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 described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a miracle to many 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 thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, but I have a confession make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting do so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate law and change the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With election less than two months away, a friend and I were talking lamenting about the state of our our country following summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and an extreme that was already undermining the validity of an election that hadn’t even yet. “Isn’t there something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question me all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for at the same time that Trump and Biden were battling for presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming his face. To his credit, he agreed, and one week later, 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 your next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, 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: We can disagree without hating each other.
CP: win or lose, in 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 Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The of the ad validated my hope that most people really want their political leaders to uphold the values that 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 confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It out there really are things that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a little as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying 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 servant from opposing party. And the data continues to show that really are hungry for something different. According to polling from More 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 Republican and the average Democrat on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and amongst extreme conservatives the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps best news of all is that there are very things that every one of us can do every day to help heal the divides in our and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent on latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our mental health. Psychologists to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we can more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different than us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each by our political identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. about you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was to something 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 virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as Adams 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 truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words of 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 is the spirit which seeks understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be fought for defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people and those in history who have known freedom then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We 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 answer, but it is a simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start by our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)