Ted Audio Collective.

Audio Collective.

You're listening to Ted Talks daily,

where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

Spencer Jay Cox is the Republican governor of the state of Utah in the United States,

and he says that even in these deeply polarized

times it's possible to disagree without hate or contempt. He shows how this idea

sparked a campaign ad he made with his Democratic candidate counterpart back in

2020 and shares four practical things every one of us can do every day to heal the divides

in our nations and neighborhoods after the break.

And now our TED Talk of the Day.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the governor of the state of California.

In his inaugural address, he 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 the world's inhabitants.

He then 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 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 of this stuff we no longer have to worry about losing it.

I'm not pleased to report that I actually believe it now.

The first cracks in my confidence came during one of those commonplace routines of transferring power.

As lieutenant governor of the state of Utah,

...