Are We Too Political?

Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube One of the paradoxes of our moment is that the excesses of Donald Trump’s presidency seem to demand our obsessive attention, while Trump himself obviously thrives on that attention—and all of the social division that comes with it.

What if the clearest way out of our political crisis is taking politics less seriously? In this episode of The Permanent Questions , David Brooks speaks with his old friend (and new boss), Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, about the pleasures and pitfalls of a life spent covering politicians, the limits of partisanship, and the need to see life from the redwood’s perspective.

The following is a transcript of the episode: David Brooks: Our topic today is politics.

What role should politics play in your life? How much of your spiritual, emotional, and mental energy should you devote to politics? Now, I am something of a political junkie.

I grew up as a political correspondent covering people, and I can say there’s nothing more fun in journalism than going to a rally in Iowa or New Hampshire or anywhere people are campaigning, talking with the folks, watching them scream, watching the passion.

It’s just Americana in all its glory, both good and bad.

So I really care about politics.

I really care about politicians.

I admire them in general.

They’re good people in rotten circumstances.

And yet I also feel that we’ve over-politicized our society.

Everything is red or blue.

Where you live is red or blue.

What car you drive is determined by red or blue.