Question of the Day

[ayoub]

What experiences / memories do you believe formed your political views?

---

Life in the streets... Ghetto living...

Comments

[amante-donne.livejournal.com]

looking, today, at the seemingly inaction or actions-just-to-get-re-elected of politicians whom have no interest of doing good by the people/country/environment/planet but just want to get rich and get a little power hungry.

[cerebralpig.livejournal.com]

Having an assertive mother and being a coalminer's daughter are at the root of it... though not all of it.

[bronxelf-ag001.livejournal.com]

Having parents who in many ways threw me to the wolves, and when that wasn't convenient, used money as a manipulative tool.

[kabandra.livejournal.com]

Are you looking for an essay here? :P

My parents for one (very liberal and raised me that way), and otherwise I had some other liberal mentors (my first government teacher).. as well as some actual experiences with my friends etc that makes it pretty much impossible for me to vote republican.

[seegwa.livejournal.com]

Raised and influenced by a very liberal egalitarian family, for the most part, I think.

[mighty-rontor.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid in late 1974, between feeling "homesick" and thinking that the U.S.was going to hell in a hand basket, dad moved us to Brazil. People were pretty cool to us, but there were some kids that actually hated me because I was American. it was weird, but, hey, it was only like 3 kids. Since the plan was to stay down there, I forgot almost 70% of my English. What you have to understand though, is that Brazil didn't accommodate a middle class. You were either rich or poor. Not to mention that my parents had gotten too Americanized. We didn't even know how to have a maid properly! Inevitably, we moved back to Baltimore in late '75.

1976 rolled around, and while we celebrated the bicentennial, there was a feeling that the government was ineffective. The vets from Viet Nam were already feeling fucked for having to put up with what everyone knew was a bullshit war, and they felt double-fucked when Saigon fell. All the movies were depressing except for Star Wars, and then Iran stormed the embassy.

Then Reagan came in, the hostages got released, the economy got good, pastels were cool and in general, I felt the US getting strong again. I knew Reagan was conservative, but he got things done. He was an extremely strong leader. If it weren't for Reagan, I'd likely be too liberal instead of a well-tempered moderate with liberal leanings.

[1jodie.livejournal.com]

hmm... that's a very good question. i feel like i've always had the views i've had even back to middle school when we had to debate in english & government class.

so i guess it'd be from my parents; however they weren't very vocal in their political views. they never shared with us who they voted for.

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

I remember in 1984 asking my mother who she had voted for in the presidential race. The kids at school had been talking about it (I was 9 at the time). My mother explained that the whole purpose of a secret ballot was that you didn't have to tell anyone how you voted.

What I also took away from this was 'make up your own mind.' You don't tell people who you voted, and they can't tell you how they think you should vote.

She never did tell me who she voted for, but I have my suspicions. ;)

[dishapeaches.livejournal.com]

The Vietnam war and then the Iran Hostage Crisis.

[fox-bard.livejournal.com]

The Iran Hostage Crisis... I was just talking about that the other day with mighty_rontor.

I still remember all those yellow ribbons tied everywhere when the hostages were released, every station (all three!) playing that song as the former hostages disembarked off the plane bringing them home. Became rather a defining moment of the 80s decade, our first success after the dismal failure of Vietnam amidst the ongoing Cold War.

The more youthful people in the room looked blankly at Ron and myself as we talked about it. And in that moment, I realized where I now fall in the generational spectrum. It was sobering.

[dishapeaches.livejournal.com]

I remember the yellow ribbons everywhere too. I also remember Ted Koeppel on TV every night talking about it - 'Day 96 of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. I'm Ted Keoppel, and this is Nightline'.

Yeah, I'm old too.

[fox-bard.livejournal.com]

LOL! I remember that! I can hear every nuance of his voice.

[dishapeaches.livejournal.com]

I always thought he looked like Howdy Doody.

[fox-bard.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[dishapeaches.livejournal.com]

Ron Howard too.

[donnickcottage.livejournal.com]

Pretty much life in total. That's why they change somewhat now and then.

[beatzz.livejournal.com]

My high school's president is an Ambassador. She required daily newspaper reading with a focus on editorials. During homeroom we discussed current events, too. Dinner conversations with the family also touched on political topics... Yeah. Boring... Haha...

[gillian16.livejournal.com]

College life really changed my opinion drastically.

[chiropteraclan.livejournal.com]

Living in France, poverty, teaching.

[milagro75.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I never really paid a whole lot of attention to politics until the last campaign. It's sad, really. I think I just made it more of a point to pay attention to issues/views/etc.

[bluesgirly.livejournal.com]

Having a family and knowing our kids are going to inherit consequences of what hapens now.

[katamphigorical.livejournal.com]

Growing up female in Utah.

I was quite literally raised to have no opinions whatsoever. When i was in my mid-teens, i justified this kind of thinking by calling myself extra-flexible. But moving to Wisconsin forced me to actually look at myself; to acclimate an entirely different set of rules. I was like a fish leaping out of the water and landing on shore only to find i couldn't breathe too well without lungs.

Having spent the last 9 years evolving, i still feel as if my lungs are only half-formed.

[fox-bard.livejournal.com]

I spent most of my childhood in a poor Baltimore City row home, in a home where no one wanted to talk politics except to diss President Carter.

Later, I spent most of my time avidly avoiding politics and anything of the nature. I stuck to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and pagan drama-fests.

Then I went back to college, created André (a politically motivated character), moved on to university and extremely political history courses, and in the past two years found myself reading the news every day online. I also pay attention to what the authors of our time are writing. So, really, education is what led me to my current political views, which is to say I have the heart of a left-wing neo-pagan liberal with the mind of an adult conservative independent, while understanding fully the status quo mentality of the 'righters'. :/

Several things

[cmerun12.livejournal.com]

1. My dad, and the lectures/conversations we'd have on rainy afternoons. Certain colors, scents and sounds will send my dad into flashbacks to his time in the military. Watching how he had/has to deal with all of that. It taught me to have a VERY HEALTHY respect for what people in our military have to deal with.
2. My high school social studies/political science teachers.
3. Speech/Communication classes in high school. I remember giving a speech in high school about gay/lesbian rights, and how stunned the teacher was with the amount of research I'd done. Granted, in the fairly rural community I lived in, my opinions and views made me an outcast, but I was able to support every point I was making.
4. My feminine issues teacher. Oh boy! Did she teach me a lot about women's rights. I still remember sitting in her class, behind the only guy brave enough to take the class, and being so awed and amazed at how far our country has come... and feeling saddened by how far it still needed to go, and finally being charged with the task of helping bring those changes around.
5. My own life experiences. There's too many to list here.

[rowanchey.livejournal.com]

Spending 7 years carefully watching/tracking/lobbying the legislature every day. To see them in action, and more importantly behind-the-scenes, is more than enough to form a political opinion: They are human, and therefore motivated by personal issues, and they all suck.

[sirenity.livejournal.com]

Having everything then having nothing then having everything again and then having little because I had to work for it myself. Having immigrant parents and then having a white collared step father. Looking at the world around me - stuff like that. =)

[eternalxwhisper.livejournal.com]

I try not to have a political view.

[ayoub.livejournal.com]

:D

Yep, I remember there was another question about this you answered...

[eternalxwhisper.livejournal.com]

It's not that I don't have a view it's just I don't like getting into a heated discussion over it. I read about it but don't have a desire to talk about it. I don't know.

Thought I'd elaborate instead of saying "Politics sucks!" mwahah xD

[ayoub.livejournal.com]

:D

Yes... People tend to defend their political opinion with a fervour that borders on the religious...