In 1967, Ronald 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.” He then went on to utter an phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades come. “Freedom is a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never 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 of this stuff, we longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I actually believe it now.
The first cracks in my came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah. was my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to do so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked into the room, I was to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the had been stolen and demanding that we violate state law and change the votes of the electors.
Now I what you’re all thinking, and you’re probably wrong. This was not 2020. This was 2016, and protesters were Hillary Clinton supporters.
Now it got far worse somehow, years later. With the election less than two months away, friend and I were talking and lamenting about the state of our our country following a summer of destructive by the extreme left and an extreme right that was already undermining the of an election that hadn’t even happened yet. “Isn’t something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted all 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 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 together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming 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: are currently in the final days of campaigning against each other to your next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are some things we 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 show the that there’s a better way.
CP: My name is Chris Peterson.
SC: And I’m Spencer Cox.
(Together) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the response was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither us saw it coming. There were media requests from all over world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an exhausted majority, remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I could feel my faith in the American idea start to rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that people really do want their political leaders to uphold the values that we teach 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 like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was confirmed year later, when a professor submitted a version of our to the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one of 25 to be tested on over 30,000 people. The result? Our ad actually had a measurable depolarization effect, including reduction in urges towards violence. It turns out there really are things that we can do to alter the trajectory of the 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 is good news. Over past six months, 20 governors from all across the country have similar ads, most of them with a public servant from the opposing party. And the data continues to 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 turns out … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think we are. The problem isn’t how far apart the average and the average Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we we are. Due in large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media and politics, both sides overestimate the extremism on the other side by about 30 percent. Now interestingly, this gap is actually strongest amongst progressive activists on the left amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people most in the political process also have the most 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 every day to help 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 cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement in our marriage, family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now always elicits a laugh, but we’re not alone. Studies have found that more time spent on the latest headlines, through social media or traditional media outlets, is really bad for our health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload or doomscrolling or anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s stressing us out.
Second, we can spend more time, preferably offline, with real who are different than us. In the words of Stevenson, proximity will empower you. You see, it’s just to hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each other by our political identities first. As for me, I’m father. I’m an NBA fan. I’m a terrible aspiring bassist in a band. I’m a Utahn. I’m an American. How about you? You see, if we look beyond political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and friendships unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can serve others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life and the around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower pressure. There 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 classical political virtues of humility, patience and moderation, without which, as John explained, we all become ravenous beasts of prey. Now look, I know it’s almost to talk about words like humility in political discourse, but I truly that it is the 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 of liberty is spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit liberty 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 freedom not ours by way of inheritance. It must be fought for and constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people 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 secure 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 remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise and meet 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 is a simple one. If we really want to change the world, we have to start changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)