Democracy is fragile now: Clinton to Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks and Bill Clinton

Former US President Bill Clinton believes that "democracy is fragile right now", and spoke candidly on a talk show about issues "tearing us apart". "What's more important? Our common humanity or differences?" Clinton mused. "And what works better to build the kind of future we all want? Does cooperation work better, or is everything a zero-sum game?"

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He answered the rhetorical question by saying, "Life is not a zero-sum game. It may be true that saving our democracy is just a zero-sum game because democracy is fragile right now." The former president was joined by Tom Hanks, chef-philanthropist Jose Andres and moderator Chelsea Clinton in an hour-long conversation. They spoke about their concerns about the outlook of the country. Hanks said that educating people about true historical events can help to get the public to care about and advocate for important causes in their own community. But, he doesn't support artistes who feel inclined to bend, bow or break from reality. "I do non-fiction entertainment," noted Hanks, who has played real-life figures such as Captain Phillips, Walt Disney and Captain Sully Sullenberger on screen. "[It's] the best of entertainment because that comes with a degree of education."

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But while adapting stories for TV, podcasts or documentaries, Hanks said there's an obligation to ensure the truth doesn't end up getting "crowded out" at the expense of telling a good tale. "When we come across inconvenient facts that we don't want to talk about, I say, ‘Oh, what you want to do is alternative history. You need to have an alternate truth'. Because I'm the boss, I can say things like, ‘Rather than make something up, why don't we come up with a way to make up what really happened, fascinating?"

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