At a youth flag football game in Kettering, Ohio, it was pretty clear people have been watching the news, but not all wanted to talk about politics.
One resident told “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil that if he were to have a yard sign, “it would say, ‘Presidents are temporary, Wu-Tang is forever.'”
One parent lingered though, and it turned out that Brandon Sok had a lot on his mind.
Asked which of the two presidential candidates this year would build a better America for kids, Sok said, “It’s complicated because if you just take what you hear on a broad level, like I’m White, my son is African American, so, which candidate best represents our family? That’s a difficult question.”
“For me, I have to balance how heavily I hold and cherish life. That’s a buzzword. But my son’s life matters. We’ve all talked about that. Everyone’s heard that,” he said. “But the — life, whether it be before birth, after birth, I don’t think it’s a clear issue.”
Asked if he is an undecided voter, Sok said, “You could call it that.”
Meanwhile, Tabitha Honaker-West is passionate in her support of President Trump, a change from 2016.
“I was taking more of a Democratic stance because I was in poverty,” she told Dokoupil. “And I listened to my father and I voted for Trump and I was proud that I did … And I think he’s done us good. You know, he’s said some stupid things, but that’s Trump.”
Which helps explain why some people here said they aren’t thrilled with either of their options.
“To me, it’s not going to matter, one way or the other,” one woman said, admitting she was “exhausted” by politics. “I’m very exhausted. So, I think that it’s just a person that’s representing the country. I don’t think that anything’s going to change.”
But that’s where folks on the other side of the field differed.
“The pandemic has taken over our lives and it didn’t have to be this way,” said Carol Conway.
Lisa Brandewie told Dokoupil she doesn’t like the division in the country.
“I don’t like what it’s done to people. I mean, people are cutting other people out of their lives because of politics,” she said.
Conway said she likes Biden, but Brandewie was hesitant to say who she supports.
“I know this is going to be on TV and I don’t necessarily want people to … I’m friends with people on both sides, and I don’t ever want that to be an issue with people,” she said. “I wish it was a better situation, but you know, I think that we definitely need change. That’s all I can say, really.”
Tony Dokoupil’s series “At America’s Crossroads” continues on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday at 7 a.m. and a special hour at 8 a.m.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
