Why do you choose your political affiliation?

[The Nephilm]

I really am wondering how in the hell a lot of you ended up supporting your causes. I'd say for everyone there is a defining moment in your life that has obviously influenced your views, at least on world affairs and wars. And maybe you wondered why I was so adamately anti-war. So here ya go...

I've lived in Santa Barbara my entire life. I grew up in the same house I am living in now. There are definately a lot of interesting and strange people here, and anyone that has been in town can tell you that.

There is a lady that lives about a block from me. She is about a fifty year old vietnamese lady. She has always lived in the same house that she does now, with her husband, and vietnam veteran. They were married in Vietnam during the war. However after their marrage something happened. She was at her house, packing her things and saying goodbye to her family, when a US platoon who were engaged in a battle stationed themselves on one side of her village, and the vietnamese on the other. A grenade hit her house, exploding and trapping her inside. She escaped and crawled through a small opening in the collapsed building, suffering heavy burns on her legs and arms. Her entire family were inside, 3 sisters, 4 brothers, all no older than 15, along with her parents and grandparents who were wishing her farewell. She managed to pull her youner brother outside with her, who was 6 ears old. She thought he was only unconscious, and dragged him a mile or two through the brush and away from the village. She was delirous, and severely injured, and she needed help for her brother. So she dragged him a long distance, probably a number of miles with one hand behind her to where her husband was stationed. Her brother had been dead since the first grenade hit, and was missing the back of his skull.

She was brought back with her husband, but was never the same. To this day she walks around my neighborhood, absent minded, screaming every so often, running from anyone, and walks with her hand held out behind her in the position she must have had when she was dragging her brother. Her arms and legs are a tangle or scars.

I've tried to talk to her on numerous ocasion, but she just screams and runs away. She has some sense of reality, because she 'lives' with her husband, but more or less lives out that same tragic day every day of her life.

War did this. An unjust, unecessary war. Human beings have the intellect to avoid the destruction of their own brothers and sisters, yet we do not use it. And this reality is one I have to accept, yet I can't and I hope, and dream that some day we will come to our senses and actually fulfull what we are capable of.

[Matthew]

The only one of my political views that can really be traced to a set of defining moment is my ideas about gun control.

Last year, my friends and I made an new addition to our circle, and felt a subtraction almost as fast. A new kid, moving in from a different school. He was very intelligent, fun to be around. One of my closer friends actually dated him for awhile. He fit in fine. I remember the last time I talked to him, he was happy as ever, a self-proclaimed loser yet still something of an optomist.

He is quite dead now. He killed himself a few days after I last saw him. A gunshot. No warning signs, just a resonance that impacted everyone around me. I watched all of my friends blae themselves, wondering what they did wrong, and I even asked myself how I could have helped.

I dont know what was wrong in my friends life, but if there wasnt a gun left conveniently in his parents drawers, unlocked and with bullets that were apparently east enough to find, then maybe he would have lived another day, a day in which his life might not have seemed so bad.

It continues with a man and his wife going out to visit their relatives, only to find them both dead. A gruesome double homicide.

You see there were these two people, a man and his daughter, both adults, who lived just outside of the city I am currently living in. One night, as they slept, a drifter with a firearm entered their home. He killed both of them. There was no struggle. No fight for life. No chance to defend themselves.

These two people were the grandfather and aunt of one of my closest friends, a guy who is like a brother to me. The people who found the bodies were his step-father and mother. The next day, my friend was beside himself with grief. He didn't talk or eat, and nothing I could say could provide any consolation. He had lost friend (also murdered) earlier that year, and the combined grief was eating away at him. Seeing him walk around that day, detached, depressed, knowing nothing he could do could bring his family back was hard for me. it was hard for me because I knew that my friend was hurt and I couldn't do anything about it, I just had to watch him suffer. And I also knew that I only felt a fraction of the pain he felt, and that he felt only a fraction of what his parents felt.

Every loss like that sends waves through communities, spreading sorrow to everyone. It's like an earthquake. And while I was lucky enough to feel only the smallest aftershocks, it made me realize that I couldn't imagine the pain that those in the epicenter of the grief were feeling.

Now you can preach all the happy horseshit about "if the had owned a gun then maybe..." but I'm not going to buy it. The people died in their sleep. They could have owned 1/2 of the weapons in the US Army's arsenal and it wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe they had guns, maybe they didnt. I will never know. But I do know that crimes like these happen to often, and that if that drifter didn't have a gun, than an earthquake could have been prevented.

[WithStamin]

I don't really have a specific story about how my political views came about. I was a big Goreite in the 2000 election. I was furious when Bush won. I had never really formed my own opinion; I just got the ideas from my mom. I, like many liberals, didn't really think a whole lot about the issues. I just thought "Hey, why not take money from the rich and give to the poor? Then it's fair!"
Then came September 11th. That day and the events following were my epiphany. I started paying more attention to the news and what was happening in the world I live in. I started thinking: these liberals are doing nothing to protect us. I started learning more and more about the Republican party, and I realized slowly that these ideas really made more sense in my mind.

[BrandNewRock05]

Military born and raised. Moved from location to location and realized what hard work can accomplish. When I was born I lived in a one- room apartment in the Mojave desert, 29 Palms. Now I live in a 4000+ sq foot house. I found out how, through my parents, that the American dream can be accomplished by anyone, race or religion. From rags to riches I have always thought conservatively. People should be treated equally. Black or white, man or woman. No body should get a head start on anyone. Why should they? If I get accepted into a college, and it was because I was different, and I was just fufilling a quota, I wouldnt feel as if I had earned it. You should earn everything in life. Just like a paycheck. Taxpayers shouldnt have to pay for Joe Slackoff. My parents could have collected food stamps and welfare for the first 6 years of my life, and never once did. Pride. Why take what you dont earn? And if you earn it take it, dont feel obligated to give to the lazy. Why should the rich pay a higher percentage than the poor when it comes to taxes. 20% of $1000 dollars is already more than 20% o $100, so why make the rich pay even more? They worked hard for the money (for the most part). And why should you let a criminal walk unpunished? If you do something wrong, you need to be punished. When I was a little kid and I did something wrong, I had my ass smacked. Some call it over the top, I call it tough love. Im glad I was disiplined, so I dont grow up to be some pot smoking hippie artist who believes the world owes me. Time out for kids is bullshit, so is jailtime for murderers. Some of these guys are living better in the pen than the did on the streets. Why should tax payers pay for criminals meals and housing? They shouldnt. If you kill five people, you should be killed. I dont care if you are insane, you are still a threat to society. And dont you have to be insane to kill five people in cold blood? So basically my opinions come down to what my parents taught me. Does that make me not an individual thinker? No. I make my own descisions. However, I chose to follow a good example...my parents.

[yeat182]

i decided to use my brain....really i have no specific reason that i can think of...

[evil zach]

My father is a liberal capitalist with some conservative tendancies(if that makes any sence) my mother is a conservative socialist. They liked to talk politics alot whn I was little, and I started talking with them. I found that I didn't totaly agree with what either of them were saying, but I din't know what I would call my political stance. Then I got a bit older and I started listening to bands like crass and DK. I decided to read up on this "anarchy" I heard so much about. I found that most of my ideals were those of anarchism.

[xTSTLx]

i didnt give a dick about politics until i came to college, the only thing that my roommates talks about is politics and he almost forced it on me, i grew up in a very conservative family, so i always just said that i was conservative, without having any reason why i am, though now from arguing with my roommate, who is liberal, i now can back up what i say i am

[Safetyin#]

Originally posted by xTSTLx
though now from arguing with my roommate, who is liberal, i now can back up what i say i am

Man that must have been fun, i really wish i had someone in person to argue politics with, that at least know what they were talking about.

[bossydacow]

Been liberal for as long as I can remember. I think its because I grew up in such a diverse family. My dad is white and votes republican and is catholic but doesn't go to church, my mom is black and votes democrat and is very religious catholic, . My brother does not vote, he's pissed at America and Bush et al. and is into all these different philosophies. So i've grown up in this mix of everything and the one common belief between of all of us is to never force each other's beliefs on each other. In fact, until recently we hardly ever spoke about politics, religion or any other wordly issues with each other. I'm glad I grew up this way, because when I debate with people I'm more confident because I know my ideas are my own, and I'm not just reciting what my parents or my brother tell me.

[EmoMoose86]

I was born into an Expat family - my dad's of british decent - works for BP. My mom's from New York. I was born in Scotland and have always been on the move. I've lived in 12 addresses in my life. I really did not care about politics untill I moved to Kuwait. Kuwait showed me what America was doing for the country. I actually felt proud to be an American as I was away from it. I've lived in 4 continents... when not in America- I have always noticed how the US has influnced people's lives. Kuwait was the best example for me.
The fact is, you don't know how it feels to be a real American - unless you are in a different country.
My conservative thoughts came about when I arrived in Kuwait. Seeing apartments named "Bush Flats" and "American Apartment company" made me notice how all countries benifit by America's existance.
I am not 100% conservative. Some Liberal views make sense. If there was a good Liberal President- hell- i'd be happy. the last Liberal President was horrible- because he didnt do anything. The Bushs- I think, are doing and have done a suitable job so far. I could not imagine Gore's reactions to all the situations Bush has through.
I can't really explain my views- I just can tell you that after traveling the world, living in so many counties... I have become conservative. My views on Israel/Palastine have been esspecially drawn because of one year in Kuwait.
I came to school one day and a riot ignited at my school (American School of Kuwait) because of the Palastine issue. Having family that are Jewish- i was threatened many times via phone and at school. I lost many friends that year. The thing that got me the most... The SOUL thing that got me the most... was History class in Kuwait.
An American taught it- as most teachers were... and when we covered the establishment of Israel... it was amazing. Our history books- from England- after being passed by the Government of Kuwait- had pages torn out and maps blacked out. Guess what? It was all about Israel. All of the history of Israel was blacked out. And so- my teacher taught it anyways- and the views of the Arab students in my class (80% of the school was arab) were amazing. They were so wrong. So... misinformed. If truth slapped them in the face they would still cower in denial.
After that - i knew how Arabs thought as a whole- how the society works- how they think. And being in a school with future Arab leaders- I now know how the Arab world may be in the future.
Coming back to the UK a year later- I watched 9/11 on cnn- a world away. I knew something had to be done... and i smiled when Afghanistan was attacked and the Taliban regime collapsed.

It all comes down to the fact that I've seen what America does outside of America. So when Bush says lets attack Iraq to get rid of a threat to the USA - and these countries i've been to... to free a people that I know will benifit- as I have seen. I believe him- because I've seen it.

[therealhebm]

i smoke a lot of crack.