> I am quite convinced that the nature of US political discourse is largely determined by the predominant media There are plenty of historical examples of part

> I am quite convinced that the nature of US political discourse is largely determined by the predominant media There are plenty of historical examples of partisan clashes like the USA’s "conservative versus liberal/progressive" one without a modern media. Just look at some of the appalling rhetoric between the two parties of the time in 19th-century America, or the clashes between the Blues and Greens in Constantinople. Choosing a tribe to belong to and then adapting a harsh “us versus them” stance seems to be a human universal. Modern media has only capitalized on something that was already there.