‘You can’t love your country if you hate half the people in it’

When Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, agreed to film an advertisement for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s “Disagree Better” initiative, he knew just who he would ask.

It was a Republican from the western side of his state, Mayor Jack Coburn of Lonaconing, who Moore had visited shortly after assuming the governorship. The town was having a water crisis at the time.

Moore said when he first met Coburn, the mayor said, “‘Can you do me a favor?’ He said, ‘turn 360 degrees.’ So I turned 360 degrees. And he said, ‘the only guarantee that you’re getting is you won’t see a Democrat within five miles of anywhere you just looked.’”

The two men struck up a friendship, and Moore said Coburn taught him the importance of friendship and of showing up.

Although they’re from different parties, Cox and Moore have also struck up a friendship, and it was what led the two governors to come together to speak side by side, where they praised each other, and sought shared connection despite their differences — Cox, a self-described farm boy from Utah, and Moore, the first Black governor of Maryland — and all but pleaded with Americans to do better.

They spoke at a forum held at the soaring National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., filled with more than 800 people, while another 1,800 attendees watched online. The event was called, “With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All,” and was hosted by the Washington National Cathedral, Deseret Magazine, the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, and the Wesley Theological Seminary.

The evening brought together religious leaders, political operatives, scholars and the two governors, all trying to model what a revival of American community could look like if people were willing to move past their anger and disagreement.

Cox is in Washington, D.C, for the National Governors Association conference. He is currently chair of the association, and, like leaders before him, established an initiative to undertake.

Why ‘Disagree Better?’

The Utah governor explained the genesis of his “Disagree Better” initiative.

When he was growing up in Fairview Utah, Cox said he didn’t know the politics of his neighbors.

“And then something started to change, it started to change about 12 years ago, 15 years ago, and then it just got worse and worse and worse. People started defining themselves by their party affiliation. Politics was becoming a religion for many people, and then politics infiltrated their religion.”

During his first run for governor in 2020, Cox said a friend approached him and expressed concern about the state of the country. With a contentious presidential election, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country felt like it was coming apart at the seams.

“She said, ‘I’m worried if (Donald) Trump wins again, the left is going to burn it down. And I’m worried if (Joe) Biden wins, the right is going to shoot it up.’”

This led Cox to film a commercial with his Democratic opponent, where they said even though they disagreed, in the end they both loved their state and country. That commercial went viral, and planted in the seed for Cox’s later initiative.

Moore, a combat veteran and rising star in the Democratic Party, said he agreed to work with Cox on the initiative because he “believes in it.”

“You can’t love your country if you hate half the people in it,” Moore said.

Moore: ‘I believe that service will save us’

As one of his first priorities after getting elected in 2022, Moore launched a public service year option for high school graduates. Moore praised Utah, which leads the nation in volunteering and charitable giving, as an example for the service program, which is the first of its kind in the country.

Besides helping to develop job skills and prepare young people of the workforce, Moore said he wanted this program because “service is sticky, and those who serve together will stay together.”

“And in this time of political divisiveness and political vitriol, and where people seem to care more about where an idea comes from rather than is it a good idea, I believe that service will save us.”

Moore praised Utah for having the lowest rates of child poverty in the country, and he asked Cox how the state made that happen.

It says something about the “humanity” of the state, Moore said, “because no humane society allows children to live in poverty.”

“It comes back to community,” said Cox, adding that “it can’t be just a government solution.” He said faith-based partners, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic Charities, and other faith-based institutions in the area, in addition to private philanthropy and a dedication to service among the state’s corporate community, provides assistance to children and families.

Cox: ‘There are some people rolling their eyes’

It isn’t always easy to put aside differences, Cox acknowledged. Politics includes issues that can be deeply personal and difficult.

He addressed recent changes Utah made to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in the state’s public institutions, including colleges and universities, replacing DEI programs with student success offices.

Cox said after he signed the change into law, he was approached by a friend who disagreed with him.

“I had a friend who came up to me. She’s Black, we’ve been friends for a long time. She disagreed with what was happening. She came up to me, and she gave me a hug, and she said, ‘I’m mad at you, and I love you, and can we talk? I want you to read some things.’ And I said, ‘yeah, will you read some things?’ And she said yes. We have this friendship that allows us to do that.”

Cox said to Moore, “Look, there are some people rolling their eyes at us.” He asked Moore how he deals with those who don’t think the two sides should even talk.

Moore said by the end of his term in office, he doesn’t want people to say “we didn’t listen and we didn’t understand the assignment.”

At the end of their conversation, the two governors embraced as the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

This story will be updated.