Bridger Beal-Cvetko is a reporter for KSL. He covers politics, Salt Lake County communities and breaking news. Bridger has worked for the Deseret News and graduated from Utah Valley University.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's been just over six months since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University.At the time, Gov. Spencer Cox urged Americans to turn away from political violence.
"This is our moment," he said. "Do we escalate, or do we find an off-ramp? And again, it's a choice. It's a choice, and every one of us gets to make that choice."Now, that phrase will adorn the governor's forthcoming book, "Off Ramp: How to Be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt." Cox confirmed he was writing a book on polarization late last year, and Penguin Press announced Thursday that the book will be released on Sept. 8, just days before the anniversary of Kirk's death.A press release describes the book as "a practical guide to depolarization that teaches us how to disagree better at the dinner table, on social media and in American politics."But six months since he called for an "off-ramp," has anything changed in the trend toward increasing bitterness in politics?"I've been surprisingly hopeful about what's changing in our country," Cox said, when asked the question during his monthly PBS Utah news conference Thursday. "I feel like that pendulum is starting to swing back a little bit. It may be naive of me to say that we're a little less polarized now than we were six months ago, but if we're not, I do feel like it's waning — that people are anxious, and more people want to do better."The governor said more people are taking an interest in volunteering and community, which he said stems from people who are "exhausted" with the current climate and "desperate for normal right now.""I think it's especially timely that we take a step back and understand that this constitutional order is the answer to our problems," Cox said. "It's the means by which we put people who are very different together, force them to come up with solutions together. I think we do that pretty well here in Utah, and I think our country could learn a few lessons."Cox said he has been getting up early and staying up late to work on the book. And while potential presidential candidates often publish books in the run-up to presidential elections, the governor has said that's not in his plans."Not running for president. Have no interest in running for president," he said in November. Cox weighs in on Mike Lee's voting overhaulThe governor
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