Abstract:
In his recent Farewell Address US President Barack Obama remarked that if we want
to improve our pol itical environment and accomplish significant political ends we need to stop
attacking one another on Twitter and on line, and converse with one another face to face. We
here explore the implication of Obama’s comment that technology is currently an obstac le in
political communication. We further explore the position that the strongest ground for political
activity, especially democratic political activity, is the identification and pursuit of common
interests within one’s community and across borders. In t he end, there is no reason to think that
digital technology is necessarily detrimental to useful political engagement and communication
with one another. That we often use it detrimentally contributes to misunderstanding and social
divisions. More genuine communication in the sense of engagement through shared meanings is
critical and a necessary condition of experience and growth, both individual and social. Such
communication, digital or otherwise, is enhanced through the pursuit of common interests.
