In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In his inaugural address, talked about 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 never more than one generation from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used 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 worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors 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 to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and that we violate state law and change the votes of the electors.
Now 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 it got worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than two away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of our our country following a summer of destructive protests the extreme left and an extreme right that was already undermining the validity of an that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t there something you do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at the same that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I 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, and one 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 final of campaigning against each other to be your next governor.
SC: while I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you 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 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 better way.
CP: My name is 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 remember thinking to myself, and this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated hope 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 treat each other respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad the Stanford Polarization and Social Change 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 actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out really are things that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to that people really are hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of 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 Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So 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 are very practical things that every one of us can do 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 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. 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 refer to this phenomenon different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with 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 you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political identities first. 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, we look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular 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 he described and 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 explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like humility in discourse, but I truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without 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 is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for comes only once to a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. 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, it is a simple one. If we really want to change the world, have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)