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 magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to of the world’s inhabitants.” He then went on to utter an iconic phrase that be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have that quote many times, but I have a confession make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to about losing 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 my duty to certify the votes of the for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and change the votes the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This not 2020. This was 2016, and the protesters were Hillary supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less two months away, a friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of our our following a summer of destructive protests by the extreme and an extreme right that was already undermining the validity of an election that hadn’t even yet. “Isn’t there something you can do,” she asked.
Well, question haunted me all weekend, so I picked up the phone called 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, I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have 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 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 other to be your next governor.
SC: And while think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you vote for me.
SC: There are some things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We can disagree without hating 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 is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over the world, millions of 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 the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the validated my hope that most people really do want their leaders to uphold the values that 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 there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things we can 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 an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. the past 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 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 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 much different than other Western democracies. problem is how far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on 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 process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But the best news of all is that there are very things that every one of us can do every day to heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 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. have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who are different than us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s harder to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” 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 a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. about you? You see, if we look beyond our tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described and summed up the essence life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, can work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience 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 only way for us to remember how to without hate and contempt. In the words of Judge Learned Hand, who so stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of is the 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 is not ours by 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 and lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure freedoms 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 of us. But we must remember how to disagree hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, political 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)