In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State California. In his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something he described as “the simple 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 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 have used that quote many times, but I a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased 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 of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and change votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got worse somehow, four years later. With the election less two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of 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 haunted all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, was running for governor at the same time that Trump Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming on his face. 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 against each other to be your governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: are some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without each other.
CP: And win or lose, in Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show the country 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 of us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was one 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 ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there are things that we can do to alter the trajectory the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are hungry for something different. According polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart we 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 much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive on the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the process also have the 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 the divides our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more spent on the 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 us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political identities first. As me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if we beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and help build up communities and improve our outlook on life the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like humility in political discourse, I truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In words of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes once to a people and those in history who known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media do it. It will take real work, hard work by each us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our 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)