How has your environment affected your political beliefs?

[TheFaceOfZach]

Growing up I was raised by a liberal single mother. My mom's life eventually took a toll on her and while abusing painkillers. She was then diagnosed by a doctor that she is bipolar. So since I was 15, I've been living with my grandparents. My grandparents are fairly hardcore Republicans. Not Tea Party types, but still pretty right-wing. And as I've started to live with them, my political beliefs started becoming more moderate. But I am still left-leaning. And if I had to vote, I would vote for Obama if the election was held tomorrow. With that said, I know some people who grow up with their parents' political beliefs to a tee. But then there are some that disagree with their parents and just have different beliefs.

How has your environment affected your political beliefs?

[caveBEAR]

I grew up in a void and now I'm an anarchist.

[Juan Jose]

My mom votes republican only because of their stance against gay marriage and abortion without even considering the other issues the parties stand for, so I've grown up with a contempt for the Religious Right and my dads pretty left-wing but I turned out more on the libertarian side

[Jake Gyllenhaal]

My parents are pretty much moderate republicans but never really outspoken. It wasn't until high school when I took history and sociology classes that I started leaning liberal. Once I attended college , being taught by liberal professors in one of the bluest states in the nation only furthered my ideology.

[troubledbyinsects]

I pretty much disagree with everything my parents believe, politics or otherwise.

[loveisdead]

My whole family is very republican. None of them can address their beliefs intelligently. As soon as college started I began drifting farther and farther left.

[salt1384]

I pretty much disagree with everything my parents believe, politics or otherwise.

This.

[eatbabiesyum]

my mom's side of the family are strict republican baptists, and my father's are all democrats. im a more liberal thinker, but i hate both parties.

[crackedthesky]

My mom is hardcore liberal and my dad is hardcore Republican. That said, he's the older type of Republican; he isn't against gay rights, he isn't against abortion or stem cell research, he doesn't believe in global warming (but is pro global warming legislation simply because a cleaner environment is just a good idea.)

So, basically, he hasn't voted Republican since the 1990s. But it's interesting to get caught up in their arguments. Usually my dad has no idea what he's talking about (the other day he claimed that we had no national debt whatsoever under Reagan, lol) but he tends to think for himself, so sometimes he brings an interesting aspect to conversation that doesn't necessarily follow a party line.

Edit:

And as that pertains to me, I think I tend to be moderate because of it. I still tend to lean left, but I'm a far stray from the rabid liberal Keith Olbermann type, for sure. But I think a lot of understanding of the world actually came from school. My grandma would say my college brainwashed me, but that's not the case. It was in high school, hearing the opinions of the kids around me made me incredibly worried about our future as a species, basically. Then in college, when I took classes on philosophy and history, I started to really grasp that America isn't the only country in the world, which I think is basically the first step away from conservatism. As far as politics in college went, my poli sci teacher was very conservative. She was also wrong all the time, lol.

[Scrandon]

I live in America so I hate both parties.

[perceptrons]

Parent's are rather liberal, and on most issues I agree with them. I break a little bit with them on the bailouts and religious stuff though.

[Debut_Fin]

I think both of my parents are registered Democrats but honestly we never talk about politics as a family and I've developed all of my own beliefs and opinions just from reading. I am very left-leaning though.

[germypill]

My dad is a preacher and conservative, my mom is also conservative. i never mentioned politics with them, it only upsets them hahahaha

[JuneJuly]

I grew up in a fairly liberal family. Both parents vote Dem but they didn't really talk to me about politics very much. I talk to my Grandparents a lot more about politics, and they also vote Dem. I really don't know how much my parents affected my political views because I really don't remember them talking about it very much.

[deFobbed14yrs]

My dad is the only one who could vote when i was growing up and he's republican because we get tax benefits.
I'm voting Obama in the next election.

[J.C.]

My parents didn't really talk about politics with me growing up. Went to church for a chunk of my early years, before I got to the point where I would try to think critically about the world(relatively speaking). I would say it was my ideas about science/religion that shaped my political philosophy. I think too frequently it happens the other way around with people, where they are introduced to the left-right/liberal-conservative/democrat-republican paradigm of our politics before they've gotten the chance to think about the world in broader context. That's like trying to teach someone the quadratic formula before they know how to add.

Full disclosure: my mom is socially liberal and catholic(though she likes to believe she's more conservative). We've had discussions/disagreements about religion since I've grown up. My dad's liberal and an atheist, although the latter is a more recent development that he came to a little later in his life. Our beliefs aren't the exact same, but there's usually not enough there to quarrel over.

[Nuns On A Bus]

I come from a mostly conservative, highly religious family. During high school I began to think for myself a bit more and realized that I didn't believe in religion which my parents kept trying to force onto me anyway, which pushed me further away from religion than before. Since then I've gotten a bit more liberal (pro-choice, don't care about gay marriage) on social issues, but on fiscal issues I still tend to be conservative.

[domotime2]

parents are republicans. we talk politics often. they're easy to talk to as they don't take the fox news ideology seriously ever. they hate bill maher... and they hate NBC news.

i'm a liberal, but try to see both sides. I wish moreeeee peeeopleeee in the country did that.

[DeviateRogue]

Dads far right, and my mom's left leaning. I consider myself moderate, I'd probably be full on liberal but I disagree with debt expenditure.

...AND my dad thinks liberals are pure evil, while the right commit no foul. FYI, he only takes Faux News seriously.

[Ollie McKraut]

My family is catholic and conservative, and I grew up in an affluent suburb. I was introduced to social conservatism at Sunday school. I think advocating a religious outlook is admirable but not a state matter. I try and think for myself, but the ideology I was raised on just makes more sense to me. Since I started earning a paycheck in high school and college i've only gotten more radically anti-government. At one point I'd have called myself an anarchist, and I'm still philosophically opposed to humans governing other humans, but I'm starting to realize it's just how it has to be, which makes me sad.

[Machu505]

My parents are fairly liberal, for one. West Virginia has certainly morphed my opinions. Her I see extreme conservativeness and the hegemony coal companies have over our government. It's a crying shame, but I doubt I'd feel the way I do if I had lived anywhere else.

[jawstheme]

My family is poor, watches a lot of TV, and are republican. I'm poor and I read a lot, so I like socialism.

[lovely864md]

My parents are both from small towns and fought tooth and nail to get where they are now, so they're pretty staunch Democrats. But I did grow up in a pretty Republican town (we used to have mock elections in school during the presidential election and the Republican candidate always won). And we go to a Lutheran church which pretty much manages to not say anything about anything. I'm pretty liberal about most things and I do think most of that is grounded in my parents.

[J.C.]

At one point I'd have called myself an anarchist, and I'm still philosophically opposed to humans governing other humans, but I'm starting to realize it's just how it has to be, which makes me sad.

The world was a better place when you could just rape someone on a whim.

[sjb2k1]

grew up not giving a shit about anything political, realized i was gay, became interested in politics. my dad's a republican, my mom is...whatever dad tells her i think. it just made sense aligning myself with a party that didn't freaking demonize my kind, among other things.

it's not quite that simple but i don't feel like typing it.

[Ollie McKraut]

The world was a better place when you could just rape someone on a whim.

Reread the very sentence you quoted.

Think hard about it, and pay special attention to the subordinate clause towards the end, beginning with "but."

Try and decipher it's meaning, that is, the ultimate significance. For instance, why would I say, "it's just how it has to be?" Possibly because I'm accounting for the fact that there must be a structure in place to handle humanity's evil?

Scores of anarchist academic philosophers on the left and the right have developed theories in which a state-less society is (theoretically) possible. Here are a few:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Anarchism_theorists

All of them were forced to address issues like the one you sarcastically raised, and faced opponents who posed them with slightly more eloquence than you did.

All of them had good reasons for working hard and writing volumes in defense of their theories and philosophies, intellectual truths about liberty, justice, and coercion. I have a feeling neither them nor I developed their beliefs based on the thought, "damn, that girl is fine, I wish I lived in a world where I could punch her lights out and fuck the shit out of her unconscious body without repercussion."

Human nature being what it is, and society having its ills, all the theory and philosophy in the world probably couldn't conceive an anarchist system that would function in practice. That was my point. Sorry if you didn't grasp it fully, or in any case, were just disrespectful enough to belittle me without provocation. There are nicer, more gracious ways to disagree with someone, despite the contentious nature of argument. Please keep in mind that patience is a virtue.

[J.C.]

Reread the very sentence you quoted.

Think hard about it, and pay special attention to the subordinate clause towards the end, beginning with "but."

Try and decipher it's meaning, that is, the ultimate significance. For instance, why would I say, "it's just how it has to be?" Possibly because I'm accounting for the fact that there must be a structure in place to handle humanity's evil?

"...which makes me sad" came off as regret that we have structure more than regret that structure is necessary(which is something I thought most had already come to grips with).

[theguy77]

grew up "right-wing", which basically means i accepted whatever two cents my military parents gave me with the belief that their boxy thinking was aphoric. then i became a business major in school and learned that i hate everything about it. being taught information from a source that's actually biased toward things like deregulation and the importance of maximizing profits, it seemed every time i consulted my own perspective i would naturally find something vital that i could not accept or value in almost every business concept, and from my freshman year onward i found myself slowly rejecting little by little most of the conservative thinking i was brought up on.

[peder458]

My family is poor, watches a lot of TV, and are republican. I'm poor and I read a lot, so I like socialism.

love this.

[Jake Gyllenhaal]

My family is catholic and conservative, and I grew up in an affluent suburb. I was introduced to social conservatism at Sunday school. I think advocating a religious outlook is admirable but not a state matter. I try and think for myself, but the ideology I was raised on just makes more sense to me. Since I started earning a paycheck in high school and college i've only gotten more radically anti-government. At one point I'd have called myself an anarchist, and I'm still philosophically opposed to humans governing other humans, but I'm starting to realize it's just how it has to be, which makes me sad.

When you say that once you started earning a paycheck that you became anti-government, is it because you saw a percentage of your wages being taxed? Perhaps we grew up with different mindsets, but ever since I've had a paying job 11 years ago, I've accepted the fact that my wages were being taxed. I expected it. I knew that my taxes were paying for policemen, trees, sunshine, and the people that just don't feel like working (God bless 'em). Without taxable income, this nation and all of its communities' infrastructure would be in dire straits.

If you've ever taken an anthropology course, you would know that in any given society, anarchy (which you at one point supported) does not work. Human beings are not self-sustaining. They first develop a belief system (higher power, religious beliefs, reason to bury the dead, etc.). They then choose a leader to govern over themselves. The U.S. is just an evolved form of that.

[zion the lion]

The people I've grown up around are (mostly) very very far right republicans who support the tea party now, and they're all pretty vocal about it. My biological family consisted/consists of all democrats except for my mom, one time I asked her what a democrat was and she said it was a trouble maker. There was one time where my mom's friend (who I call my aunt) got into a heated argument with my great aunt (who was in her 80s about which party was the evil one. I spent thanksgiving with my mom's friend, who's husband in his thanksgiving dinner prayer quoted Glenn Beck, said that Robin Hood (Ridley Scott's version) was a glimpse into the future with Obama, and that soon, we'd all have to find a new country to freely worship god in.

I knew what I stood for at a young age, before I knew which party had the same values. It seems like I should have followed suit and believed what the people who were raising me were believing (and talking about constantly in front of me) especially since there wasnt anyone around disagreeing with them. It almost sounds like a form of rebellion but I didnt feel like I needed to impress them or make them happy with what I believed, my thoughts were my own and I felt how I felt. So I dont think my environment (what they believed) affected what I believe when it comes to politics, at all, although, the fact that they were impressed/happy with just about everything I did and said made me feel like I didnt need to impress them politically.

[aolsux]

My parents raised me Christian but liberal leaning. Since then, I have denounced religion and have become boardline left-wing socialist. The only truths I hold onto are that the country will someday allow everyone to marry who they want and women can abort children whenever they want.

[new_arbiter]

I grew up in a pretty conservative, Christian family, and I turned out to be a pretty liberal, non-religious adult. I wouldn't say my home environment affected my beliefs that much, though, as my parents never really pushed me or my sister in any particular direction. A few select teachers probably had more influence on my views than anything else.

[jawstheme]

The people I've grown up around are (mostly) very very far right republicans who support the tea party now, and they're all pretty vocal about it. My biological family consisted/consists of all democrats except for my mom, one time I asked her what a democrat was and she said it was a trouble maker. There was one time where my mom's friend (who I call my aunt) got into a heated argument with my great aunt (who was in her 80s about which party was the evil one. I spent thanksgiving with my mom's friend, who's husband in his thanksgiving dinner prayer quoted Glenn Beck, said that Robin Hood (Ridley Scott's version) was a glimpse into the future with Obama, and that soon, we'd all have to find a new country to freely worship god in.

I knew what I stood for at a young age, before I knew which party had the same values. It seems like I should have followed suit and believed what the people who were raising me were believing (and talking about constantly in front of me) especially since there wasnt anyone around disagreeing with them. It almost sounds like a form of rebellion but I didnt feel like I needed to impress them or make them happy with what I believed, my thoughts were my own and I felt how I felt. So I dont think my environment (what they believed) affected what I believe when it comes to politics, at all, although, the fact that they were impressed/happy with just about everything I did and said made me feel like I didnt need to impress them politically.

Can you elaborate on that?

[zion the lion]

Can you elaborate on that?

I'm not exactly sure, I assume he meant that Obama was going to spiral out of control and tax the shit out of everyone to the point where they'd be gathering women and babies into one building and setting it on fire.

They think that one day really soon (like within a few years) the army is going to come into the church, fully armed, and demand all of the bibles so that they can burn them. They think their freedom to worship God is being taken away, which is funny because they really dont want any mosques in America. They're really good people though, they're absolutely filled with love and they're fun to be around, it's just that they might be a little bit misguided.

[open mind]

my parents are either moderate or non-political. i live in a very republican state but i spent a couple years in california, a year in russia, a year or so in pennsylvania, and moved around quite a bit as a kid......i'm not sure what role my environment has had in shaping my political beliefs, but i've got strong leftist inclinations.

[Love As Arson]

My political orientation is directly tied to the fact that I grew up in poverty and am working-class, which allows me to see through ideological justifications for capitalism.

[boxingwithstars]

Both my parents are liberal, and both of them grew up in left-leaning working class families themselves. I tend to be even more left-leaning than them, but they respect my ideology and I respect theirs.

Religion wise, I come from an interfaith family. My mom is Episcopalian and my dad is a "cultural Jew" who actually identifies as an Atheist. They raised us with both religions, just so we knew we had a choice in what we believed in. When I told them I didn't believe any of it, they were alright with that. I would say my family, the way my parents raised me, and our socio-economic status have had a lot to do with shaping my beliefs.

[Neo Cassady]

I grew up in a very Republican family (Dad worships Fox News, Mom is more moderate at heart but goes along with what Dad says), and followed that until I figured out how to think for myself when I was in high school. I was straight-line Democrat during my "rebellion" years, and now I don't really align to either party. 95% of what I believe is very far left, though.

RE: religion, I was raised, baptised, and confirmed Catholic, but have recently realised that I disagree with a number of its teachings. As with politics, I have my own beliefs that don't prescribe to any of the major religions.

[deanster321]

I think most of my family are pretty moderate one way or another, leaning either way, and we aren't rich by any means but we aren't dirt poor either. Most of my friends are either conservatives to some degree or way further left than me.

I was baptised into the Church of England and went to Catholic schools, and when I was maybe 8 or 9 I was also baptised in a Catholic church so I could be confirmed, pretty much because my family thought I might feel excluded if I couldn't be. The people in my family who are religious aren't really that hardline about it though, and these days I am ostensibly an atheist.

I'm not really sure how much my environment has shaped my outlook and views, but there it all is in a nutshell. In some ways I take after it and in others I don't. Now I think about it I guess maybe religion's had more of an influence on me, in terms of learning about values and morals. I try my best to be a good person, I just don't tie it in with any paranormal beliefs.

[rawesome]

My dad's family is unbelievably conservative, like almost laughably so. He is pretty conservative but tends to lean more Libertarian/liberal on almost all social issues. (He hates Beck but loves Limbaugh, if that means anything.) My mom's grandparents (who raised her) were perfect examples of blue collar liberals. (I remember my great grandma, who lived through the Depression, crying when she would talk about Roosevelt.) I was always more liberal, and drifted pretty far left my first few years of college. I'd consider myself a Leftist, no doubt, although on the American political spectrum I guess I would be "moderate" simply because I don't really identify with either party too closely and I'm registered Independent.

If we're defining ourselves by party I'd be Green, that is to say.

EDIT: Oh, we do religion, too? My dad's family is also extremely Catholic (which I find odd considering how conservative they are) and my mom's family, while God-fearing, weren't really religious. I've been an atheist since I was 14 though, and it's never been a thought to me not to, really. That being said, after spending four years at a Catholic college, I've learned to have a lot of respect for the faith even if I don't identify with it.

[rawesome]

My parents are both from small towns and fought tooth and nail to get where they are now, so they're pretty staunch Democrats. But I did grow up in a pretty Republican town (we used to have mock elections in school during the presidential election and the Republican candidate always won). And we go to a Lutheran church which pretty much manages to not say anything about anything. I'm pretty liberal about most things and I do think most of that is grounded in my parents.
Fun fact: When I was in the sixth grade we did one of those mock elections (this was in 2000) and I voted for Ralph Nader.

[AdamJL]

I live in one of the most liberal states and plus my parents are both very liberal. Both of those things definitely pushed me to the left. My mom is extremely interested in politics so that along with my general nerdiness got me looking into politics. I just realized that I agree with the left almost completely.