Who Am I? Values and How They Develop

Political socialization is the process by which people acquire political values, attributes, opinions and attitudes, information and opinions. So how are we socialized? What factors influence our political views? Well, one could argue that four factors are most prominent: family, school, peers and the media. In class when this was discussed, it was generally agreed that family was the most prominent. Families provide foundations such as race, class and gender. Within these boundaries, our political beliefs are set out. There is also the family indoctrination of political values ie. if your parents are conservative then it is more likely that you will be too.

I disagree that family is the most prominent/dominant factor in my life. It is probably the second most important as I've had a pretty messed up "teenage life" due to family issues. Growing up, we never talked about politics within the house. For me, my political values were much more influenced by the schools I attended and my peers. Usually, schools have pretty liberal learning teachers due the contracts they have and so on. I argue that these values come across when they each which influence what children believe is right which they carry with them until their later years. This is why the majority of voters tend to be left leaning when they are young and grow more conservative as they age or as Sir Winston Churchill put it:

"Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains."

Also, my peers (friends) were a very heavy influence on me especially in my mid-to-late teen years. In high school, I would say that the majority of my guy friends were more conservative while my female friends were more liberal as is usually the case. I remember often getting into arguments with my guy friends over issues like health care or international relations. They would always tell me that my typically liberal views were wrong. While I never said anything, I did question my own values based off of these conversations. My high school also had a large immigrant population (mainly Middle Eastern) which always laid the foundation for conflict. A popular one seemed to be the classic Israel vs. Palestine debate. A lot of my guy friends took the side of Israel simply because the US supported them the most. To this day, I still don't think a bunch of cocky teenagers could possibly understand a topic like Mid-East relations. I still am skeptical over what is actually said to what my friends actually value politically. However, I have no doubt that this time influenced me in some form.

It is in one's teen years that one begins to fully understand who they are politically and where exactly you lie on the spectrum. As I just stated, your peers are very important but also so are events that occur in your life. For me, health care has always been an issue I will always lean towards the left on because of my family history of health related issues. If it wasn't for the system we have, who knows where I'd be right now as both my parents would likely be dead. I also think my mom's cancer diagnoses and recovery in my mid-teen years has had a strong political impact on me as well. I probably can credit this event as the most impactful in my life so far. Walking away from that experience, I suppose I just think people should always be happy and not be put down about who they are and what they believe and value. Sure, I joke and tease but I honestly believe people should just be able to do what makes them happy. You don't need much more in life than happiness. This is why I support things such as gay marriage and that whole movement. While I am not gay, who am I to stop two people from being happy? It's not my right nor should it be anyone else's (unless of course there is a risk that someones happiness is a threat to society). Those who think it's their business need to stop being so closed minded, religious or not. It's 2011 not 1911.

This post was intended to talk a bit about who I am and how I have come to be this way. My political values have been most heavily influenced by my schooling, peers and home life. I think by writing (and ranting) this, I have a new appreciation for who I am. If you don't agree with me, that's alright. I wouldn't expect you to.

Cheers for now. AM