We are less than one month away from the November elections. As races around the country and here in Central Florida continue to heat up, for some, political divisions are becoming clearer.
But as Americans, are we really that divided?
A panel of local voters says no. Central Florida Public Media brought together a small but diverse group of Central Floridians to find out more about how people are feeling about this election. Here’s what they had to say:
David Walker
David Walker, 64, of Harmony, Florida, near St. Cloud is a retired educator. He said that while he leans left politically, he’s a registered independent though many of his core values and those of a number of Black people across the country align with conservatives.
“Many African Americans find themselves in the Democratic party, capital D,when in reality we are conservative, small c in our behavior, in our mindset, family. We don’t live lives out of control with no ethics. We want the best for our children and grandchildren. We want good education, good schools. We want to live in communities where people take care of their property. That’s conservative,” Walker said.
Doug Bowman
Doug Bowman is 68-years-old and lives in East Orlando. He agrees with Walker in that we are all just human beings. .
“ If you get away from the politics, the rhetoric, we all want the same things. We want a roof over our head, food on our table, something of success, however you define that for our kids and that’s true regardless of where you live or what society you claim to be with,” Bowman said.
Tom Unrath
Tom Unrath is a 69-year-old Republican from Melbourne. He, too, see’s more connections than division amongst this group and in his life.
“The divisions that we like to somehow espouse are really just vague plasticine disguises and not really at the bottom of our being, I hope…I like to think, not what’s really resident there,” Unrath said.
Tiffany Jeffers
Tiffany Jeffers is a 42-year-old registered Democrat from Kissimmee. She is also a wife, a mom and a business owner.
“Really when I think about my Republican friends, my Democratic friends and my independent friends we all believe and think in a way that is the same. I’m listening to Doug and Tom and I’m like, ‘I think and I feel the same way that you do.’”
Jeffers said social media has made us so weary of having conversations, but as a society, we could benefit from talking more with each other.
“If we had more forums like this, even in our homes with people who don’t look like us or come from the backgrounds that we do, and we can share really what we think and feel we would find that we are really right down the line with where we should be,” Jeffers said.
