In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the 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 routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” 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 than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, but have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and 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 I were and lamenting about the state of our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and extreme right that was already undermining the validity of election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t there something you do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for at the same time that Trump and Biden were battling 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, and one week later, we were a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. And 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 should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, should vote for me.
SC: There are some things both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating each other.
CP: And win 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 Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There media requests from all over the world, millions of views shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe is the message they want to hear.
I could actually my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 interventions to be on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can do to the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to that people really are hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the Republican and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. 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 by about 30 percent. Now 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 side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there are very practical things that every one of can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, our family, and mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent the latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who different than us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. see, it’s just harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each by our political identities 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 about you? see, if we look beyond our political tribes, we actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something 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 moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe it is the only 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 to the minds of 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 fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for comes only once to a people and those in history who have known and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We 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 is a one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)