In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the of California. In his inaugural address, he 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 many of world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, I have a confession to make. I never really it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry 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 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, 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 that was already undermining the validity of an 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 up the phone and my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at 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 if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost the confused look forming on his face. To his credit, he agreed, and one week later, we were a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We currently in the final days of campaigning against each other to be your next governor.
SC: And while I you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating each other.
CP: And 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 went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, 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 actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad my hope that most people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to treat each with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It chosen as one of 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can 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 is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public from the opposing party. And the data continues to 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 as far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far the average Republican and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large part conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and amongst extreme on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there are very practical things that every one of can do every day to help heal the divides in nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning out some of 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 mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that time spent on the latest headlines, whether through social media traditional media outlets, is really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in 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 stressing us out.
Second, we can more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. see, it’s just harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we identified each other by our political identities first. As for me, I’m father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was to something when he described and summed up 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 explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable to about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe it is the only 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 spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty the spirit which seeks to understand the 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 inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly each generation, for it comes only once to a and those in history who have known freedom and then it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not an easy answer, but it is a simple one. If we want to change the world, we have to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)