How a father and daughter put aside politics

Beth Dozier voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Her father, John William Dozier, voted for President-elect Donald Trump.

They didn’t always have stark political differences. When Beth Dozier was growing up, she says her father and mother raised her with conservative, Christian values.

“I tried to bring up my kids so they could function in the world. We're supposed to be part of the world, but not of the world,” John William Dozier says. “Not everybody thinks the way you do, and you have to be able to think on your feet and just to be flexible.”

But along with reading the Bible, Beth Dozier says she started reading classic novels like “Little Women” and “The Scarlet Letter” as early as second grade. Soon after that, she moved on to Kurt Vonnegut.

“Naturally, part of childhood was for me reading the Bible with the same level of free-thinking,” Beth Dozier says. “I remember naturally questioning some of the more traditional and what I viewed as somewhat misogynistic Christian conservative values from an early age and became more socially liberal in my teens.”

Their political beliefs continued to converge, and the 2020 election drove a wedge in family relations.

“COVID happened. We were physically apart. We were politically apart,” Beth Dozier says. “We were having conversations completely over technology and also utilizing social media more to vocalize our beliefs in particular and to confront one another's in a public forum.”

John William Dozier says that despite the distance, he tried not to let politics influence his relationship with his daughter.

“My priorities are God, family and country, in that order. Politics is not going to get in the way of the first two,” he says. “I look forward to getting together and spending time and if we talk politics, I'll try to steer away from it. But at the same time if it comes up I'll always be open to listen to other people's opinions. They have a right to what they believe.”

After the 2024 election results were decided, Beth Dozier says her father called her to check in, and it meant a lot to her that he did. She says they talked about the results of local races and ballot questions in their home state of North Carolina.

“We both sort of agreed that we were proud of our state for actually looking at their ballots critically and going with their belief structures in a bipartisan way,” Beth Dozier says.

Overall, the pair says they aim to limit political discussions that could become confrontational or emotional. Beth Dozier says she has friends in the LGBTQ+ community who are wary of seeing conservative family members over Thanksgiving. She recommends setting boundaries before about what can and cannot be brought up at the table.

“We're all Americans and we still have a country. And yes, I am scared about where that country is going to lead. I think our system of checks and balances is hanging by a thread. I think as a woman, my constitutional rights are on the table,” Beth Dozier says. “But at the same time, I know that I am equal in my dad's mind, and I am equal in the minds of other men. I rest in the hope that that will bear itself out in our government.”