To understand American society fully, one must understand America’s political makeup. In order to do that, it is necessary to understand a person’s political opinions and how they came about. This is done by examining how political ideology and political socialization influence society and individuals within that society. Political ideology is the set of beliefs that shape the way someone views government action; it is the way that they think the government should act and react to certain situations. In the United States, the two main political ideologies are liberal and conservative. How American’s teach the tenets and goals of the political system is known as political socialization. This is typically done through parents, peers, school, …show more content…
or the internet. Taking a person’s political ideology and their political socialization history into account helps explain how they come up with their political opinions. Political ideology is one of the ways someone’s political opinion is shaped. According to the World’s Smallest Political Quiz, I am a centrist, but I straddle the line between centrist and liberal. In a broad sense, this means that I believe the government should be an agent of the people, that it should provide for society, and that its main purpose is to improve life for all Americans equally, but I also believe that government intervention has a time and a place; sometimes individual freedom is essential and other times the government needs to step in. This is a fairly accurate picture of my own political ideology. I disagree with extreme views on any subject, mainly because I can see both sides, and I believe that the government has an obligation to protect all Americans. Change and growth is a necessary component of that protection because society constantly evolves. If I believed that change and growth could not help, and that any change in the government was bad, then I would have a more conservative political ideology. My political ideology is mostly influenced by my political socialization. My political socialization did not start until a few years after I joined the military.
Before that, I never paid attention to politics or the news; I was very self-centered and did not care about anything that did not directly affect my life. My mother also kept me very sheltered so I did not know what was happening out in the world. She did not want me to worry about things I could not control; her philosophy was that kids could not handle anything more complicated than the Disney channel. In fact, until I was eighteen, I was not allowed to watch anything other than the Disney channel and I could not read any books that were not rated for youth because she did not want me to have an opinion on political issues, especially if they were going to be different than hers. Looking back has shown me that my mother was very conservative in her political views which is completely different than my own centrist/liberal ideology; she did not want government involvement and hated any kind of governmental change while I believe that the government can change society for the better. For example, she firmly believed that the government had no right to interfere, or even discuss, same-sex marriage. Due to her own views, I did not develop any sort of political opinion until I was much …show more content…
older. Since I was not exposed to political opinions growing up, my first political socialization did not occur until the military conducted training on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
During that training, I learned that the government was debating the legality of same-sex marriage; at the time, I did not realize it was a political issue, but in retrospect, the political nature of the same-sex marriage debate has become very clear. Besides just starting my exploration in the world of political opinions, the military also helped shaped my political ideology by showing me how important it is to have an effective government. So much of the military is controlled by the president and congress that it became very clear that I had to understand how, and why, the government made its decisions. Part of that understanding was recognizing the political opinions of the people in charge who controlled my paycheck, my job security, and where I was sent in the
world. Once I started to pay attention to the world around me, I became very interested in politics because I realized I have a very clear sense of my own political ideology. In other words, I have strong beliefs on what I believe the government should do and how our country should be run. Part of the reason I have such strong beliefs is because of my friends. Many of them are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, so because of that, I have become a staunch supporter of equality for everyone. More than once, I have heard one of my LGBT friends make a remark about how difficult life is for them because they were not granted the same rights as everyone else. More than anything, I believe that everyone deserves the same treatment and protection under the government because of the way my friends were treated; no one deserves to be discriminated against so I could not support a candidate that preached anything other than absolute equality. Politically, this means I support candidates that run on a platform that promises equality for all members of society. A lot of my other friends are either poor or in tough financial situations so I also tend to care about issues regarding welfare policies, like Medicaid. This is because social welfare programs can be very confusing and hard to qualify for, which is in part because of the way the government runs social welfare programs. To bring all of this together, my political ideology is shaped by my political socialization agents: my mother, my work, and the experiences of my friends. On the other hand, my school experiences did not have a hand in shaping my political opinions. The most I learned about politics in my formative years was just a basic understanding of the way the American government works and a brief overview of the election process. My teachers never focused on anything other than the bare facts; opinions did not come into play at all. Because of this, I do not believe our system does a good job of teaching the expectations of political citizenship. The system seems to expect Americans to have enough self-motivation to learn an adequate amount of information to form political opinions, but I do not see that happening for the majority of people. People tend to have specific issues they feel passionate about, like same-sex marriage or abortion rights, but besides those specific interests, Americans mostly seem apathetic to other political concerns. I believe that the system should explain to Americans how important it is for them to take an interest in the American political system. Perhaps if the system stressed the importance of involvement, more American’s would take an interest in America’s political system, which would enhance political citizenship.
Chapter One of the Book We the People talks about the American Political Culture, there are multiple main points in the chapter. However this chapter mainly talks about how people can influence their government by having the knowledge needed to understand which candidates can represent their values the best. Also by having the necessary knowledge a person can understand how the election process works and how they can be involved in this process. The other main point of the reading is about the shared believes, values and attitudes that the American people have towards their government.
Characterized by constitutionally-limited government, an emphasis on (and a wide-spread popular ideological enshrinement of) individual civil rights and liberties, and economic policy exhibiting strong laissez-faire overtones, the American political system certainly warrants the designation liberal democracy. This designation distinguishes the United States from similar advanced industrial democracies whose political systems lend themselves to preserving the public welfare rather than individual rights. With their government bound to precepts established in a constitution drafted and revised by a group of tyranny-fearing individuals, the American populace enjoys one of the most liberal, unrestrictive governments
The government of the United States of America is very unique. While many Americans complain about high taxes and Big Brother keeping too close an eye, the truth is that American government, compared to most foreign democracies, is very limited in power and scope. One area American government differs greatly from others is its scope of public policy. Americans desire limited public policy, a result of several components of American ideology, the most important being our desire for individuality and equal opportunity for all citizens. There are many possible explanations for the reason Americans think this way, including the personality of the immigrants who fled here, our physical isolation from other countries, and the diversity of the American population.
American states each have individual political cultures which are important to our understanding of their political environments, behavior, and responses to particular issues. While voters probably do not consciously think about political culture and conform to that culture on election day, they seem to form cohesive clusters in different areas of the state, creating similar group political ideologies. Because of these similarities, it is possible to measure the dominant political culture within states or areas of a state, gaining insight into the mind-set of state residents. Whatever the state culture, whether liberal or conservative, participatory or exclusive, political culture identifies dominant, state-wide trends. The question remains whether there is an accurate way to measure this political culture phenomenon in the United States.
Political commentators often label American students not as liberals or conservatives, but simply as apathetic citizens unconcerned with political issues. The number of students venturing to the polls continues to be depressing to any advocate of a democratic form of government. Outside of political science classrooms, few students seem to be knowledgeable of simple political events and personalities.
American Politics in Transition For the United States, as for most states in the world, the 1980’s and 1990’s were a time of change and challenge. During this period the effects of change both within the US and internationally acted as push factors in many areas of life, including economics and politics. This sudden change was primarily due to global shocks and recessions, increased foreign economic competition, the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union, the development of revolutionary new technologies, the achievement of post-industrial society within the US, slower rates of domestic economic growth, and the demographic changes within American society. By the Mid 1980’s important developments had occurred within interest groups, political parties. By 1990’s national debates were being held in regard to America’s future in the post-Cold War world, America’s economic competitiveness, culture, morality and the states relationship with society. Five major things must be taken under account when discussing American politics in transition. 1) the basic nature of the American political system, 2) the sources of political change since the late 1960’s, 3) the conservative renewal and the new conservative agenda, 4) the Reagan-Bush legacy in politics and public policy 5) the new political and economic constraints in the era of divided government, and 6) the public policy environment of the 1990s. At the core of American political culture I support for the values of liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. The nature of this society with also has glorification of the individual, and the rejection of conservative theories of organic society, hierarchy, and natural aristocracy. Being an American means accepting this liberal Democratic creed (laissez faire), while those who reject it are considered to be un-American. America’s political evolution has also been shaped by the continental scale of the American State. The influx of immigration has caused there to be an extraordinary mixture of ethnic, racial, and religious groups spread across a continent-wide expanse that contributed historically to strong religious, racial and regional cleavages. Even its econony was spread throughout the American state. The largest sector of the economy were commercial agriculture, mercantile capitalism, mining, and heavy (capital goods) industry, but these, however, were also diversified into product specific areas. Collectively, the cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic factors had a profound effect on America’s political development because they reinforced the trend towards decentralization and localism that had already been established in the political and legal domains by the American constitution.
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
The conservative movement has played a crucial role in American politics in the post war era. Ronald Story and Bruce Laurie indentify various elements of the American conservatism. These elements include challenging authoritarian governments and modernist culture, upholding tradition, Christian religion and the rule of law, defending western civilization, and supporting republicanism. American conservatism has been characterized by competing ideologies and tension throughout history. The Americans who are politically liberal and economically conservative favor free trade, minimal state intervention, low taxes, and a small government. On the other hand, conservatives hold the view that American traditional values are normally undermined by secularism. Social conservatives have always opposed same-sex marriages and abortion, and instead have been supporting the idea of integrating prayer into the school curriculum (Story and Laurie 1).
When I was a kid my parents always took me to Nathdwara to take the blessings of Lord Krishna every now and then because my parents are so religious. So by going there several times I am also attached to that place. Actually Nathdwara is situated in Rajasthan state and I live in the state called Gujarat and in the city called as Ahmedabad. It takes six hours drive from my city to Nathdwara and this is the only nearest place where I could get mental peace. This is very important place for me and my family because it is a tradition of our family that whoever goes there gives free food to the hungry and poor people. We do so because we think that if we do good work in our life we will be allowed by god to go to the heaven. [The two states on the left are Gujarat and Rajasthan. One in light blue color is Gujarat with the arrows and on the top of it with cream color is Rajasthan. I live in the middle of the state and Nathdwara is at the border of the Rajasthan]
This foray into what the true American ideology is requires the use of a “veil of ignorance.” Within the hypothetical veil, people are unable to know any distinguishing characteristics about themselves or others. Any society created from behind the veil should be free of inherent discriminations or advantages. I take issue with the use of this veil of ignorance. So much of the political theory and philosophy of early Americans is based on the so-called “original position” proposed by Enlightenment thinkers. There is no such thing as an original position, there never has been, and there most likely never will be. There is no use in making the backbone of a theory rest on an imaginary concept. John C. Calhoun expressed this very same sen...
The world today is constantly adapting, whether it is social, political or cultural. Different countries have throughout history experienced different governing styles and structures. These differences have shaped these states into the way they exist today, shown in laws, standards and behavior of the people. A political ideology is defined as ‘a set of personal beliefs outlining what one has determined to be the optimal mode of social organization’ (Roark, 2013). It can simply be described as the set of beliefs that affects our outlook on the world. Examples of political ideologies include capitalism, communism, socialism and anarchism (Chandran, 2010). Having the state run by its publics and having an autonomously run state are two separate and commonly used governing methods. Capitalism and communism both have an emphasis on the power of the people however is at complete opposite ends of the spectrum of political ideologies (Chandran, 2010). These two are the most poignant political ideologies used throughout the world and facets of them may be taken to create an ideal ideology that the whole world should aspire to.
Growing up in a multi-cultural family can broaden not only your life experiences, but also influence how you view the world. Culture is something that can either be accepted, or something to be apprehensive of. Ethnography helps society learn about culture by fully immersing yourself in the culture. By observing, learning and participating in various cultures it can eliminate a lot of apprehension as well as broaden your ability to accept others. Throughout this essay, I will answer a few questions associated with ethnography and how studying a culture can help our own society progress as well. It is important to know what ethnography is, as well as methods that can be useful (or even detrimental) to your experience. These are questions that
The process of political socialization is not merely a quick development of ideologies but an extended network of agents influencing us at every stage of our lives to implore us of good and proper behaviors and thought patterns to abide by. As stated in Texas politics, there is a difference in general socialization and political socialization but both are significantly influential in our critical development patterns (3.1).
The book A Man of the People is a postcolonial view on politics that is written by the author Chinua Achebe. There is a set stage of corruption, embezzlement, adulatory and bribes which all tie to the political arena that is described in the book. The political office won is has been merely a tool for the politician to secure wealth and control over a society being robbed for the self interest one mans greed. There are modern aspects of political campaigning. This postcolonial palace as some of the modern technologies we have today and some that we do not use. There is some major political difference from what was analyzed in the other book written by Chinua Achebe called Things Fall Apart. There are also some traditional similarities between the two books like polygamy and ideology of honor.
I feel that, for the most part, mine along with others in my age group’s concerns are not addressed by the political process. To answer this, I took a look at political socialization and how I was socialized politically. Some of my concerns include: minimum wage, social security, pollution and global warming, school loans, and legal ages. There are many reasons why, that I understand, that my generation’s opinions of these issues are not addressed, which I will talk about throughout this paper. Overall, the political process does not address our concerns and voices.