In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something he as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near to many of the world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic phrase that be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, have used that quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 of this stuff, we no longer have to worry losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks in confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant of the State of Utah. It was my duty 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 no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding we violate state law and change the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and an extreme right that was undermining the validity of an election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t there something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at same time that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, and one week later, we were in a 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 other to be your next governor.
SC: And while think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues 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 better way.
CP: My name 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 us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, millions of views shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start 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 disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways treat each other with respect even when we disagree. seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 interventions be tested 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 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 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 similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. the data continues to show 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 far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t 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 we are. Due in large part conflict entrepreneurs in both 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 left and amongst extreme on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also have the most inaccurate of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is there are very practical things that every one of us can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations 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 saw an improvement in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that elicits a laugh, but 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 mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all 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. In the of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just harder to up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified other by our political identities first. As for 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 look our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships 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 of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, can work to develop the classical political 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, but I truly believe it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the spirit which is too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be fought for and constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people those in history who have known freedom and then lost have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media to it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how disagree 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 not an easy answer, but it is simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start by our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)