Personal Essay: Political Identity

I have never identified myself as conservative or liberal. I just don't find identity in either of those ideologies. I'm glad that I hold views from both sides of the isle, it helps me to not judge one party or ideology harder than another and it helps me to understand were each are coming from. I am right in between my mother and grandmother in my home. My grandmother would probably be consider a Democrat in name only (DINO) because she a registered Democrat and believes in the what Democrats say she doesn't really support it. My mom is a registered independent but she defiantly leans to the right. I feel like the both of them have helped shape my views on politics. When it comes to friends, in my friend group there are three hard core conservatives, two moderate conservatives, and 2 liberals. With such a mixed group I’m glad I find myself in the center. I learned a lot from the political spectrum analysis that helps me understand what I identify

In my life I have never had any political enforcement or strict religious influence. My parents were very lenient when it came too political preaching. I was taught to be a caring and respectful individual. My political understanding and beliefs have been molded from my early political memories and socialization experiences. As a young adult I have always strived to become knowledgeable about political ideals mainly because I was never really taught to believe in something specific. I eventually was drawn towards many different social and political perspectives, which is how I came to a logical conclusion of how I view the world politically

Out of the five categories on the political spectrum line I place myself as a Republican. In my opinion being a Republican means to me that there should be a smaller government, the government should not be a big role in business and that we would prefer spending our tax money on infrastructure and the military . I believe that I am a Republican because I do not always want things in the government to change every day. I think that change is good but if something is working out good we should keep it and just build off of it, that is why I believe that I am a conservative. The three reasons/issues why I placed my self where I did was because I do not think that we should be spending a large amount of our tax money on social programs, I think that we need more security on our border and should be somewhat concentrating on legal and not illegal immigration, I do not think that we should punish success by taxing it , and lastly I believe that people should acknowledge that the police work hard and that I support the police and law but also think that they need to respect everyone's individual rights of people.

Just as parents influence their children to learn a second language, I was raised to learn the language of politics. I soon became intrigued about our democracy and learned about our political system on the media, in school, and from my parents. After learning both sides of politics and obviously being influenced by my parents, I choose to be associated with the political right’s beliefs. To this day, I have strong opinions on immigration policies, the second amendment, healthcare, foreign policy, and many other issues. On the other hand, there is one issue that makes

I was raised a conservative republican. Even in 5th grade I didn’t believe in gay marriage which is ironic now since I’m bi. In sixth grade I began to realize that the republican party cares very little for the poor, my views started to slowly coincide with the democratic party. In 7th grade I came to terms with liking girls. Over the years I’ve become less of the person I once was. I’ve changed from capitalist views to socialist communist views, ultimately i decided to register with the Green

     When this class initially began I was sure, without a doubt I was a conservative. As the semester progressed I discovered the reasons I was considered conservative. The town a person grows up in, financial status, social class, age, gender and the race of the individual have a strong influence on a individuals

I have grown up in a divided family. A democratic left leaning mother and a “claim-to-be” independent who is closer to conservative father. I have always taken after my mother but now I find myself leaning even more left than her forward-thinking ideologies. When I began to do research I first looked at the Washington Post. I read the Washington Post

This quiz placed me in the category of Conservative Republican- a blatant overstatement, in my opinion. While I do identify as a conservative, I would most likely have placed myself in the category of Republican-Leaning Independent or Moderate Republican. Both of these groups are conservative leaning, but not unwaveringly Republican. This is particularly evident in the fiercely conservative beliefs of solid Republicans on issues such as civil liberties. Although it is not shown on the continuum, I identify most closely with the views of the Libertarian Party, which is known for its positive stance on tax cuts, laissez-faire economic policies, and protections for civil liberties such as marriage equality. In addition, I hold a conservative view on how the Constitution should be interpreted, preferring the ideas of a limited federal government and strong state governments to the liberal preference of heavy interference from the federal government. This view is a defining characteristic of my political ideology, and as such, I am more likely to identify with and vote for parties and candidates of the conservative persuasion who tend to favor a smaller federal government. Still, I would not agree that I concur with the Republican Party to the extent that the Political Party Quiz determined, with the most notable disagreement being that of the federal government’s role in social

Growing up, I have always heard my parents discuss their political party preferences on many different issue. There are many differences between the two major political parties Democratic and Republican. Each one of those parties has their own beliefs and they can be similar, but some may be different in many different issues. With time, personal experience, and with reading on many different issues, I have realized that I am more of a liberal democrat and not a conservative republican. I looked at each parties beliefs on the issues of welfare, abortion, gun control, education and defense spending. .

I took in information from immigrant families that leaned democratic, as well republican teachers and adults in my life, I did not agree to everything on either side which has led to carefully study every position before choosing my own stance. This I think makes me a little different from people that have their own stance on a topic and then choose whatever solution works around their stance. I generally look down on using media as the sole motivator to form a political opinion although I am a fan of political satire shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Last Week tonight with John

To first understand my political views, one would have to understand what brought me to those views. Growing up, my family was what you would call politically

Growing up, my family had always been strictly Democratic with a conservative view here and there and it surely has influenced my political stance. Not only that but being a Democrat to me means being a humanitarian and genuinely having hope for the future of America and all its

My mother opened up doors to me to try and experience as many things possible however never made me conform to one direction. Now looking back this obviously directly contributes to my thoughts on political affiliation and participation in interest groups. According to Lenz and Holman, “There is broad agreement that a person’s identification with a political party is caused by upbringing, ethnicity, race, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. A person also identifies with a party because of ideology or positions on important issues. “(Lenz and Holman, 2013) As I alluded to my upbringing never forced me to identify with one political group over another. I was exposed to them through family, school, media, etc., but was allowed to think freely. Jumping to present day I now can identify with things that are Democrat or possibly something that is more Republican. I believe it is too divisive to just say I am one or another and it seems a lot more Americans are thinking this way. Previously reported by NPR, “Turned off by the partisan wars in Washington, 39 percent of voters now identify themselves as independent rather than affiliated with one of the two major

Growing up, I was never really exposed to any talk about politics or government. This means that I also was never exposed to any strong political beliefs or opinions. My entire family, including my grandparents, are definitely not the type of people known for getting into screaming matches over new presidents or anything related. At the end of the day, they just want what is best for our country and are willing to listen to almost anyone’s opinions. Not surprisingly, I ended up the same way. I guess you could use the phrase, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. It’s not that I’m completely

From the time I was a little girl I was always interested in politics. At the age of four I began attending school board meeting with my grandfather, by the time I turned 10 I frequented city hall meeting so often most of the Aldermen knew me by name. My love for politics carried over into my college carrier, but as I sat in American Government, national security, and political philosophy, nothing grasped my attention as much as the subject matter of state and local government. Growing up I understood the impact of state and local government, but some how still fell into the common notion that the federal government holds all the power. After the course my passion for politics on a state level grew, I participated in the Tennessee State Intercollege Legislature, and had the opportunity t to experience first hand how senate and house committees work. With state and local government I just scratch the surface of how municipals work, with this course I hope to further my understanding on how urban municipals operate as well as increase my political savvy and literacy. In addition to what I hope to lean in a more educational sense, I hope to in prove on my time management. This is not a physical class, but I will have to stay as focused and detected to this class just as much as I do the others.