If you choose to broaden your circle to include people who've had different backgrounds and life experiences, you'll learn what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, and in the process, you'll help make this democracy work.
Barack Obama
University of Michigan Commencement 2010, 2010
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President Obama devoted a significant portion of his Michigan commencement address to the erosion of civil discourse in American politics. He argued that the 24/7 echo chamber was driving people to consume only information that confirmed their existing beliefs, making the country more polarized. His remedy wasn't policy — it was personal. He urged the graduates to deliberately seek out people and perspectives different from their own. If you grew up in a big city, spend time with someone from a rural town. If you only hang around people of your race or religion, expand your circle. This wasn't abstract idealism — it was Obama's prescription for keeping democracy functional in an age of self-sorting.