Out of Curiousity -- The Sequel

Pamela - posted on 08/10/2010

I grew up in a household where politics were a frequent discussion at the dinner table. Mind you, it was generally how correct the Republicans were and how wrong the Democrats were. My father and step-mother were staunch Republicans - it didn't matter who ran for office, if they were Republican, my family voted for them. My great-grandmother (whom was a major part of my life until she died at 100 when I was 26), always expressed belief that somehow the Democrats were a suspicious bunch (as were the Catholics - no offense to the Catholics on this site). My family was very upset when Nixon was forced to resign (never mind that what he did was highly illegal) and they were pretty certain that the end of America had occurred when Carter was elected. Of course, it wasn't.

So I was fairly Republican for most of my early to mid 20's. I voted Republican - Reagan both times, George Bush the 1st, George Bush the 2nd in 2000. If I could go back, knowing what I know now, I'd probably vote Democratic.

Interestingly, it has been my deepening faith in Christ that has made me increasingly dissatisfied with the whole Republican agenda. It's a totally biblical concept to help the poor - in fact, as Christians we are to speak truth to the powers that create the oppression and poverty that is systemic. I've always felt strongly that no one group should be singled out and discriminated against. While I'm a registered Democrat, I'm probably more of an independent - I'm like my grandma, who was the only Democrat/ Independent in our family (I discovered this when I was around 28. The funny thing about that, she was actually brought up going to a Catholic school. My great-grandmother thought she was the anti-christ), I try to vote for who I think is the best candidate rather than by straight party.

Jen - posted on 08/09/2010

I dont' remember a lot of political discussion growing up. My father is a distinct contrarian so no matter what position you take, he'll argue it just to get a rise out of you. My mother I only realized at a late age is happily liberal and will gladly tell you so. the only thing I really remember growing up is when Reagan was re-elected. My mother sat on the couch, drinking a brandy, staring at the TV in shock saying, "I can't believe they re-elected that jerk again."

I developed my own sense of political leanings after the internet really took off and I was exposed to many more things. I guess my mother, church and Rainbow (masonic order for girls) must have had more influence than my father because I never thought helping the poor was bad, that gays shouldn't have equal rights and community service was a worthy aspiration.

Diane - posted on 08/07/2010

“I wish there was a 'shocking' button ;-P”

Well Carole I did have a lapse of judgement…he was a failure of a president wasn’t he? LOL

But at the time I was young and he just seemed like a nice southern gentleman.

Isobel - posted on 08/06/2010

believe it or not...I'm what you guys would call an independent...I never know who I'm going to vote for till the moment arrives.

Kelly - posted on 08/06/2010

Ha Ha Laura!!!! :-) The LAST thing we need on here is another lefty.......... And then I would be right back fighting with her wouldn't I? :-p I would like to add that I am a registered independent. While I tend to obviously be more conservative, I don't like being affiliated with a particular party.

Jenny - posted on 08/06/2010

My Mom is ambivalent to politics. I have no idea where she lies on the political spectrum, and she does not vote. My Dad passed away when I was 6 so I'm not sure where my affinity for politics and world events came from.



I am now independent but would like to see Direct Democracy implemented. I do not believe political parties are relevant. We should vote on issues, not people or policies.

Isobel - posted on 08/06/2010

You should get your sister on here ;P

Kelly - posted on 08/06/2010

I was raised in a very conservative household, although my Dad did admit to wasting a vote once on McGovern. He couldn't bear to vote for Nixon. He is very old school though, and VERY conservative. Growing up we always had the news on, I have to say that while he favors FOX, he does watch MSNBC, CBS, etc on occasion because he likes to yell at the tv. :-)



My mom isn't quite as vocal, but she too is very conservative. I remember being shocked in High School when I had the hypothetical talk about pregnancy with them. My Dad is not a religious person at all, but he told me he was very pro-life. That shocked me because I always had assumed he would rather I get an abortion. (Never had to worry about that though, so it was all good) My Mom is also pro-life, but I think she tends to be a little more socially liberal on some subjects, where my Dad is definitely hard core right-wing.



The funny thing (to me at least) is how my siblings and I have turned out. My little sister is a raging left wing loon who would rather throw herself under a bus than EVER admit a conservative person could be right. Me, who I think you all know....... I see myself as a conservative, that can be somewhat socially liberal at times. My little brother is a mix of me and my sister. He threw his vote away on Ron Paul rather than vote for either Obama or McCain. He tends to be the voice of reason in our family political discussions.



I really enjoy this group, because I can get all my arguing out here. I have learned that it is best to not discuss politics with my sister anymore. My family is VERY competitive and aggressive, and the last election got very ugly at times.

*Edited to add* I have a very close relationship with my brother and my sister, which is why I have given up discussing anything political with her. My bro and I have deep discussions often about the world, and I learn things from him every day.

Isobel - posted on 08/06/2010

I never really cared about politics when I was growing up with my mom, I just assumed she agreed with me...then I heard her husband go off on a conservative rant, and when I disagreed, she stuck up for him...that's when I realized that I really could never tell what another human being was thinking.

I have to leave the room now, when my step dad starts talking politics, cause I refuse to have these kinds of arguments in the few precious moments I have with them.

I also realized at that moment, that regardless of a person's politics, I could still love and care about them ♥

Krista - posted on 08/06/2010

Our household wasn't political at all. I know my mom and stepdad supported Mulroney at one point. Socially, there wasn't much discussion of issues either. They're really pretty much middle-of-the-road and tend to just vote for whomever offends them the least. Socially, they're also pretty laissez-faire, although Mom is VERY pro-life (not in a picketing clinics sense, but she does not even believe that an exception should be made for rape cases, although she does agree with an exception for the life of the mother).



Dad is a retired civil servant, and keeps his personal politics close to his vest, but he's a huge policy wonk and knows everything about everybody and why everything is the way it is.



I only became interested in politics in high school when I got into debating. (I actually went to the nationals, which I guess would make me a master-debater! Bah-ha-ha-ha!) As I grew older, my social liberal leanings became more entrenched. I made several friends who are gay, which cemented my passion for equal rights for GLBT people.



As I grow older, I find that one area in which I'm becoming a bit more conservative is with regards to violent crime -- I think my country is WAY too lenient with regards to violent crime, and would love to see stiffer penalties. Not because I think they're a deterrent, but solely to get these people off the streets.



I tend to vote for whomever I think will best represent me. We used to have a really kickass representative, Bill Casey, who actually got booted out of the Conservative Party when he voted against their budget, because he felt that it screwed Atlantic Canada. He has a lot of integrity, and it was so nice to actually WANT to vote for someone, as opposed to just choosing the best of a bad lot, which is what I usually do. But I'm not tied down by parties. I think locally, and vote for whomever I think will best represent my community.

Johnny - posted on 08/06/2010

"I voted Democratic once....I think I voted for Carter.....cant remember."

I wish there was a 'shocking' button ;-P

Diane - posted on 08/06/2010

My father was a Democrat and my mother was a Republican. They laughed for years that they cancelled each others votes out.

Dad did however vote Republican the last five or six elections. He did feel that the Democratic party he grew up with was to far to the left.
I voted Democratic once....I think I voted for Carter.....cant remember.

Dad served in the military, he loved and adored this country...so he always voted for who he thought was a patriot. He voted for Reagen and both Bushes...and loved McCain............on this one dad and I went head to head.

Rosie - posted on 08/05/2010

i guess i wouldn't say there was much talk of politics at all in my house. i don't remmeber hearing one word about it. what i do remember is my dad constantly using (and still does use) racial slurs, and speaks bad about gays. a guy from work needed a new chair, my dad offered him an old one that he had in the basement, so this guy came over and got it. while conversing he mentioned something about his boyfriend. my dad about shit, i'm surprised he didn't kick the guy out of our house after he found out he was gay. he was respectable enough that he didn't, but we all sure heard about how he had a "homo" in his house, and how freaked out he was about it.

i never understood why my dad looked down on black people. i always silently questioned his racism. i don't remember him talking about gay people until after i had left home. so while i don't necessarily affiliate those with all republicans-he is one. and i swing to the left.
i do have some right tendencies, i never really know what things make me go to the right, it's very random. i tend to go to the left on social issues, but i am for the immigration law in AZ.

Johnny - posted on 08/05/2010

I was raised in a fairly political household. We discussed political issues at the dinner table almost every night as far back as I can remember. I remember a big argument my parent's had when my mom put up an election sign for the Conservative party against my dad's wishes when I was around 5 or 6. That was quite the debacle!

My Dad is very liberal and far on the left. I'd say he's actually more liberal than I am. The problem is, I can never successfully argue with him on politics. His ideas are always impeccably thought out and developed. I think that he has lead my mother to become far more liberal over the years, because his concepts are almost always clearly more logical than the opposing side, and she told me that she realized that there was no point in arguing... cause he was right. My mom takes a while to warm up to new ideas, so she seems more conservative, but once she gets comfy with things, she's liberal.

I've actually become slightly more conservative as I age. When I was young, my economic ideas were practically communist and I was a total believer in "free love". I was a naive kid. By the time I was in college, I had pretty much developed my current political outlook. Basically, I consider it to be about "least harm" & "greatest benefit". I'm willing to support an idea that advances the least harm on the majority of society, does not specifically harm a minority group, and is beneficial as opposed to detrimental to the society as a whole. I find that while this generally leads me to more liberal ideas, sometimes I see that conservative or libertarian ideas advance these concepts to a greater degree.

I want our society to evolve and improve, not get stuck in the same old ruts. And I often find that most politicians, of any stripe, are unwilling to explore new thoughts and platforms because they fear it might not be a popular idea. I think that the current climate crisis is an excellent example of this. There are lots of brilliant thinkers out there with innovative ideas about how to change our society to benefit us financially while bringing us closer to living in harmony with the earth, but politicians fear encouraging real change, so they ignore them.

~Jennifer - posted on 08/05/2010

I was raised with the idea of "knowing everything you can know and making the best choice for 'you'"
I still do that to this day.
I have no political affiliation, (was registered as a republican for a while, and went back to N/A status after Bush's 8)
I guess I'd classify my self as an "American Voter". I honestly would NOT want to define my humanity and / or morality via someone else's idea of a political platform.

Sara - posted on 08/05/2010

My father is a staunch conservative, my mother is middle-of-the-road. I know she voted for Bill Clinton. My dad would rather die than ever vote for a Dem. He loves Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. We have some pretty intense political discussions where he is contantly discounting my opinions and telling me that when I get older, I'll change my mind. He also likes to throw in that whole "liberal education" that brainwashed me from time to time. All-in-all, i grew up in a very conservative political environment.

My own political stance is something I have always felt. I can't remember never being liberal or having ideas that weren't liberal in nature. In high school I was a clear minority and was often called out in classes because I was one of the lone dissenters. But, I just feel in my heart that liberal ideals are the right ones. I don't think of myself as a Democrat at all. I think of myself as a liberal. My sisters (I have 3) are all a lot more poltically conservative than me. My husband and I are the lone liberals at family functions unless my Aunt and her husband show up.

ME - posted on 08/05/2010

I don't know that I'd call it "being raised with politics in my home", but I knew from early on that it was my civic duty to vote, and to know who I was voting for...My parents never told us or each other who they voted for (that we were aware of), and we didn't discuss many political issues. They impressed on us the need for an education, and to be supportive of educators, but they WERE educators, so it didn't seem political, and I never connected it with one party or the other. In High School, I HATED Bill Clinton...he was the first politician I'd REALLY paid attention to, and I thought he was an asshole. He was also the first politician that I knew my family supported. I actually voted FOR him anyway in my first vote (his second term)...but I don't know that I really understood why. I started paying attention to politics in College. I was studying Philosophy and Political Science...so, that's probably not a shocker...During grad school, I watched horrified as President Bush got "elected" not once, but twice, and it was my disgust with his policies, behavior, and MANY MANY FAILURES that got me REALLY involved...(so, I guess that's one more thing I like about the right; their failures got me involved in politics!)

I consider myself a Social Democrat or a Progressive Liberal at this point. I have a sister who is further left than I am, and a sister who is WAY more conservative (she served in the Army), and a sister who could care less about politics. My parents are probably Conservative Dems., my dad voted for President Bush once, my mom did not...both of my parents were (and continue to be) strong supporters of President Obama.