Welcome back.
We live in a society that prefers negative ads and a lot of them. How we develop our political ideology is based on these primary factors:
Family
Education
Peer/Media Influence
Region
To get started this week please take this political ideology quiz:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/test
Make sure to scroll down and see where you fall and what that compares to.
Here are some common trends:
over 50% of families share the same ideology
age 18-30- more likely to be to the "left"
over 65- more likely to be to the "right"
South/Midwest- right
coasts- left
higher education levels- left
but higher incomes- right
Christians- right
Catholics- left
Blue Collar workers- left
So, here's what we are discussing this week:
**NOTE** Sharing your ideology is personal and is OPTIONAL.
1. What influences your own political socialization?
2. Are you similar or different than your parents?
3. People usually have social values and fiscal values. How do you balance these in choosing a political party....? (this is the real discussion here)
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Due to me not really believing in anything that strongly, my political ideology is pretty easily influenced, as pathetic as that may sound. Media especially influences me quite a bit, as that's really the only thing that gives me information on politics besides this class. I don't even know what my parents ideology is, I've never been that interested so I never really asked, and we never talk about it, which I personally think is good, it saves us some trouble of disagreement. The little I do know regarding political beliefs is almost 90% media and friends, with the 10% being what I learned over the course of my history classes.
ReplyDeleteThe second question is difficult for me to answer, as I'm not entirely sure the ideology that my parents have, but I'm willing to guess that we are the same, as we usually do agree on certain propositions, as that's actually what we talked about in the car. We're a pretty exciting family. According to the test, it shows me that I'm generally a libertarian, and I know most of my choices would be the same as my parents, so I would say we are similar.
As far as my social values and fiscal values, I'm not exactly sure how I balance these, maybe it's because I've never actually "chose" a political party to follow. Politics has never been a huge part of my life, maybe it's because I'm under informed, but I won't get into the details about why I choose to generally stay out of politics. This question is impossible for me to answer without actually thinking about this for a long time. Who knows, maybe by the end of the year I could easily answer this, but as for now, I can't.
In my life, I let everything influence my political socialization. To me, it is important to soak in all knowledge whether it be from my parents, the news on tv, or my education and friends. I find it enlightening to hear my parents Republican point of view about a topic and then to hear the left's opinion from friends, it never ceases to amaze me how different people's beliefs can be. The ideology I personally believe in encompasses the Republican's but I'm always willing to hear all beliefs and then decide what I believe is the "right way" to handle a situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm similar to my parents on certain topics but not everything. My parents and I have had discussions at home various times when debating about party beliefs for example. On the test from the link above it says I'm on the right but just barely by a couple points. If my parents were on there they'd be deeper down the paradigm.
The social and fiscal values boil down to each one individually. It would be impossible for me to say that I'm on the right for just social and fiscal values as a whole. I'd have to see each situation at hand and make the right judgment call myself based on my knowledge about said topic at that time. Then based on those calls I would choose the party but I've already said I'm a Republican so yeah :P
My political socialization began primarily through my parents, as is common with most people. I remember in 1st grade during the 2000 Bush/Gore election, I was the only one in the class whose parents were voting for Gore. In a "mock voting session" they had us do, I voted for Gore simply because it was what my parents had told me I should do. It was almost like a competition of whose parents had the right ideas or not, and I was convinced mine always did. Both of my parents are rather liberal democrats; they are both from New York (a coast and a democratic state). Before I really understood the difference between the two sides, I always just seemed to understand and believe in what my parents believed in. Other typical influences like teachers or friends were always disagreeing with my parents, so I never paid them any mind.
ReplyDeleteSince starting high school however, the media has influenced my beliefs in almost a greater way then my parents. I relate most closely in shows like The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report because everything they say, I nod my head and smile because I'm thinking the exact same things they are.
The argument of balancing social values and fiscal values is where my polical idealogy splits in half. At this age, I understand the importance of fiscal values determining the correct political party, but my personal interest at this point in time falls on the social topics at hand. I am extremely liberal in terms of social values and if voting was based on these factors alone, I would always stand as a democrat. It is when economics are thrown into the mix that I become more of an independent. My views are always torn between the welfare of the people and personal welfare when it comes to money. Until I'm out living on my own and supporting myself, I'm not sure I can fully determine where I stand in terms of fiscal values because I truly feel both parties have valid positions. Basing the decision of political parties of social values alone, I am a democrat.
My family is the main influence on my political socialization. I rarelywatch the news or read the paper about the issues and problems that our nation is facing and how each individual party is taking a different method to solve it. Thus, anytime I have a question on anything involving politics I turn to my dad who, being a republican, gives me a biased answer. Because I only hear one side of the story, I naturally fall to the right.
ReplyDeleteI am similar to my parents because they are my main source of information on all things political.I agree with them on most issues, because I am unfortuanately ill-informed. I dont rely on any other sources besides my family.
Personaly, I chose my political party solely based on my social values. My fiscal values, like Sam said, are hard for me to detetrmine as I am not paying the bills or working at all. Thus, my social values dtermine my party affiliation as I believe I will not fully be able to understand my fiscal values until I am out of the house and paying for my own expenses. Then, hopefully, I will be able to decide but for now I consider myself a Republican.
My political socialization, like most others, has been influenced somewhat by my family and my environment. I try to pay as little attention to the media as possible for information. Like Sam, I enjoy the Colbert Report and the Daily Show, mostly because they are able to expose the absurdity in the situation and show just how ridiculous people in the political spotlight can be at times. At this point in my life, when my political views are actually starting to truly matter, seeing that I will be voting in the next election, I am trying to focus purely on the concrete information rather than the surrounding talk that, unfortunately, is usually heard much louder than what is actually important.
ReplyDeleteMy family possesses many of the same views as me, but I do not base my opinions on what they think or what I have heard them say. My parents have always encouraged my sister and I to search for information, rather than just having it fed to us. They have also taught us to not trust people in power simply because they have power.
Balancing fiscal and social values is something that is a difficult when deciding on a political party. I would assume that the most important thing to consider is which one you place more value on yourself. For me personally, I have difficulty associating with a specific party because of this. Also similar to what Sam said, I put more importance on social issues at this time rather than fiscal values, and I don't know exactly how to determine the importance of certain fiscal values, and won't be able to until I have to support myself.
The strongest influence on my political socialization would have to be my family. My family has the strongest influence when it comes to my political opinion because of my parents as I look up to them for I feel that they know what is right. I have lived with them long enough to learn what their views are and ever since then I have had the same views. This is partially because I thought for the longest time that following in our parents footsteps on these sort of things is what we are suppose to do. I would even have to say that my peers really do not have much of an influence on my politic socialization as anything else does. The media, my education and my religion have more of an impact on my views than my friends just because I know that the information I am receiving from them goes along with my morals is likely to be more accurate than my peer’s opinions who are more than likely just merely stating their opinions. I have asked my friends what their views on certain topics are but I am strongly set upon my ideologies that what they say does not alter what I feel most of the time.
ReplyDeleteMy political views are similar to my family’s opinions only because I base my opinions off of what they taught me and what I know is best. My family and I may not always be on the same page at times but most of the time we come to a consensus on most topics. My parents have always taught me not to be hasty in making decisions but to make sure that the decisions I make is the right one, even if it is not the same as theirs.
To determine how to balance my social and fiscal values is unclear to me at this point in my life. In the past when it comes to elections and voting for certain propositions, I have also looked at both sides to determine how I feel about it, but at the same time I relied on my parents to help me decide. I find both of these values to be very important when it comes to making decisions, but I, like Sam and Alison, probably will not be able to fully decide until I am living on my own. During this point in time however, I would focus more on the social aspect of things when it comes to making any important decisions.
My political socialization is based off my parents and the things i hear about in this class. Both of my parents are very open about their ideas, so i always know how they feel about certain issues. The only real "political" shows or programs that i watch are the colbert report and the daily show, but, like Alison said, it's just funny to see how absurd everything really is. Ms. Duquette however keeps us posted with all the really important info, which is where most of my political knowledge comes from.
ReplyDeleteMy beliefs are very similar to my parents. My parents are the ones that instilled my values and beliefs in me, so it is expected that i am going to agree with them on most subjects. However, they also told me to have my own beliefs, so there are certain topics that we disagree on. My parents tend to worry about the economy more than i do, and i tend to feel stronger about more social and personal debates.
I personally base my party off of mainly social values, because, like almost everyone else said, the economy isn't really affecting me personally, since my expenses are very low. My test results showed me as very liberal, but that is because my social values and opinions are very strong, and the economy's influence on me is very low. If i had to worry about fending for myself economically, i'm sure some of my answers would have changed to more right-wing ideals. Right now though, my social values hold much more weight.
I'm not quite sure what influences my political socialization but it’s not family, or peer/media influence. I think it’s mostly education. Region has changed my opinion in immigration but that’s about it. I hate most of the media outlets with a burning passion so I don't pay attention to much of it. Education is probably what has shaped my political socialization the most. The more I know about certain issues the more opinionated I am about it.
ReplyDeleteI am completely different than my parents. My dad is a diehard Conservative, which is ironic because he used to be a diehard Liberal, and my mom isn't very political, she usually votes republican but I think she’s a Democrat at heart. I usually disagree with my parents on politics.
Luckily my social and fiscal values are somewhat on the same level; therefore it is easy for me to choose a party, whichever supports as little government as possible. I am all over the place on social values. I'm very old fashion on some issues, and extremely liberal on others but on all issues, as far as the government’s involvement, I believe there should be hardly any politics throughout social values. I practically live by John Stuart Mill's words in On liberty, "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant." As far as fiscal, I still believe in very little government. If I had it my way, social security, health care, Medicare, would all be gone. I do not condone the use of tax payer money for social programs except to those who really do need it such as the mentally disabled, children (orphans). I support nation security and police, but not to the extent it is at today. I also support public funding for schooling however I do not support public schools.
1. What influences your own political socialization?
ReplyDeleteEveryone is implemented and influenced but for me it takes a lot. I am not one to trust everything that comes out of someone's mouth, no matter who they are. I understand that we have a pair of eyes and ears, so I stand back and study things before I make decisions or assumptions.
2. Are you similar or different than your parents?
Of course everyone is going to be similar to their family, friends, or anyone else that they are around. So yes, I am similar to my parents, but at the same time I am extremely different.
3. People usually have social values and fiscal values. How do you balance these in choosing a political party....? (this is the real discussion here)
I believe that these two values complement each other and are both extremely relevant and necessary in order for the other to be successful. I personally believe that an individual needs to have the knowledge as well as character in order to carry out a task.
1. The most important influence on my political ideology has been my parents and their values and beliefs. They are very liberal in regards to allowing me to believe what I want to believe. They do not force their ideas and opinions on me. Rather, they present them to me and allow me to make my own decision. Education has also been a significant influence, and I feel that the refining of and occasional reconsideration of my beliefs has occurred because of school.
ReplyDelete2. Most issues discussed between me and my parents have me assenting in regards to one parent's opinion and disagreeing with the other. Gun control and the economy are two paradigms of issues that are continually debated within my family.
3. Fiscal issues tend to weigh more heavily for me in many cases, as the future state of the economy is crucial to every adolescent's future. The ability to have a reasonable income is very important to consider for the future, but the economy needs to be thriving and healthy for this possibility to become reality. However, certain social issues, such as gun control, unemployment, and minority rights are all very important issues that I value highly when considering a party. I attempt to focus on what issues concern me the most and allow them to affect my political ideology the most, whether they be economic or social.
When i was geowing up the media was a large influence on what i believed. of course everyone assumes that what the media says is always true but the truth of the matter is that they dont. Most media stations are very biased and i would think it be important to look at where they get their funding to see who they're really supporting. but, anyway i dont have cable anymore so the media is almost no influence on me. but my dad and i look at different news sources on the internet to get different point of views and i think its very interesting how much they differ from each other. Also, i think my family is a major influence on my political ideology, mostly my dad. My dad is extremely, extremely amused with politics and he spends hours everyday watching different news programs a day! He has had a major influence on me but im not a radical in some ideas as he is.
ReplyDeleteWell My dads a Individualist anarchist i believe which is a form of libertarianism i believe. Im sure Ms Duquette would know haha.Im not as radical as he is with things but i do believe in very limited government and from what ive been looking up for this blog im pretty sure im a conservative libertarian ? or a classic libertarian? I dont know. Small gov't, personal freedoms, few regulations, liberties; all important to me.
Well i believe fiscal and social values are very important but i think i would choose fiscal over social values. Eventhough i dont "have to support myself" i can still imagine what it wouldbe like if i would. The ability to support myself and my family would surely be a first priority over social values. unemployment and the economy would outweigh most social values i believe. But when voting i would definatley consider both heavily. Social values are important especially when it comes to assuring liberties and freedoms. I agree with Jake though when he said the government should have little to do with social values and morals unless there was a very serious issue. They have little business in our personal lives and moral lives. People should be able to do whatever they want morally as long as its not harmiong another. There's always gunna be the poor and needy and some less off then others. We shouldnt keep creating new programs that are gunna further the huge deficit in this country. Again, agree with jake that tax payer dollars should only be used for certain essentials. the massive amount of social programs is the reason we have all the debt in the first place, in my opinon.
There are many different events, people, situations, ect. that effect my political socialization. I strive on absorbing as much information about people's polital views and political situations to better understand what polital socialization I stand for. There are only a few factors that influence my political socialization more than others. For example, I do not listen to the media as much and I am not influenced by their biased decisions compared to someone like my father who is very educated in politics.
ReplyDeleteI relate to my father a lot more than I do to my mother. I feel like his experience with life and his wiseness factors into how much of a strong and good stand he has in his own political socialization. I relate to my father because I understand his viewpoints on politics and I know he is not biased with his decisions and it is very difficult for him to be influenced. Although I still do not completly relate to him, I do relate to him more than I do my mother.
To balance social and viscal values is just like balancing anything else. When choosing a political party there are values on which you do not agree on or that they do not have a value that you have but there is no perfect political party. You have to balance your two values by finding a political party that has the best of both worlds, meaning good points of your fiscal values and good points of your social values. Although your values can change and you are disregarding some when choosing a politicall party, you can always have those incase you want to change political parties.
This is Jessica Schildt.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways, I have purposely neglected absorbing politics/current events for years on the premise that they are always depressing and basically useless. As expected, honors and AP classes forced me to be more aware of the events occurring in the world, and now I have grown to love the news. My political socialization has been dependent upon my family (and our religion) and my growth as an advanced history student. I have often discussed my history classes with my father, who is significantly involved in news and politics and has a thorough knowledge of history to support his claims. This established, my political views align with those of my parents, but I have only recently learned enough to make this determination. Politics are very important to me, but they are also very new to me.
I find it easy to balance my fiscal and social values because, in my case, they are intertwined. I have a concrete foundation of social (and moral/religious) values, and from that viewpoint I form my fiscal values. For example, I believe in the value of hard workers (socially as well as economically); thus, I scorn welfare programs because they discourage citizens from reaching their potential as workers and from taking responsibility for themselves.
For many people, it is difficult to reconcile social and fiscal values, because while they believe in the practicality of a certain fiscal platform, they use a different set of beliefs when considering their social platform. For these reasons, it is imperative that citizens adopt specific, accurate labels for themselves; beyond Republican vs. Democrat, one should also consider whether they are liberal, moderate, or conservative. This helps distinguish person’s social and fiscal values- and doing so is often necessary to develop one’s individual beliefs and voting behaviors.
@ Jake Hewitt- I completely agree with your quote/commentary regarding limited government. We are a free society (at least for now), which means that we have the rights to make our own decisions and not be encumbered by regulation and policy. The government’s purpose is to enable the people, which cannot be done effectively when it is suffocating them with taxes, regulations, and unnecessary bureaucratic processes.
@ Ryan Mahoney- I think our dads probably have very similar views, because I often find myself thinking that my dad is a bit radical as well. I think this trend is very interesting, especially in connection with our political socialization discussion; are we more apt to forfeit strong opinions so that we are not deemed “crazy” or “radical?” Perhaps it’s our age that causes this fear; after all, our parents have been expressing their political opinions for eons, so they are no longer afraid of backlash. I guess we’ll all just have to see if we express our political views like our parents thirty years from now.
1. My parents heavily influence my political opinions, most likely because they raised me and I live with them. The media influences me to some extent, but the effect is minimal because I don’t watch the news and the newspapers that end up in our house are not very informative.
ReplyDelete2. I am fairly similar to my parents; we agree on most of the larger issues. I cannot, however, bring myself to agree with all of their opinions.
3. Social values affect my choices less than economic values because at the end of the day, social issues will not feed me or pay the electricity bill. Granted, I don’t pay taxes or have a job or pay for car insurance, but I know these everyday burdens will ambush me the moment I become an adult. Social issue policies are also (generally) easier to circumvent. For instance, if you are pro-choice (isn’t it interesting that no one is ever pro-abortion?) and a law is passed making it illegal, you can avoid the entire situation by remaining celibate and avoiding dark alleys at night. And raves/mosh pits.
I think that social programs have limited merit, as many of the people who use the programs are able to work but choose not to... basically, I think that social programs would work if human nature underwent a vast improvement that would cause people to stop taking advantage of such programs and giving the entire group of users a bad reputation.
My political socialization is based mainly on my family and church background over education and media. The downside to this, as many can atest to, is that our influences overpower our own opinions and our opinions are solely based on other's views and idealogies rather than our own educated decision. Leaning less on my family's idealogies, I have been able to branch out somewhat, but they can so easily convince me to sway back to their opinion as others cannot. Religion and church background hold a tighter grip on my political idealogy to which point I know I cannot always validate my opinion, but rather remain strong in my decision due to what has been ingrained into me morally. Media and education plays a far less important role in impacting my idealogy due to my parents already influencing me that neither the media nor education are always right.
ReplyDeleteI feel like my idealogy is very similar to my parents, but the political compass tells me otherwise. I am skeptical on the results of my test in the terms that it tells me that I am different than my parents and unlike everything I ever considered myself.
Socioeconomic status often times represents itself in our political idealogy and determines our vote. We can catagorize ourselves through stereotyping to the point where political idealogies of a person can be predicated, though this is not always the case and exception exist. However by putting in the economic stance alongside the social issue stance allows for a gap and inconsistencies of idealogies to be formed. Where one might believe in pro-choice, making them more liberal minded, they may believe in lower taxes, is more conservative based. This brings about a conflict in being entirely leftist or rightist.
My parents are the typical "lazy" Americans and try to get by in life as easily as possible so they have little to do with my political socialization. I would say that the majority of my political socialization is from the media or from this class alone. I never much cared for politics or really have any idea about them, but when I got into this class and saw some special on a poltician or something, I learned more than ever. The news builds up canidates as much as it breaks them down so it's kind of difficult to determine who I would vote or, but at least knowing a little about them is nice.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, my parents usually don't vote or pay attention to the campaigns, but if I had to choose which party I think they belonged to, I would have to say they are Republic. True, they are white, but they are also more conservative than liberal. I would have to say that I am leaning more that way as well, but they have done little to hardly nothing to influence that. I am getting older and since they never taught me anything about politics, the media and the other people around me are swaying my opinion.
I think that choosing a party based on social values and fiscal values may be very difficult at times, but when you are set on a specific goal, you lean more to that particular party. For example, someone may be all for the new health care bill and have more liberal ideas on the subject of health care for all, but then them disagreeing with all of the tax money used may make them seem more conservative. When choosing a party you have to be aware of your own personal goals and beliefs and be sure to put those before any other influences because I think that will make your deicision that much easier and you will be left with a result that you can live comfortably with.
1. I believe that education influences my political socialization the most. When I research politics and gain knowledge about key political issues, I base my own opinions upon what I believe the best method to solving that politcal issue would be. So when I combine that personal research with the material that I learn in the classroom, it helps me decide which political views I side with the most.
ReplyDelete2. I don't really know what my parents' political views are because I'm not entirely sure that they care about politcs all that much. However when it comes to opinions on things in general, I've been known to be very similar to my parents but I've also been known to think the exact opposite. So I don't know if I align more often with my parents' views than opposing them.
3. The key to balancing social views and fiscal views is that you have to understand that what is best by your moral standards and what is the most efficient by financial standards have to be balanced. Obviously an economy/business works most efficiently when it doesn't have to take morals into account, but in order to best serve society, the economy/business must be morally sound. So when it comes to choosing a political party, it's best to balance certain views from both sides of the spectrum in order to find a healthy median by which society can function to its best ability.
the major influence on my political sociallization would ulitimately be my family. My step dad and my brother (when he lived with us) went back and forth at the dinner table almost every night about Politics and where they stand. haha me and my sister even video taped them going back and forth!!! as an audience member, i picked out certain things to what they are backing their opinions on and took that to be what i liked and dis liked when it came to politics... From time to time, the media pushes my political socialization as well.. anyone see the Young Turks on you tube???? they just saluter politicians like cows man... they also give you a outlook on the political world you may never even thought of... seeing whose the liars and stating Roderic, or actually talking about real issues.. and funny as cuss!
ReplyDeleteas for my parents stand on their political ideology, i would have to say, i dont really know if im the same or the different. I really think that their should be a sole purpose in finding a middle, which is unlikely to happen, but we can all dream.. my step dad is total Republician and has some great points on issues in the world today.. however, things that in the back of my mind i totally disagree on..
Lastly, i think social values has to outweigh on fiscal values in a large way... yes, the recession is a big deal and we need to take it into consideration but the main focus that the nation needs to address is always making the U.S a more free, and accepting nation when the social aspect is looked upon. yes fiscal values have a major role in political parties to help the nation grow to become more prosperous, that can lead to helping social values in a long run.. the best way to balance these out is to see each one and its benefits in the short term, and then trying to see its benefits in the long run..
@Erin: Do you believe everything your parents agree with? And if you dont listen to the media, then where do you get your sources other than what your parents discuss? I wonder if you did start paying more attention to the world's opinions if you would change some of your views and realize the people's perspective on issues that you may disagree on.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I disagree about economic issues being more important than social issues because if you did maybe have a job or payed for things and were set on the right track then you might just be more concerned with social issues such as the health care bill or the immigration law, but I do agree that the people who take advantage of social programs give them a bad name when the programs have all the best intentions for the people. They need to just clean out and start fresh or make a "vast improvement."
P.S. You can't get pregnant from mosh pits, dear. :)
Originally, my political socializationwas greatly affected by my family. They are conservative in both economic and social issues. However, as I got farther through my education and had more peer interaction, I began to develop my own points of view, which, though still economically conservative, tend to be more socially liberal. It is on this latter point that my views differ slightly from that of my parents.
ReplyDeleteIt's largely the opinion of the individual to decide what they value more- social or fiscal values. Depending on which is more important to them, a person will choose the party that agrees with those beliefs and allow the less important to take a back seat in their politicaal choices.
My parents greatly influenced my political socialization, them and my sophomore year government teacher. Before then I hadn’t ever really thought about politics or the government. Ever since being introduced to it I have found my beliefs are very strong and family and friends have a hard time swaying me. My religion is another impact on my beliefs because I strongly believe in many of the teachings of my church, and I think government should be moral. Most of my political beliefs come from my close family and religion because I’ve lived with both my whole life, and I’ve accepted the normalcy of their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI’m similar to my mother and step-father but not my biological dad. I live with my mom and hardly ever talk to my dad so it makes sense that I am more like her. Often in my household we will discuss politics and news and share ideas. My parents and I may agree on many things, but there are others where I strongly disagree with them.
To balance social and fiscal values using a political party is difficult. You have to weigh each situation and decide, for example: would you lower taxes or lose programs in school? I guess for some of the seniors here, the answer is obvious: lower the taxes, we aren’t going to be in the school district anyway. This is how many Americans feel about education, yet if we lessen the school’s programs, the youth of America are going to be at a disadvantage. This will hurt us in the long run, because our students will come out with fewer skills than before. So each person must weigh whether they can take away the education of our future to get a tax break. Once they determine where they stand, they must make a decision on which party to affiliate themselves with. I am Republican on many issues, but when I finally get to vote, I will not just vote on Republican ideas and representatives, but the representative and ideas that share my beliefs, choosing a definite side when the sides are constantly changing would be making politics too black and white.
1.My family, and my education are the factors that affect my political socialization the most. My parents are not extremely liberal (or socialist) but they are on the left of the political scale, suffice to say, I am also left of the spectrum (on the Political Compass test, my ideology is most similar to Gandhi's [who guessed my ideology?]). Additionally the influence of education (which tends to move people to the left) has also propelled me to the left, however it has also forced me to conflict over certain issues. Even though I am staunch morning newspaper reader (yeah, go ahead and laugh) and watch TV after school, media does not easily influence me, however media does often compel me to second guess myself.
ReplyDelete2.Well my answer to the first question answers the second one but I am politically similar to my parents beliefs. However there are occasions where my parents and I disagree on some issues, because my parents are little bit more to the left than I am, the reason why we sometimes differ is because I sometimes agree on conservative solutions.
3.Like many others answered this question, my social and fiscal values do sometimes conflict when I am picking a party. Most of both my values are liberal. However, I am sometimes conflicted on issues that are in both categories. Moreover I sometimes agree on solutions that are conservative and is the reason why I am an Independent.
Richard I am right there with you, my family and I are fairly laid back on our political beliefs. My parents would probably fall under the category that has been discussed in class on how if the economy is good than life is good. How being happy and having money causes being satisfied with the government.
ReplyDeleteThis could partly have to do with neither of my parents having any college, and neither of them knowing any better. This could fall on one belief that I do have and that is if you do not know what you are doing than you should not vote. I do not believe they vote, partly being because they are lazy and partly being because they do not know what they are doing. With this I also believe that people should stay out of politics and keep themselves from even commenting since they do not know what they are doing. It grinds my gears when you see people protesting or voting when they do not even know the whole story. I know I for one am not going to vote just because I am 18 if I do not know what I am doing. I would rather wait until I am 81 if that is what it takes to become knowledgeable enough.
My family is probably the biggest influence on my political socialization. The media can really only influence you if you choose to listen to it, so considering I dont care to watch the news, I never hear there points. Whenever politics is discussed around me, its usually from my dad, so Im influenced by what he says. My family coupled with my religious background are the main factors.
ReplyDeleteLike I stated above, when it comes to politics Im hearing it from my parents, so Im probably almost, if not exactly, like my parents when it comes to political ideology.
At this age, my social values are the only thing I really consider. I say this due to the fact that Im not paying bills, so I cant weigh fiscal values. But I must say that even when I begin to hold my own, and support myself, Im confident Ill keep my same political ideology.
@ Ryan Mahoney
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about the media is true. Especially in our early preteen-teen years when we really had no idea what was going on, the media took a big part in influencing political socialization through their rhetoric and other tactics that make a person sway to their beliefs. Now we are old and smart enough to take into consideration that there are liberal and conservative outlets of media and depending on what you are, you watch a specific news station or read a particular newspaper. They are biased because it is their job to be, but it is our job as the voter to be informed correctly and not depend entirely on the media.
ps. your dad is hilarious
@ Tyler Johnson
I completely agree with what you said about personal morals being one of the greatest factors in determining your political ideology. I personally think that it is the biggest. Politics are so personal. If you have a firm belief about the moral value of something, it will absolutely determine the way you vote. Like Ms. Duquette said about women, the weaker sex, we're bound to be more sympathetic and (for lack of a better word) mushy, so we tend to vote liberal. Men are just the opposite. It's basically a giant competition of whose morals win in the end.
Sam I know what you are talking about with the voting for Gore or Bush. My school did the same thing and I remember this being my reason for voting Bush, "I voted Bush because he has more hair."
ReplyDeleteThank God the voting age is not 7 right?!
Of course...there are probably some seven-year-old kids out there that know more than some adults. For instance with the last presidential election. There were some interviews being done with some African Americans and they were talking about the election and one reporter asked, "So what do you think about Palin as Obama's Vice President?" Then the man responded, "Oh I think it's great I think they will be perfect."
That is the kind of stuff that I am talking about in my previous post.
@ Ryan Mahoney:
ReplyDeleteRyan, I agree with your belief that media is bias, and is one of the reasons why I am very skeptical when I am watching the news. However, media, even in its biased form, is necessary today because it informs (even though it not the whole truth) the public of what the government wants.
Hey Ryan, you need to give me your e-mail address for Ms. Duquette's Poll Project. I am going to research some topics, and come up with some questions.
@PG- There are some benefits to being a political sponge… The world would be a much better place if everyone was willing to listen to every point of view before making a decision.
ReplyDelete@Sam- I think it is very interesting that you rely on media for some of your political socialization in high school. Did you not watch political television as a child, or did you just not care until high school? Did your parents ever make you watch the state of the union speech?
@Joe- You said that you chose your political party based solely on your social values; do you think that your social values have been influenced by your education and exposure to media, or only by your family?
@Chris
ReplyDeleteYou made an excellent point pertaining to political influence in regards to the media. A political viewpoint can only influence you if you allow its point to be made. Family is a greater influence because of the fact that many individuals do not have as much of a choice in at least listening to their parents. Also, many individuals who view the news do not watch it until they are at a much less impressionable age, which means that the news will most likely have a smaller impact on their core beliefs.
@Jared
Your point concerning uninformed voting and activism is very true in the world today. Many individuals who have no idea what a proposition concerns or what a candidate's platform is will randomly select a choice and not think twice about their actions. It is very important for people to be informed about issues before taking a position or deciding to vote yes or no on an issue.
@ Sam
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that, being only in high school, we have not had the opportunity to make any real decisions regarding any life changing topics such as politics. We do not really know what it is like to make such decisions on our own yet and we have always relied on our parents to make these decisions for us. Until we are actually living on our own I do no think that we will really know where we stand with out values whether they are fiscal or social.
@ Alison
Deciding on whether we place our fiscal values first or our social values first is a hard thing. There are many things that can help influence us on such decisions, such as the media, family and friends, but how do we know which one is the right one choose. Each one could have different impacts on our lives, than the other, making it difficult to choose the right one. Until we fully understand how to decide which one to put more emphasis on, deciding whether our fiscal values or social values has more of an impact will always be difficult.
@ Chris, It makes sense that your fiscal values may not be as strong as your social values at this time, but don't you think when you have a family and children this might waver the slightest bit. Many people change their side on which values are more important once they begin effecting them. I only have two bills, gas and insurance, and thats enough to keep me working two jobs because I can't make enough at one. I have very strong fiscal values because I worry that in the future tax rates will rise and I'll struggle to get by just like I am now.
ReplyDelete@ Jared, It would be wonderful for everyone at the polls to be informed but the 24th amendment abolished poll taxes and the tests voters were required to pass on American government. So, how else are we going to assure that the people coming in to vote are knowledgable enough? Who would decide when it was enough information? How can we ask that and still be a free society?
@Laura, unless im mistaken, i believe i stated that i didnt believe my political ideology would change. But yes, as I aquire bills and different responsibilities, I imagine my values will switch up a little.
ReplyDelete@Jared, couldnt agree more with the fact that there are many uninformed voters. Plus, how you were sayin its a good thing that we dont let 7 year olds vote, we might as well considering they know just as much as some adults when it comes to voting. It would be nice if there was a way to make sure evryone was informed, or having a way to decide who was informed enough, but this would be an extremely difficult task.
Sorry for the short post yesterday…. Here’s the rest.
ReplyDelete@Jake- I think you had a great point about how over involved government is in our lives, but I had a question about how you could “support public funding for schooling, but not public schools”.
@Ryan- The media is more than just cable TV; the online articles you read are also media!
@Jessica- I completely agree with you about how we should ask people more specific questions about their beliefs. Each political party contains a very broad spectrum of political ideas, and thus labeling oneself only as a ‘Republican’ or a ‘Democrat’ is unreliable, due to the gaps in political beliefs found within each party. A party label is also insufficient because there are shifts in the beliefs of each party (such as the shift during the New Deal era that completely switched the parties).
@Ashley- I agree with you about how uninformative the media can be about political candidates. I would like to believe that the media gives both pros and cons of each candidate, but sometimes the media merely gives conflicting viewpoints on the same aspect of the candidate, which is quite confusing.
@Ashley about your comment- No, I don’t believe everything my parents agree with; part of that comes from finding evidence to support my own point of view, and the other part comes from understanding that their experiences have influenced them greatly. However, I have had different experiences in my lifetime because I have made different choices and grown up in a different time. My political views are influenced by my experiences and my education, and sometimes the books I read. It is somewhat difficult to find out what the world thinks about political issues, since the media provides opinions that only support whatever side they are attempting to portray.
About the mosh pits- I don’t plan to find out.
@Jared- I love your reasoning for voting for Bush! That is most likely the reason the voting age is not seven… :)
@Jared
ReplyDeleteHaha! No way! That's hilarious. See, sometimes I truly believe that people need a certain IQ to be able to vote. I know that sounds terrible, but what's to say an 18+ person knows ANYTHING at all and just makes ridiculously uninformed decisions? I get that we're a free country and all, but I think there should just be a test that's like "if you pass, you're not a Complete idiot and you know roughly about what your talking about" and if you fail you can't vote. Done.
@Erin
I honestly didn't give a CRAP about politics until high school. My parents never tried to Push my political ideologies at all, but they always informed me whenever I was interested in something. And while I rely on their judgment for a lot of things, I'm old enough to pick my side and watch the news programs I feel align with my beliefs.
@Danielle
Yeah, like I said, I just don't think kids our age should be forming strong opinions about fiscal values until their in the real world and the decisions effect their own personal lives. For instance, I don't know what a tax increase is going to feel like until I have an income and my own bills to pay.
@Sam- I didn’t care about politics until high school either; in fact, I actively avoided the topic and complained every time my dad sat me down in front of the television to watch the State of the Union address. I don’t think my parents tried to push me one way or the other, but they influenced me nonetheless. :)
ReplyDeleteMy own political socialization is based primarily on my peers or teachers. I honestly rarely watch the news, so I’m not too informed on politics – basically all the information I get is what I hear from my family, friends, or teachers. My family rarely talks about politics…and when we do there is not a lot of agreeing. Last year I had a teacher that really influenced my political socialization. Even though he somewhat tried to present news subjectively, with the way I saw it, a lot of his obvious views became my own.
ReplyDeleteI am very different from my parents as far as political views go. While they are very conservative, I am more liberal – I think this has to do with the generation gap and their own parents. With the way my family is, we’re close, but I’ve always been independent and able to stand on my own…this blends into my political values. They don’t influence me because once I hear their views and lack of support to back it up, I don’t agree with them based on my different morals and ideology.
When balancing social values and fiscal values when choosing a party…I choose to be selfish (I guess you would call it) and basically I see society as dog eat dog, I’m typically going to choose based on my fiscal values and whatever benefits me. However, if everybody held their fiscal values to a higher degree, we would not be a balanced society. I think that you must also think “socially” so that society is benefited as a whole (this is where morals come in). Social values and fiscal values make it hard to choose a party label. While you may be pro-choice because, for example, maybe you went through a horrible abortion, then you could be on the opposite end for another issue. When I’m choosing a political party, I take into consideration if my strongest views associate with it and usually of course I won’t agree with some of it, so that does not mean I am necessarily a straight-up liberal.
@Ryan Mahoney: I am curious to know what types of media you mean when you talk about how media was the biggest impact on your political stance during childhood and adolescence. I am curious about this due to the varying types of media, one being news coverage, polical forums, and another example being talk shows. I know that as a young child i would watch the news with my parents, but only truly local news stations. I sdometimes watched talk shows with them, but hardly knew more than the polical cultural aspects rather than politics and political stances. once again this point brings to attention the parents influences in their child's idealogy as i watched what my parents watched.
ReplyDelete@Vaibhav: I am also curious to know how you would catagorize your political idealogy. You said that you are primarily liberal in your views, though some conservatism is present at times in your idealogy, but you label yourself as an independent. For me, when i am mostly one of the other i try to pick a side if possible. So do you consider those areas of conservative views important, though few, enough to validate an more independent stance than a liberal? I know that i am at times a mix between liberal and conservative, but i find that in comparison to my liberal views my conservative views vastly overrule my liberal, pushing me closer to conservative than independent. Just a thought.
Ryan Mahoney,
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your views on fiscal importance in relation to social liberties. I personally don't believe the government should deal much with social issues in the sense of those personal choices that don't hurt others.
Tyler,
Your statements about how you have to balance social and economic issues made a lot of sense. I'd like to think that there are choices where you can get that healthy balance, but unfortunately it seems like there rarely is, or if it does exist on a ballot, no one will vote for it because its not supported by one of the two bigger parties. Just one of the problemns of a two-party system, I guess.
@Sam Sidoti: I completely agree with you about the fiscal values. Until I experience the cost and benefits of certain economic impacts, such as a tax increase, I don't have a strong stance on it. Besides seeing how it affects others, which is largely third party reports for me, I just can't empathize on that level due to inexperience in the real world.
ReplyDelete@Richie
ReplyDeleteWe’re in the same boat…I’ve mainly gotten political socialization from school (my teachers, history classes, etc) or the media. My family is not a big influence on my political values, despite what the collegeboard says. Over the course of this year however, I really would like to become more informed on politics and hopefully figure out the basis of my party affiliation. Like you, based on the test I am a libertarian when it comes to social value…except my parents are not, they’re definitely more conservative, but that tends to happen with age.
@Erin
I agree with you on the balancing of social and fiscal values. I’m definitely concerned about social values because I think our society needs to become more accepting in terms of social issues, but, like you, at the end of the day, my fiscal values will overpower the social ones because I need to worry about myself and how my bills are paid, etc. As for social programs, human beings, I am almost positive, will never stop taking advantage of them….this is when we need to figure out if the benefit it gives to those who really need it’s support outweighs the people who bum off of it.
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ReplyDelete@Everyone who said fiscal or social values are greater than the other
ReplyDeleteWhy would it matter if it doesn't affect us yourself personally at this moment in our lives? Next year when we are all in college, it WILL affect us so doesn't it make sense to get on the ball early and see where the economy is now so when we do need to worry about economic values we will have a clearer picture?
@Carissa
I like your point of view for weighing values; I think I'm similar to an extent but not nearly as the way you put it.
@Jake Hewitt-
ReplyDeleteI like how you said that you hate media outlets with a burning passion. For the most part, I feel the same way. It seems like it has become more of a source of entertainment rather than a way to find actual information.
@Jared-
Your comment about voting age made me laugh. Unfortunately, I think there are some adults in this country who still vote like they are 7 years old. It is a sad statement, but it is even more sad to think of how under-informed most of the American public is.
@Jared- I completely agree with you on your first answer about how it takes a lot to influence your views. I am the same way. I study what people say and analyze their viewpoints before I have them influence me. If someone is easily influenced than they would never have a concrete set of views, it would always be changing.
ReplyDelete@Tyler Johnson- I totally agree with your key on how to balance social and fiscal views. Also,when you choose a certain party, you have to balance it out so that you get the best of both of your views. I agree with that also.
@ PG:
ReplyDeletePg, I totally agree with your opinion on treating fiscal values the same as social values. Sooner or later we will need to consider fiscal values. So why not start before college, when considering our fiscal values and supporting the policies that will best accomplish those values will not harm us if we are mistaken, in fact our mistakes will allow us to learn and choose better policies that satisfy both our fiscal and social vales. I also agree that we should weigh both our values because it is the only way that we can determine what policies will most benefit not only our beliefs but also the country as a whole.
@ Erin
ReplyDeleteI support public funding for education but not public schools because public school are not competitive like college is. Teachers are not rewarded for hard work and as a result, there us are large number if teachers who do not care too much, im sure you've all had one of those teachers before. By public fundin I mean somethig along the lines of a voucher. We spend about 10k a student, if we gave the parents a voucher they could choose what school to send their student ( and the money) too. This would force schools to become competitive or die out.
@Carissa- I agree with you- sad as it is, this is a dog-eat-dog world. This concept is does cause selfishness, but selfishness is not as bad as it sounds. Selfishness causes people to want laws that benefit themselves and those they care about; this is why our society has some very good laws, like the laws against murder and theft.
ReplyDelete@Jake- I like your idea of competitive public schooling… The schools would have an incentive to hire good teachers and pay them well, and the teachers would have a better incentive to teach. Your idea would basically make the market for schools a free market, in which the parents and the schools could reach a mutually beneficial equilibrium. The vouchers would be for tax money, which would allow the same equal opportunity to students (provided that every parent be given a voucher for the same amount per child), which would basically keep the schools a public good while applying free-market principles to it. The only potential problem I can think of would be, “What if someone moves during the school year?” Who would determine how much of the voucher the parent would get to keep for the next school. This is an awesome idea. :)
I have been going over some things for the next chapter and I believe I have found a word that somewhat sums up what my point is: Rational ignorance effect - http://economics.about.com/od/economicsglossary/g/rationali.htm
ReplyDeleteBasically that people are too lazy to get their facts strait and that they feel their vote will not have that great of an affect in the first place.
Hm, well hopefully this isn't too late.
ReplyDelete@Tyler, your last paragraph is kind of similar to what I do at this point, despite not being very involved with this kind of stuff. And reading over all the comments is kind of making me think more and more about this kind of stuff, I hope I can think of something eventually.
@Max
Your comment also helped, as it made me kind of curious as to which party believes in what. I kind of have an idea as to what I might be, mainly due to my friends. But who knows, I might be crazy.