In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of State of California. In his inaugural address, he talked about the transfer of power, something he described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which 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 than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I used that quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I never believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have 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 transferring power Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was my to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of 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 not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the less than two months away, a friend and I were talking lamenting about the state of our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and an extreme right that was already the validity of an election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor the same time that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost 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. And I’m Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final 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 some things both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating other.
CP: And win or lose, in Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show 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 was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither us saw it coming. There were media requests from over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in 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 hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to treat other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 interventions to be tested on 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can do alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country 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 More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the Republican and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that are very practical things that every one of us can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by off and tuning out some 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 our health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies 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 or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different 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 feel 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 terrible aspiring bassist a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. really was on to something when he described and summed up the of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience 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 words like humility in political discourse, but truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. 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 liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went to say that freedom is not ours by way inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people and those in history who have freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise and meet that radical call 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 really want to change the world, we have to start by changing our hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)