In 1967, Ronald became the governor of the State of California. In his inaugural address, he talked the peaceful transfer of power, something he described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to of the world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I used that quote many times, but I have a confession make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 of this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased 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 the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and change the votes of electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now got far worse somehow, four years later. With the less than two months away, a friend and I were talking and 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 there something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. the way, I was running for governor at the time that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I almost hear the confused look forming on his face. 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 in the final days of campaigning against each other to be your governor.
SC: And while I think you 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 without 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 this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. of us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want political leaders to 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 was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. it also turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the average Democrat is on the issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem how 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 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 us can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning 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. have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, whether through media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we can 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 to hate up close. “Tell me more why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely 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 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, we can serve others. Service volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to when he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John explained, we all 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 that it the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of is 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 inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it only once to a people and those in history who have known freedom and then it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We wait for politicians or the media to do it. It take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s an easy answer, but it is a simple one. we really want to change the world, we have to start by changing own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)