In 1967, Ronald became the governor of the State of California. In 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 many of world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic phrase would be 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 that quote many times, but I have 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 State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting do so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and 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 was 2016, and the protesters Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state our our country following a summer of destructive protests by 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, question haunted me 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 and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if filmed 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 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 other to be your next governor.
SC: And while I think should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues 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 way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of 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, and this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their 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. seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad 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 had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in 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 little hopeless as Americans once barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But 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 opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are hungry for different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent 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 average Republican and the average Democrat is on actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that are very practical things that every one of us can do every day help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, whether social media 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 us smarter, it’s just stressing out.
Second, we can spend more 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 hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political identities first. As for me, I’m 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 can actually find identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities 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 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, we become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s 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 and contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other and women.”
And I started with a quote from Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by way inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, work by each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise and 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 is a simple one. If we really to change the world, we have to start by changing own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)