In 1967, Ronald became the governor of the State of California. In his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something he described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to of the world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, but I have a confession make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to worry losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen demanding that we violate state law and change the votes the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election than two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and an extreme right that was already undermining the validity of election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t there something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question me all weekend, so I picked up the phone and my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at the same that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear confused look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, one week later, we were in a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the days of campaigning against each other to be your next governor.
SC: And while I think you vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should for me.
SC: There are some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree hating each other.
CP: And win or lose, in Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show the country that there’s a better way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither us saw it coming. There were media requests from all the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we can disagree without hate contempt, even that we can find ways to treat each other with even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as of 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges violence. It turns out there really are things that we can do alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues show that people really are hungry for something different. According to from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and amongst conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also have most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the news of all is that there are very practical that every one of us can do every day to help heal divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw improvement in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, whether through social or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different than us. In the words of Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just harder to hate up close. “Tell me more why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described and summed up the essence life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only to a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait politicians or the media to do it. It will take work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up meet that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not an easy answer, but it a simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)