In 1967, Ronald became the governor 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 near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” He went on to utter an iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like others, I have used that quote many times, but I have a to make. I never really 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 as Lieutenant Governor of the of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the election. While the meeting to do so was open to public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and change the votes of electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of our country following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme left and extreme right that was already undermining the validity of an that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t there something you can do,” asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so I picked up the phone called my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at the same time that Trump 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 crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear 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 Chris Peterson. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are 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 some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate without degrading 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 the country that there’s a better way.
CP: My name Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can find ways treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns there really are things that we can do to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel a hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that really are hungry for something different. According to polling More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also turns out that … aren’t as far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the average Democrat is on actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the news of all is that there are very practical things that every one of us can do every day to heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start by turning off and tuning out some those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that always elicits a laugh, 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 mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all 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 than us. In the of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. 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 a father. I’m an fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m American. How about you? You see, if we look our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something he described and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts of 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 us to remember how to disagree without hate 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 the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not by way of inheritance. It must be fought for and constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people and those history who have known freedom and then lost it have never it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of us on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the to do it. It will take real work, hard work each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … 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)