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