Capitol’s Rotunda on January 6 in Washington. Photo: AFP

Letters

Published: 6:15am, 27 Jan 2021Updated: 6:15am, 27 Jan 2021

Following the events of January 6 in Washington, we have seen plenty of articles in the Post on the subject of US democracy still going strong, flavoured with calls for unity from politicians on both sides of the aisle. The question is whether these unity calls represent lip service to the cause or a real desire to move away from disunity that leads to a dysfunctional society.

With a major national election every second year built into the US election process, do US politicians face an inherent and systemic fault line that actually promotes disunity in American society?

If so, does this fault line force political opponents to constantly present themselves with a sufficient level of contrast when compared to the opposite candidate?

January 6 proved to be the date on which the US political process caused disunity to exceed the boiling point. Bold and strong leadership on both sides is required to end this vicious cycle.

Will this fault line prevent the US from moving towards unity? Will the senior political leaders show sufficient statesmanship that manages to repair the fault line, thereby focusing all available US resources on a positive and constructive long-term agenda both at home and abroad?

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As Biden enters White House, world leaders express ‘relief’ and welcome ‘friend’ and ‘mate’ back

Long-term US unity would have an immense positive impact on the global economy. Renewed US unity is therefore ultimately in the interest of all humanity and is to be welcomed by all countries.