Political Influences

Throughout my life, I have been socialized to politics in a number of ways. First, the 1996 election comes to mind as the first political event I experienced. Second, the people that I am around on a day to day basis, mostly my parents, have had an affect on my socialization to politics. Third, some of the groups that I am part of have influenced how my ideas and opinions involving politics have developed. Other factors that have affected my socialization to politics include how much politics is talked about at my home, the activity of my parents in politics, and even such things as television and newspapers. All of these information channels have had an affect on my views and opinions on politics and the issues that politics deals with. Some of these sources, however, have a greater affect on me than others do.

The first political event I can remember was the 1996 presidential election. Back then I was a young little boy that was curious of the world and its purpose. However, I remember my mom constantly talking on the phone to her parents and sisters about the upcoming election. She made it sound like the end of the world was going to come if Bob Dole lost to Bill Clinton. Finally, the time to vote rolled around. Both my parents left that evening to go vote. When they arrived back home, the TV stayed on constantly with my parents nervously walking back and forth as the states were revealing their winner. Of course, I didn't really understand what was going on, but none the less I could feel the tension in the room. During the 1996 presidential race between the two main contestants, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, Democrat and Republican, respectively, my parents were both strong supporters of Mr. Dole as you can tell. Therefore, nearly all of the opinions and facts that I was exposed to at home reflected their ideas. This information caused me to see Clinton as a diabolical fiend, which I then associated with the Democratic Party. The Republican Party then became the symbolic hero, striving for what is right. I now realize that there are usually both pros and cons to each party, but even now I am still slightly biased against the Democratic Party, which could have an affect on how I vote if I was torn between the two. That is one of the examples of how I have been socialized to politics through my parents. In the end, Bill Clinton was victorious and left my parents in a sour mood.

At home, my exposure to politics is relatively small. The only way I get to hear a little about the current political events going on is in the morning when I tune into Fox News every day. I find this broadcast enjoyable and very informational and it helps me keep up to date with what's going on. For the most part, politics are rarely discussed at all with only an occasional remark during dinner or while I am doing my homework. Even then, the subjects that are talked about are more related to what the current government will probably do in situations such as the war with Iraq. This lack of interest in government that I see in most situations at home also somewhat pushes me towards not caring overly much for politics. I do feel that certain issues that could arise in the future will definitely cause me to take a more active roll in politics. The way that my parents tend to favor the Republican Party over the Democratic Party in the majority of cases has also had an affect on me. Since both of my parents are Republicans, I think that in the future when I can vote, I will probably lean strongly towards being a republican, like my parents are.

My socialization to politics has been affected through the groups in which I take part. One of the groups that I take part in is church. Church has had a major affect on how I view politics due to the beliefs that I have been taught there. In church, it is taught from the Bible that things such as abortion are wrong, and so my view of politics has been affected because I now will never vote for a candidate that is pro-choice, as I have been taught that it is morally wrong to do such a thing. Since the Democratic Party has tended to favor the pro-choice decision, it is very likely that I will not vote for a candidate from the Democratic Party. I will now only consider voting for one if they change their stance on the matter so that it is pro-life. If they do not, then my ideas on political issues will cause me to look elsewhere for a suitable candidate to represent me. Another point that I would like to make known is how the people that I am around every day affect my views and level of activity in politics. The vast majority of my friends have little to no interest in politics at all, and as a result, politics are rarely, if ever, discussed with them. This in turn causes me to become less interested and involved in politics as well, as it is difficult to talk with people about a subject that they care little about. Another case of this occurs during school; at school, politics is also rarely discussed, with the only exception being my American Government class, which will end with finish of the 2nd semester. After this occurs, my exposure to political ideals will be cut to virtually nothing. Overall, this lack of incidents has led me to think of politics as a somewhat unimportant matter because so few people around me think highly, if at all, of it. The media, television, and even the internet have played big roles in affecting my socialization to politics