Wheatley Institute joined Wesley Theological Seminary and Deseret Magazine in hosting an evening forum on "Disagreeing Better."
Governor Cox (Utah) and Governor Moore (Maryland) spoke at the forum "With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All" at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to promote the "Disagree Better" initiative. This initiative focuses on bringing people of all political views together to mitigate the divisiveness in our country. First, Governor Cox spoke on his campaign for governor, mentioning his decision to create an ad with his political opponent to help viewers to recognize that disagreements can occur without divisiveness. Then Governor Moore reminded the audience that the current political state can change. "No matter how complicated [these moments] are, we've seen complicated before."
Additionally, the event featured a panel consisting of Ruth Okediji, Rachel Brand, Donna Brazile, and Tim Shriver. These panelists shared meaningful insights into the current political crisis and division splitting the nation. Several powerful thoughts were shared, including when Okediji focused on how to build interpersonal communication and respect. "If you can't even begin the conversation, then you've failed before you’ve even started... Humility and compassion are essential to our ability to improve our political system today." Later, Time Shriver mentioned a sobering statistic on political divisions. "This is a new issue stopping us from solving problems, dividing our families. Over 30% of Americans have ended a relationship within their family over [politics]. It's not that they disagree, it's that they demonize the person they disagree with."
News Media
Religion News Service - At National Cathedral, leaders of different parties, perspectives call for civility
Church News - What Gov. Cox said in D.C. about working with people you disagree with
KSL TV - Sunday Edition: Judge Griffith
Deseret News wrote a series of articles and highlighted Governor Cox’s efforts as chairman of the National Governors Association to “Disagree Better.”
One nation indivisible (Feb 20, 2024)
Americans can learn to disagree better. Read full article.
Gov. Spencer Cox promotes his ‘Disagree Better’ campaign in Washington (Feb 21, 2024)
Utah governor to talk at ‘With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All’ event, sponsored by Deseret Magazine, Wednesday evening. Read full article.
Depolarizing ourselves (Feb 21, 2024)
Take a deep breath. Politics isn’t identity. Read full article.
‘You can’t love your country if you hate half the people in it’ (Feb 22, 2024)
At the National Cathedral, the Utah and Maryland governors joined religious and political leaders as they cut through today’s political divisiveness. Read full article.