Personal Narrative : My Political Identity

Through the duration of this course some of my opinions on civic issues have changed and some have stayed the same. An opinion of mine that has changed is the number of flaws in our education system. This is an important civic issue because the education of young people is deciding the future of this world. This is politically significant because this generation will grow up to be a part of politics whether running for a role in the federal, provincial, or municipal parliamentary or simply voting in an election.

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.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

Some people may be confused in what responsibility even means. Does it mean be nice, make good decisions, and do what you're told? I've been taught many responsibilities throughout my life and the most important one is to try my hardest to walk in the light of Jesus. To do this I try to learn from my mistakes, treat others the way I want to be treated. Whenever I get the opportunity I bring God into the subject to try to show every one what a loving and caring father he his no matter how many mistakes you've made. I want people to know that no matter what they do or say to me, I will never deny my beliefs for God I will always shine my light and try to impact as many lives as I can. We are one Nation under God and I believe that's our responsibility to keep it that way.

I took three political party quizzes in class today. The first one was absolute bollocks. It told me that I was a authoritarian, I can’t even pronounce that word! Do you know what an authoritarian is? An authoritarian is someone who favors or enforces strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. Not bloody likely. However, I was able to redeem myself with our second political party quiz. Now this quiz was...correct, and I can’t say I was surprised, I think it was more akin to shock. Yes. Shock. Now, going into this I figured I would come out as a liberal democrat I guess I just underestimated how liberal. As it turns out I am as far left as one can go on the scale, so if you see me in the future leading all the protests,

My presidential run for office would be based off being truthful. I would tell the United States how the government has been taking money from them and spending it irresponsibly. I want to fix the United States because they fail to use money effectually. There needs to be someone that steps in and fixes the problem. When the people of the U.S. votes me into office that will be my task.

After researching the beliefs of the two presidential parties in greater detail, I have come to the conclusion that I share more qualities and beliefs with that of a democrat versus a republican because of foreign aid, gun control, and immigration policies. I am convinced that these three issues have helped me further the process in choosing a side because I tend to have more of a liberalistic view, rather than a conservationist view. I’ve realized that I want change for the benefit of the greater good, rather than for the individual. I also believe that since our society is evolving, our country’s views must build new ideals in order to continue what the country values most, peace and freedom.

The other day, I tried to share an article, on a social justice issue, with my close friend [white, cisgendered female], but before I could start reading, she responded with “Ugh, don’t read that. I’m not in the mood for anything depressing,” all the while rolling her eyes.

Living as a white woman in the United States, people often find themselves labeling one another with identities in order to group people together. Yes, the color of my skin is white and although it would be easier to just say I am simply that, my identity goes past that. I am Greek, Armenian, and Irish and my physical features portray just that. Growing up my family had just enough money to live with luxuries and being an only child helped the money situation. However, I was not considered wealthy, but especially when applying to colleges came around last October, I finally realized what it meant to have money. I appreciated what my parents were able to do for me and I couldn't fathom what someone without money would do by not going to college. As previously mentioned, I identify as a woman, and the pronouns I go by are “she” and “her”. Having said that, I am a heterosexual and I am interested in men. However, I support anyone and everyone who would identify differently than me. As for religion, I must admit that I am not religious, and for someone attending a Franciscan school, that might sound strange, but it is true.

Through recent years I have come to a realization in life, with the gift of observation, the situations life has thrown at me has helped me understand what my role here in America is. As a fellow American, I have found purpose in providing help to others when they face the struggles of life I, too, have had to face. As life carries on, my responsibility to America is to use my experiences and gathered wisdom to help others, to teach them, lead them, and inspire them.

I came to the United Stated from Poland at the age of six. I grew up in a very liberal city and believed that I was a liberal as well. Everyone around me, my teachers and my peers, always denounced conservative beliefs. I never took the time to actually learn and research the facts for myself. In January 2016, when the election was 11 short months away, I realized that it was time to learn about the candidates in order to make an educated vote. With this, it was necessary to learn, for myself, about the political parties. This was when I realized that my views and beliefs did not align with the Democratic Party and that I am actually a conservative. Those around me did not take kindly to my newly discovered beliefs and I lost many friends,

Between my social circle, I'm renowned as an engaged activist. I'm a strong activist for gender, race, sexuality and climate issues. So, I raise my voice when these topics come into discussion. Thus, people have been quick to label me as a dogmatic social justice warrior and have fun by trying to irritate me. However, I'm not content with this labelling. What people do not know about me is that I would never force my beliefs on to someone else. Instead, I'm very diplomatic. I enjoy intellectual arguments and I'm open to changing my mindset. People grow by learning from each other. I am a sixteen year old; I'm at the start of my life and of course I'm not correct at every single thing. The fact that I'm vocal about my beliefs does not mean that

How many different “hats” do we each wear on a daily bases. From our careers, to our family and friends we all have different identities that we claim and live out day to day. These identities help us define who we are. “When we identify ourselves, we draw on a host of different characteristics associated with various social groups to which we belong” (King 2012, pg. 429). My ornament is explaining the social identity through a snow-women and her many hats.

Growing up in a very conservative household within an increasingly liberal society, I've had difficulty identifying my own political beliefs. I’ve been taught to pick a side: the left or right. That mindset has always left me torn and confused, but I have discovered that I don’t want to choose. I am a moderate. For me, politics is about my own values and my own ideologies, not whether my values are specifically conservative or liberal. I have a more liberal view on issues such as same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and abortion. And I have more conservative views on taxes, the free market system, and welfare. What I believe should not be swayed by trying to affiliate myself with a particular political party. I don’t fit perfectly into the