This has been on my head recently, as I've been truly annoyed by the response to a question in my government class.

Teacher (to a class which is 100% republican besides my girlfriend and I): "Why are you republican?"

Half the students: "Because my parents are."

This just annoys me to no end because these sheep don't have the ability to think for themselves and form their own opinions.

So this got me thinking:

Why do you hold the political beliefs that you do? Who or what influenced you the most?

Ooh, I see promise for this thread.

This reminds me of a silly Nickelodeon phone-a-thon back in 1992 when they held a kids' election a few weeks before the real election. Clinton won it, and they had the gall to suggest that this silly thing had an influence on the real election.

When I was around 14-16, the first things I paid attention to were freedom of speech issues. I developed an anti-censorship philosophy pretty quickly. This would also spawn off into other freedom of expression issues, such as gay rights. I'm still a big freedom guy to this day

Around 17-20, I paid more attention to ecomonic issues, and developed a low-tax, free-market philosophy pretty easily--it just has always made sense to me. During that time, I also discovered how both parties do not operate in such a fashion in numerous instances.

I never really considered foreign policy very seriously until after September 11th. I have always disliked war in general, but what happened after that really started to highlight for me how screwed up foreign policy has been in history.

My political/social beliefs are formed in part by my upbringing, my education (which could be dangerous because it's certainly safe to say that not all professors will tell you both sides of the story), the things I've seen, heard, smelled, experienced, and read. Also, I'd say that my religious and spiritual beliefs have played a role in shaping my social beliefs/ideas.

at first, it was because of my dad. all of my experience with politics up until that point was from his perspective. that was my basis for my own beliefs and still is. but i do have opinions now and have exposed myself to many other perspectives and have deviated from some of my original thoughts because of this. so now, i don't base my vote or my beliefs solely on what my dad would do. i'm a big girl now.

Nice break down.

Thanks.

I should also add that I don't really know who influenced me the most. My parents had to be high on the list, as we generally agreed on most things.

i should clarify something.

it doesn't annoy me that these people were influenced by their parents; just that when asked what their primary reason for being a republican was they responded like they did.

when asked why i was a republican, i used to joke "if i wasn't, my dad would disown me"

My father influenced me the most, and I'll tell you why. My father's story is one that would make any conservative proud. Born in 1934, he grew up in Lebanon. When it was time for college, he was accepted at Sorbonne and travelled to France to study engineering there. This was his first life's dream. During his first year, his father was killed while working in Iraq. Unable to continue school without his father's financial support, he decided that he would come to the US to start a new life as an American. He travelled by boat, and arrived in New York around 1955. He knew almost no English, but he persevered; read the papers, learned how to adapt, found work. Always in love with aviation, he went to pilot's school to become a commercial airline pilot. During this time, he met my American mother, and they fell in love. They were married in Lebanon, and spent a year or so over there so my mother could meet his family (and learn to cook Lebanese/Armenian food from his mother;)). After completing flight school, he took a job with the American government, with an outfit known as Air America, which was of course a front for the CIA. He, my mother, and my infant oldest brother travelled to Laos, where my dad flew missions that involved small planes dropping supplies, etc. to rebel groups that were supporting the US cause in Vietnam. After a few years there, they returned to the States, and my dad continued his pursuit of the American dream. My family bought a house on Long Island. My dad pursued his dream of being a commercial airline pilot, but unfortunately found out that because he was too short(5'3"), even though he was perfectly capable of controlling the aircraft, the airlines had height requirements for pilots that were meant to put passengers at ease. He was told that even though he was qualified, people just wouldn't feel safe seeing a short man flying the plane. He found another career in aviation, in airport management, that he was very successful at. He is now 70, and is retired.

Despite all of this, my dad has always been a Democrat. He has always believed in standing up for the oppressed, for the little guy, for the underdog. He has more of a right to claim conservatism than any trust fund kid, yet he does not. He despises it. He recognizes that the Republican party is the party of the rich, white male. He has always instilled in me that it is important to take care of oneself, yet to also care about your fellow man who needs a hand. I love my father, I love everything he stands for, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps.

nice posts

Maybe it was just easier to say that than to go into all sorts of details? I don't know since I obviously wasn't there. You could always grab one of them after class and try to get an answer as the classroom setting may make people feel they're being put on the spot and therefore just give the simplest, albeit lame, answers.

i would understand that if it were maybe 1 or 2 kids, but not the majority of the class.

Plus, nobody at my school will be criticized for being republican for any reason.

Since the age of 16, my dad has always been a blue collar worker. He's worked within a union of some form or another for almost his entire life, so he's a Democrat.

My mom was raised a hardcore Baptist, and was taught that Republicans are superior to Democrats. She's 42 years old now, and for the first time in her life, I think she's beginning to re-evaluate her stance on things. She told me recently that I've been influencing her ways of thought about Christianity and conservatism.

Kind of odd, I suppose. My parents had a great influence on me and now it looks like the opposite is beginning to happen. In any case, I'm quite liberal on almost every issue. I can't stand our current foreign policy, nor can I stand the fact that we're more fiscally irresponsible than we have ever been. I'm not an outright Christian in the traditional sense, especially after having attended a Baptist church throughout my childhood.

So yes, my parents have had a great influence on my political beliefs; however, that's not to say that my beliefs align with theirs.

I came to the conclusion I was a bleeding heart liberal right after high school. Before it was basically because my parents were Republicans.

lovely platitude. would it be possible to have it made into a tshirt by your favorite militant minority group?

i say such a silly thing to illustrate the idiocy of your comment. don't liberals tend to revile stereotypes, and revile those who throw them around as freely as you do?

your father sounds like a great guy. he's a testament to the inherent possibilities for all who are willing to work. big ups to him, yo.

I am detached from any type of "party affiliation" per se, but the reason for this is actually the opposite of that given by your classmates, it is because my parents were ardent supporters of a party.

The original comment is ridiculous. When is the last time the democrats stood for anyone but themselves? People need to wake up and realize the democrats of today are NOT the democrats of the 60s.

And the Republicans of today are a combination of the Republicans and the Democrats of the 1920's.

--PunkDavid

Oh, don't get me started on them either.

The only difference between side A and side B is...

well, when I figure it out I'll get back to you.

agreed.



yup.

the only politician i respect is ron paul from texas. hell, i adore the guy. anytime you see a spending bill pass 434-1, he's the 1. he's one of the few members of congress without a lobbying board - people know that lobbying him is a waste of time. he's probably the only true conservative in congress. he makes me smile.