Us & Them: To Friend Or Unfriend? That Is The Question
Over the past few years, some people have severed their digital lifeline with friends and family because of political differences. With the click of a single button the social media connection is gone. Click – buh-bye! The decision can mean you’re out of touch and cut off from that person’s life. But two childhood friends from Gallipolis, OH — who vote very differently — have committed to doing just the opposite.
Many Americans are getting good at ignoring friends and relatives who disagree with them. Roughly four in ten registered voters say they don’t have a close friend who supports the opposing party’s candidate, according to a Pew Research study.
Think how often you’re tempted to unfriend someone on social media. However, some lifelong friendships seem to beat those odds and the people in them say it enhances their understanding of the world.
On this Us & Them episode, host Trey Kay hears two childhood friends from Ohio explain how their connection reminds them how much they have in common. They do that, despite agreeing to disagree on some pretty important things along the way. They do it, in the name of their friendship.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.
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Brian Griffin and Us & Them host Trey Kay have been friends since their days at Ohio University back in the early 1980s. These days Griffin is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer for the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council.
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public BroadcastingLynn Angell has lived in Gallipolis, OH all of her life. She is a CPA and the owner of Angell Accounting, where she works barefooted as she prepares more than 3,000 tax returns each year. When she’s not crunching numbers, she raises sheep at her farm just outside of town. She also serves on the Gallia County Board of Education and is an executive member of the Republican Central Committee. Angell has known Brian Griffin since their high school days. They don’t see eye-to-eye on politics or the direction of the nation, but they are committed to their friendship and respectfully hearing each other out.
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Brian Griffin as senior in Gallia Academy High School’s Class of 1978.
Credit: Gallia Academy High School Yearbook
Lynn Smith Angell as senior in Gallia Academy High School’s Class of 1978.
