In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In his inaugural address, talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something he described as “the simple of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” He went on to utter an iconic phrase that would repeated by politicians 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 I have a confession to make. never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we 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 came during one those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was so commonplace routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into 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 thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less two months away, a friend and I were talking lamenting about the state of our our country following a summer of protests by the extreme left and an extreme right that already undermining the validity of an election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted all weekend, so I picked up the phone and my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at the same time that Trump and Biden battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming on his face. his credit, he agreed, and one week later, we were in a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. And I’m Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final days of campaigning against each to be your next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating each other.
CP: win 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 approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There 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 they to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political leaders 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 respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My was confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to 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 had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness politics. And it also turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think we are. problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest progressive activists on the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news all is that there are very practical things that one of us can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, can start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement our 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 the latest headlines, whether through social or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different than us. the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, rarely identified each other 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 Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was 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, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. look, I know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I believe that 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 sure is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit seeks to understand the minds of other men 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 fought for and defended constantly by each generation, it comes only once to a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms 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 of us. But we must remember how to without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love our — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s an easy answer, but it is a simple one. If we really want to change the world, we to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)