In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State California. In his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, he described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” then went on to utter an iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians 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 have used that quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I never really it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to worry about it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually believe it now.
The cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of 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 so commonplace and routine no one ever showed up. As I walked into room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law change the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than two months away, a friend and were talking and lamenting about the state of 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 can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so 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. I my opponent, a Democrat 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 could almost hear the 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. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the days of campaigning against each other to be your next 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 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 country 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 and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There media requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an 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 that most people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we can without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to each other with respect even when we disagree. It 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 Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, get it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the six months, 20 governors from all across the country have similar ads, most of them with a public servant from opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also turns that … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst activists on the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the most engaged in the political process also have the most inaccurate views of other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there are practical things that every one of us can do every day to help heal divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent 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, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who 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 a request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on 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 virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John 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, I truly believe that it is 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 spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must 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 have never known again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in 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. will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to 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 want to change the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)