In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of State of 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.” He then on to utter an iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, but have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 of this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was 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 that one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law change the votes of the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. was not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than two months away, friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of our country following a summer of destructive protests by the left and an extreme right that was already undermining the validity of election that hadn’t even happened 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, was running for governor at the 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. I have a idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look 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. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final days of campaigning against each other to be your 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 we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating each other.
CP: And win or lose, Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show the country that there’s a better way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. there really is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is the they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people do want their political leaders to uphold the values we teach our kids. That we can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find to treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, when a submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as of 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 there really things that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, get it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all across the have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are hungry for something different. According to from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also turns out that … Americans aren’t far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the average is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the 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 also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news all is that there are very practical things that every one of us can do every to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we start by turning off and tuning out some of those entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, 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 latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we can spend more time, offline, with real people who are different than us. the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. see, it’s just harder to hate up close. “Tell more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely each other 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. How about you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, we 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 people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering 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 summed the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is the way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In words of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not sure it is right. The spirit of liberty is spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours way of inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes once to a people and those in history who have known freedom then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty our generation to once again 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, work by each of us. But we must remember how disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love enemies — 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 world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)