In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the of the State of California. In his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer 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 iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation 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 have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Governor of the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever up. As I walked into the room, I was to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state and change the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far somehow, four years later. With the election less than two months away, friend and I were talking and lamenting about the of our our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and an extreme right was already undermining the validity of an election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, was running for governor at the same time that Trump and 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 if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I almost hear the confused look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, and 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 of campaigning against each other to be your next governor.
SC: And while think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating each 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 Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media requests all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I could actually my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can ways to treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization 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 a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy feel a little hopeless 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 filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are hungry something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also out 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 the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the 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 people most engaged the political process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all that there are very practical things that every one of us can do every day to help heal divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and 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 a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media 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, preferably offline, with real people who are different us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just harder to up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if we look beyond our tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering build up communities and improve our outlook on life and people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. really was on to something when he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, can work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is the only way for to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not sure it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by of inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by 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 and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for or the media to do it. It will take work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how 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 … It’s not an easy answer, but it is a simple one. If we really to change the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)