In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In his inaugural address, 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 phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” said, “And it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used that quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, after 250 years this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased report that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was so 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 state law and change the of the electors.
Now I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was 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 state 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 do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, I picked up the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running for governor the same time that Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency. I called opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and I 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, one week later, we were in 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 each other to be next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should 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 lose, in Utah, we work together.
SC: So let’s show the country that there’s a better way.
CP: My name 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 coming. There were media 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 the they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of ad validated my hope that most people really do want their political leaders uphold the values that we teach our kids. That we can disagree hate and contempt, even that we can find ways to each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My was confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as of 25 interventions to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can do to alter 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 election unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country filmed similar ads, most of them with a public from the opposing party. And the data continues to show that really are hungry for something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of hate the divisiveness in politics. And it also 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 Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also have the inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news all is that there are very practical things that every one of us can do every day help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we can by turning off and tuning out some of those entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an in 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 the latest headlines, whether through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people are different than us. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, proximity 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 rarely identified other by our political identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How you? You see, if we look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find identities and friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our 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 to something when he and summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the 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 talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is the only way for us to remember how to disagree without hate and contempt. In the of Judge Learned Hand, who so eloquently stated, “The true spirit of 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 and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. He went on to say that freedom is not ours by of inheritance. It must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only to a people and those in history who have known and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once again secure the freedoms endowed all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the to do it. It will take real work, hard by each of us. But we must remember how disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet that radical call to love enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not an easy answer, but it is simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start by changing our hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)