Focus on Ethics & Civility

• Publication year: 2024
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 2 Pg. 54
• Pages: 54

Focus on Ethics & CivilityVol. 37 No. 2 Pg. 54Utah Bar JournalMarch 2024

Disagree Better: An Interview With Governor Spencer J. Cox

by Keith A. Call, Clark S. Gardner, and Spencer J. Cox

On January 5, 2024, Governor Spencer J. Cox gave a landmark speech to the Utah State Bar on his National Governor's Association initiative, "Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy." Nearly 100 distinguished guests heard the speech live, and over 2,000 members of the Bar listened by Zoom. It was a historic event. We encourage all of you to view his speech at https://www.dropbox.com/ scl/fi/k0i3ywxt5fpa00o5v7dot/1-5-2024-Disagree-Better.mp4?rlkey= 07rokcukfdwu90ugb7w3lwhav&dl=0.

One month earlier, on December 7, 2023, we had the opportunity to sit down and ask Governor Cox a few questions about his "Disagree Better" initiative. This article is a summary of our interview. We have taken some editorial liberties, but the following summary is true to key elements of our discussion.

Keith and Clark: Will you explain to us what your disagree better initiative is all about and how where and why are you promoting this?

Governor Cox: As the Chair of the National Governors Association, I get to run an initiative with the support of our other governors. There have been some great initiatives in the past. After going through a litany of ideas, we realized we can't solve the biggest problems in our country if we hate each other. We ultimately decided to elevate this issue - the idea that as a country, if we want to solve big problems, we have to stop hating each other.

We have to end the contempt that we're seeing. And we have to figure out how to disagree better. We were very intentional about those two words, "disagree better."

To understand what it is, you also have to understand what it is not. It is not another civility initiative, although we do need more civility. It is not just about being kind and getting along, although we certainly need more kindness, and I advocate for that. It really is about conflict resolution. It's about disagreeing.

This initiative is very much research informed. We've been working with Stanford, Dartmouth, Harvard, and other organizations that are in this depolarization space. There is healthy conflict and there is unhealthy conflict. What we are seeing as a country is that we have moved very much into an unhealthy conflict space. And so how do we get back to the type of profound disagreement that our nation was founded on, that led to a sacred document - a constitution that has been a light and a beacon to the rest of the world - but came together in profound disagreement and conflict. How do we get back to Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill, where you can be of different parties, disagree, battle, and then go to dinner together, hang out...