In 1967, Reagan became the governor of the 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 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 for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now countless others, I have used that quote many times, I have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, 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 first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was duty to certify the votes of the electors for the election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked the room, I was stunned to see dozens of 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 wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four later. With the election less than two months away, a friend I were talking and lamenting about the state of our our 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 you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so I picked the phone and called my 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 named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, and one week later, were in a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Peterson. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final days of campaigning against each other to your next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are some things we both 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, work together.
SC: So let’s show the country that there’s a better way.
CP: My is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we 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. there really is an exhausted majority, I remember 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 without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 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 things that we do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the party. And the data continues to show that people are hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness politics. And it also turns out that … Americans aren’t as far as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most in the political process also have the most inaccurate views the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there are very practical things that every one of us do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago 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 latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different than us. the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just 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 our political identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in 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 the 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. Aristotle really was on something when he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable talk about words like humility in political discourse, but truly believe that it is the only way for us 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 it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He on to say that freedom is not ours by way of 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 known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the to do it. It will take real work, hard work by of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up meet that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s an easy answer, but it is a simple one. If we really want to the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)