In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. In his 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 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 is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s more than one generation away from extinction.”
Now like others, I have used that quote many times, but I have confession to make. I never 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 actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. It was duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was stunned to see dozens of protesters screaming that the election had been stolen and demanding we violate state 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 Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, four years later. With the election less than two 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 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, so I picked the phone and called my opponent. By the way, I was running governor at the same time that Trump and Biden battling for the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom respected, and I said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a idea. What if we filmed a campaign ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming his face. To his credit, he agreed, and 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 your next governor.
SC: And I think you should vote for me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you vote for me.
SC: There are some things we both on.
CP: We can debate issues 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 show country that there’s a better way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were requests from all over the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really an exhausted majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this the message they want to hear.
I could actually feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity the 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 without and contempt, even that we can find ways to treat each other with respect even when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch confirmed one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 interventions to be tested over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including a reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out really are things that we can do to alter the trajectory the United States.
Now look, I get it. It’s easy to feel little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards an election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have filmed ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. the data continues to show that people really are hungry something different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans 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 the average Republican and the average Democrat is on the issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this perception gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left and extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most engaged in the political process also the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps best news of all is that there are very practical that every one of us can do every day to help heal the divides in our nations and our neighborhoods. First, we start by turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife I, we stopped watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, 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 really bad our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real people who different than 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 way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political identities first. for me, I’m a father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if look beyond our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities friendships that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities improve our outlook on life and the people around us. Some forms regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better the soul or society than giving back. Aristotle really was on to something when he described summed up the essence of life as: “Serve others and do good.”
Fourth, and finally, we can work to develop the classical virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John Adams explained, we all become ravenous beasts prey. Now look, I know it’s almost laughable to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly believe that it is 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 liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which 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 fought for defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people and those in history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. Ladies gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once again the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians or the media do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But we must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must up and meet that radical call to love our enemies — even, especially, our political opponents. It’s … It’s not an … It’s not easy answer, but it is a simple one. If really want to change the world, we have to start by our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)