In 1967, Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” He then 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 more one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I used that quote many times, but I have a 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 I actually believe it now.
The cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was my duty to the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was so and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into 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, 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 than two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the of our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the 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, that question haunted all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running governor at the same time that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could hear the confused look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, one week later, we were in a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final days of campaigning against each other to be your next governor.
SC: And I 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 without degrading each other’s character.
SC: can disagree without hating each other.
CP: And win or lose, Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show the 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 overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I remember to myself, and maybe 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 that most people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we our kids. That we can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was 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 one of 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, 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 country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant the opposing party. And the data continues to show 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 as far apart as think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps 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, 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 in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found more time spent on the latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, 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 spend more time, offline, with real people who are 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 magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each 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 look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and the people us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable to talk about like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is the way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, who so stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say 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 and those in history who have known and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not easy answer, but it is a simple one. If we want to change the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)