In 1967, Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer of power, something he described “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” then went on to utter an iconic phrase that be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have that quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I really believed 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 believe now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors the presidential election. While the meeting to do so open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding that violate state law 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 got far worse somehow, four years 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 was already 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 weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor at the same time that and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Peterson, whom I respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I a crazy idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming on face. To his credit, he agreed, and one week later, we were a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We are currently in the final days of campaigning against other to be your next governor.
SC: And while I think 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 without degrading 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 show the country that there’s a way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media requests from over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an 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. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political leaders to the values that we teach our kids. That we can disagree without hate and contempt, even that we can ways to treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was as one of 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 little hopeless as Americans once barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And it turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the average Democrat is on the issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem how far apart we think we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism 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 process also have the most inaccurate of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there are very practical that every one of us can do every day to help the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can start turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter 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 really bad for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon 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 us out.
Second, we can spend time, preferably offline, with real people who are different us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just harder to up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m 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 unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. and volunteering help build up communities and improve our on life and the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the soul or society giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described and summed up the of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical political virtues of humility, patience moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is the only way us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the words of Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of liberty is the which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. went on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. It must be for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed to all of from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how to disagree hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not an easy answer, but it a simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)