The 2024 presidential election is over, and while a lot of people are excited about the incoming president, many are also disappointed. So how do we begin to come together again as a country?
Central Florida Public Media and StoryCorps are bringing together strangers with differing political views for a guided conversation.
Orange County resident Julius Williams, a 79-year-old conservative, sat down with Ray Donadio, a 68-year-old progressive.
Williams said most people are the same, regardless of political views: They just want a roof over their heads and food on the table.
He said when it comes to things that he does disagree with loved ones on, like gun control, he’s still been able to maintain those friendships. He recalled a specific conversation on the issue.
“I’ve known the guy for 20 years,” Williams said. “So I'm gonna not be friends simply because we don't agree on who should own guns? Doesn’t make sense.”
Donadio said he’s had the same kind of back-and-forth with family.
“This particular election season, the particular candidates - very divisive,” Donadio said. “And I have brothers who are on the other side of the fence, and we've discovered that we can't discuss politics. So we don't, because the relationship is more important than the politics.”
Meet Julius Williams
Julius Williams grew up in Orange County, but moved away to Atlanta, Georgia to attend college at Morehouse College and then Emory College for law school.
Williams said that prior to college, all of his education had been in segregated schools. That’s why he believes everyone should have access to a quality education.
“Children who live in lower income communities don't have all the benefits that others have,” Williams said. “And I'm not talking about spending a whole lot of money, because (you) throw money at a problem, it usually doesn't work. But you got to have a commitment that every student who graduates high school has a good quality education.”
Meet Ray Donadio
Ray Donadio is the oldest of six kids, and was raised in Ohio.
He now lives in Volusia County, and is a retired attorney and musician. He plays bass guitar in a five-piece band, playing Veterans of Foreign Wars and Fraternal Order of Eagles clubs.
He said growing up, he saw firsthand the different treatment of Black Americans at a soda shop, where they couldn’t use a glass and had to sit outside.
“I’m in an Italian community where we were mostly Italians, but that experience shocked me in 1963 that people could be that rude to people,” Donadio said. “Because we’re all people. I started to notice that there was a different treatment of people who looked different. It bothered me.”
The Takeaway
Ultimately, Williams and Donadio found common ground on a number of issues: health care, education and help for the homeless.
Donadio said Williams said the recent decision of the Florida Legislature to restrict access to gender-affirming care for children bothered him.
“Stay out of that,” Williams said. “You don't get involved in that. That's between me and my child and my doctor, okay? And those are the type of things that that government has no business in. That's my, that's my conservative view.”
Donadio said he enjoyed the conversation - and the pair exchanged phone numbers.
“You are an enigma to me, because the things you mentioned … are things that I wouldn't have expected from someone who was conservative,” Donadio said. “You and I, even though we're on different sides of the political spectrum, agree on those things.”
StoryCorps’ One Small Step and the Radio Station Hubs are made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
