In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the State of California. his inaugural address, he talked about the peaceful transfer power, something he described as “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants.” He then went to utter an iconic phrase that would be repeated by politicians for decades to come. “Freedom a fragile thing,” he said, “And it’s never more than one generation from extinction.”
Now like countless others, I have used quote many times, but I have a confession to make. I never really believed it. Surely, 250 years of this stuff, we no longer have to worry about losing it. I’m not pleased to report that I believe it now.
The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power as Lieutenant Governor the State of Utah. It was my duty to certify the votes of the electors for the presidential election. While the meeting to so was open to the public, it was so commonplace and routine that no one ever showed up. As I walked the room, I was stunned to see dozens of angry protesters screaming that the election had been stolen 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 not 2020. This 2016, and the protesters were Hillary Clinton 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 country 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 something you can do,” she asked.
Well, that question haunted me all weekend, so I picked up the phone and called my opponent. the way, I was running for governor at the same time that Trump and Biden were battling the presidency. I called my opponent, a Democrat named Chris Peterson, whom I respected, and said, “Hey, Chris, this is Spencer Cox. I have a crazy idea. What if we filmed a ad together?”
I could almost hear the confused look forming his face. To his credit, he agreed, and one later, we were in a studio together. Let’s watch.
(Video) I’m Chris Peterson. And I’m Spencer Cox.
CP: We currently in the final days of campaigning against each other be your next governor.
SC: And while I think you should vote me —
CP: Yeah, but really, you should vote for me.
SC: There are things we both agree on.
CP: We can debate issues without degrading each other’s character.
SC: We disagree without hating each other.
CP: And win or lose, 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) And we approve this message.
(Applause)
Well, the was instantaneous and overwhelming. The ad went viral. Neither of us saw it coming. There were media requests from all the world, millions of views and shares. Perhaps there really is an majority, I remember thinking to myself, and maybe this is the message they want to hear.
I actually feel my faith in the American idea start rekindle. The popularity of the ad validated my hope that most people really 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 ways to treat each other with respect when we disagree. It seemed like there was a hunger for architects instead of arsonists.
My hunch was one year later, when a professor submitted a version of our ad the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab as part of a huge depolarization experiment. It was chosen as one 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 out there really are things that we can to alter the trajectory of the United States.
Now look, I it. It’s easy to feel a little hopeless as Americans once again barrel towards election with unsatisfying candidates and campaigns. But there is good news. Over the past six months, 20 from all across the country have filmed similar ads, most of them with a public servant the opposing party. And the data continues to show that people really are hungry for different. According to polling from More in Common, 70 percent of Americans hate the divisiveness in politics. And also turns out that … Americans aren’t as far apart as we think we are. problem isn’t how far apart the average Republican and the Democrat is on the actual issues. In fact, we’re not much different than other Western democracies. The problem is how far apart we think we are. Due large part to conflict entrepreneurs in both the media 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 and amongst extreme conservatives on the right. So the people engaged in the political process also have the most inaccurate views of the other side.
But perhaps the best news of all is that there 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 start turning off and tuning out some of those conflict entrepreneurs. My wife and I, we watching cable news 11 years ago and immediately saw an improvement our marriage, our family, and our mental health.
(Laughter and applause)
Now that elicits a laugh, but 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 for our mental health. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon in different ways, like media saturation overload doomscrolling or headline anxiety. You see, more news, on all the time, isn’t making us smarter, it’s just stressing us out.
Second, 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 hate up close. “Tell me more about why you feel that way” is a magical request.
Twenty years ago, we rarely identified each by our political identities first. As for me, I’m a father. I’m an 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 our political tribes, we can actually find shared identities and that unite instead of divide.
Now third, we can others. Service and volunteering help build up communities and improve our outlook on life the people around us. Some forms of regular volunteering have even been associated with lower blood pressure. There is nothing better for the or society than 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 the classical political 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 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 is the spirit which is not too sure it is right. The spirit liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other and women.”
And I started with a quote from Ronald Reagan. went on to say that freedom is not ours by way of inheritance. must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people those in history who have known freedom and then lost have never known it again. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our solemn duty in our generation to once secure the freedoms endowed to all of us from on high. We cannot wait for politicians the media to do it. It will take real work, hard work by each of us. But must remember how to disagree without hate.
We must rise up and meet 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 really want to change the world, we to start by changing our own hearts.
Thank you.
(Applause)