Do you share your parents'/guardians' political beliefs?

[Undesired Walrus]

Do your current political beliefs closely mirror the political beliefs of those who raised you, or differ completely? Does it resemble the general political beliefs of your area or stand out as an oddity? If the former for both questions, do you acknowledge that your political beliefs may have been influenced by those who raised you and/or your area? How does that make you feel about the authenticity of your politics?

[Darat]

In some areas I'm "aligned" with my mother, in other areas not at all. Even our agreements are a source of a lot of heated discussion, our disagreements tend to be ever so slightly more heated.

ETA: When I was much younger our views were a lot less aligned, however she has obviously gained wisdom over the years resulting in our closer alignment.

[Sporanox]

Originally Posted by Darat

ETA: When I was much younger our views were a lot less aligned, however she has obviously gained wisdom over the years resulting in our closer alignment.

Did you just say your mother agrees with you more after she gained wisdom?

[Darat]

Originally Posted by Sporanox

Did you just say your mother agrees with you more after she gained wisdom?

I really can't think of any other reason why she has started to agree with me more and more.

[parky76]

my dad is a diehard not-in-my backyard liberal. i, on the other hand, am a proud Democrat, but do hold a few conservative fiscal and social views. i don't feel the need to tow the party line.

my mom is more moderate.

[Rika]

My views are very different from my parents (My father's a conserative, tends to always vote Republican, my mother's a conserative democrat, and I'm.. somewhere in the liberal side. Not sure where though.)

[ProbeX]

My mother is a post-Obama Democrat. It's embarrassing: she mostly pulled this stunt because she has a huge crush on the pres. Before the election she was strictly a Conservative Republican ditto head (now she pollutes herself with the Ed Schultz show). Luckily she still warmly embraces her special brand of myopic religious dogma (social conservatism at its destructive best).

My father has always been a HateCarterLiberal, and fiscal conservative. I'm a moderate who is patiently waiting for the Conservatives to realign themselves with reality so the country can get back to a respectable, balanced two-party system

[Tsukasa Buddha]

I used to follow my family's Republican, conservative politics. But now I am a socialist, marxist, baby-eater.

Actually my cousins were Communists, so I guess I can't be president now.

[theprestige]

My parents never really discussed politics (or sex, or religion) at home. Later on, when I developed political opinions of my own, I discovered that discussing them with my parents generally led to heated debate.

[Eyeron]

I can't really discuss politics with my parents because they take it really personally that someone dares to disagree with their beliefs. And they get really upset when I tell them that things are actually different than what they believe.

They're both 19080s style Democrats and I keep on trying to tell them that the Democratic party of today is very different than that of the 1980s but they'll have none of it.

Sometimes I really understand Plato in times like this.

[Ausmerican]

My mother is more conservative than me. Far more. A godless heathen like myself but there the similarities end. She voted for Johnny Howard every time I believe. My father is an enigma. I have known him for 42 years and if asked could not tell you his political views, his religious beliefs, his favorite movie, book, or singer or a single hobby the man has.

[The Mutha]

My parents have always been fairly moderate, but as Dad has retired and aged more, he's turned into a diehard Libertarian. Mom was more liberal than Dad and was very proud of the fact that she got to vote for Obama. Unfortunately, she died before getting to see him sworn into office.

Mom and Dad didn't always vote lock-step with each other, either. The last primary that they voted in, they ended up having to go to two different polling places as Dad voted Libertarian and Mom voted in the Democratic primary.

I've voted Democrat and Republican (and once for Kinky!). I generally don't vote the party, but the person. I was leaning towards McCain in the last election until he chose Palin and then I had to go with Obama.

The extended family tends to sit down about a week before elections and hash out who's on the ballot and who we're individually voting for, as well as discussing whatever other proposals are on the ballot.

[Professor Yaffle]

I've got pretty similar views to my mam who is at the liberal socialist side of the divide. She has been wracked with guilt for many years for helping vote Thatcher in because at the time, she thought it might be good to have a woman in charge, even though she was a Tory.

[A.A.Alfie]

I've found I've become more and more like my father - politically - as I have become older.
Once upon a time I was firmly green, I then became moderate left, now I'm about as far right as Ghengis Khan - well middle right anyway.

[Mojo]

Originally Posted by Professor Yaffle

She has been wracked with guilt for many years for helping vote Thatcher in because at the time, she thought it might be good to have a woman in charge, even though she was a Tory.

And so she should be. Didn't she listen to what Thatcher said?

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by ProbeX

My mother is a post-Obama Democrat. It's embarrassing: she mostly pulled this stunt because she has a huge crush on the pres. Before the election she was strictly a Conservative Republican ditto head (now she pollutes herself with the Ed Schultz show).

My parents both did the opposite of that. Lifelong democrats, they suddenly became conservatives. That's a lot more embarrasing, IMO. Perhaps only in that light can I say that "to their credit", this turn of events was largely influenced by their increasing involvement with their church, who tries to convince them that if you vote for someone who doesn't plan to abolish abortion, you're going to Hell.

It's comical to me (when it isn't heartbreakingly sad) to hear them continue to rail against greedy companies that only care about profit and the government's unwillingness to reign them in and their bad healthcare situations and how people deserve to be treated as humans and not statistics on a balance sheet -- all the while parroting common conservative complaints about "ObamaCare".

"It's a damn shame no one is trying to help you guys out" I'll suggest, rolling my eyes. But like Eyeron, my parents get pretty offended when you dare disagree with their political views (or anything else, really).

[ProbeX]

Originally Posted by Cynic

My parents both did the opposite of that. Lifelong democrats, they suddenly became conservatives. That's a lot more embarrasing, IMO. Perhaps only in that light can I say that "to their credit", this turn of events was largely influenced by their increasing involvement with their church, who tries to convince them that if you vote for someone who doesn't plan to abolish abortion, you're going to Hell.

Sorry to hear about their religious "reasoning". My mother is all about Hell as consequence too, but right now the depth of her attitude seems to be "What the heck, if fetuses must be scrambled and ejected, so be it, that man is haught".

Quote:

It's comical to me (when it isn't heartbreakingly sad) to hear them continue to rail against greedy companies that only care about profit and the government's unwillingness to reign them in and their bad healthcare situations and how people deserve to be treated as humans and not statistics on a balance sheet -- all the while parroting common conservative complaints about "ObamaCare".

Brainwashing at its finest. My older brother parrots this garbage too.

Quote:

"It's a damn shame no one is trying to help you guys out" I'll suggest, rolling my eyes. But like Eyeron, my parents get pretty offended when you dare disagree with their political views (or anything else, really).

Can relate. These kind of extremists, whether Leftists or Rightists, are so obnoxious that they often force their kids into some opposing paradigm.

[Cain]

Though it seems he intended something else entirely, Darat's comment reminded me of an old Mark Twain quote: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."

Some contend peer groups are more influential than parents, although parents could play a role in deciding who you hang out with in your formative years (still, they don't know what's really going on). Do you talk like your parents? Dress like your parents? Listen to the same music, watch the same movies?

My father is a diehard Democrat (socially conservative, economically schizophrenic); my mother is a relatively apolitical moderate Democrat. No, I don't share their politics.

[leftysergeant]

I have always been somewhat left of my parents' point of view, but neither of them ever admitted voting for a Republican. They were both Army veterans and union members. My dad once said that the two most annoying things on earth were barking dogs and Republicans, not neccessarily in that order.

I grew up in a rural area just outside of Yakima Washington. Totally a red(neck) county. That did not make me a lot of friends at school.

[Perfume V]

Broadly, yes. I dither sometimes about my political beliefs, particularly on the economy - I have been known to waver from being a liberal capitalist to being quite socialist, depending on what the last news story I read was and how drunk I was. But both of those positions are consistent with the positions of my parents and grandparents, all of whom were solid Yorkshire liberals who never forgave the Conservatives for the miner's strike. Admittedly, we were a Labour family and I'm more likely to vote Liberal Democrat, but I think that's more to do with the Labour party moving rightwards than anything else.

Where I do differ from my parents is in religious belief; my father was soft C of E and my mother is a lapsed Catholic who nevertheless remains a very strong Christian. Here I'm more like my maternal grandfather, who made a late but deeply felt conversion to atheism some years ago.

[linusrichard]

Not to accuse Darat (post 2) of plagiarism, but

Originally Posted by Mark Twain

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

[kellyb]

No. Not at all.

Until recently, both parents were "screw the lazy poor" repubs.

A few years ago, my mom divorced my dad and found herself in poverty (over hospital debt, plus facing a probable cancer diagnosis, with no ability to even get in to see an oncologist) despite having a full-time job, and I was able to convince her that perhaps that whole theory on "why most poor people are poor" is flawed. So she voted Obama and is coming around.

I no longer talk to my father, but according to my brother, he's still deep into right wing woo.

[Brainster]

My parents were extremely liberal, and so were all of us kids (four) by the time we got out of college. I was probably the first person in my family to vote Republican (Reagan in 1984). Since then my brother and my younger sister have crossed over to the GOP, and my dad is in the middle. Mom passed away about a decade ago, so there's only one reliably Democratic vote (my other sister) in the family where once there were six.

[richardm]

PLAGIARIST SPOTTED - Linusrichard totally copied Cain.

I align mostly with my father's politics, which are generally rather lefty, although he does have some views about immigration which I pretend not to hear. My mother, on the other hand, seems to be veering more and more to the right - comes of reading the Sunday Express, I reckon. She was even claiming to be considering voting BNP next time round. I hope, fondly, that she says these things to try and get a rise out of me or my sister. I hope.

[Lurker]

My parents are fairly liberal, even a bit of socialism in them I guess. Background is Scandinavian from upper midwest. Where they come from the two choices were:

Church Finn
or
Hall Finn

The former being very conservative, especially in regards to social issues. Many of my cousins are in this group. Nice people but I can't talk about any social issues with them (I went down that road on abortion- never again!)

The latter is where my parents fall into. Hall Finn refers to the union halls that were agitating against the mine owners. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_...3%E2%80%931914 for some historical perspective. Socialist influences, strong union foundation.

I follow their political beliefs to a point. I find myself a tad more moderate in many areas but socially I am a bit more liberal. They don't think there should be gay marriage for example.

[Dragoonster]

My mom and I are both generally liberals and agree on most things, but I'm way farther right on a few things like strong military, gun rights, death penalty.

I've stuck to most of the same basic positions, or at least rationale since I was about 12, but have changed my opinion on some other stuff. Mostly (I think) due to discussion in school and with friends, and learning about the nuances of things. Sometimes from the news and introspection. Suprisingly little if anything from developing adult responsibilities and other ageing/maturing stuff.

My sister was similar to my mom until 9/11, and I was kind of shocked to learn she'd gone the "Dennis Miller" route, had voted for Bush, and bought into the whole Terror Alert paranoid politics. I didn't discuss it with her when visiting even though she was listening to steady conservative radio much of the time. I think I'm still in the denial stage of grief.

[Praktik]

Pretty close to my parents though I think they are a little more conservative than me on some matters, more like voting habits - rather than ideology, if that makes any sense. Deep down I think we agree on a more just society and a lot of the "big ideas" - but I have not yet cast a vote for any of the two parties who form governments here in Canada and my parents have voted for both.

They were hippies who didn't like being called hippies. We feel the same about the war on drugs, war, political hypocrisy, international relations. I just think as they've developed more of a stake in things, children, a home, assets, work experience that they've become more pragmatic whereas I am still young enough to have the freedom to be a little more "out there".

Anyway, one thing I'm tired of them saying is how "when you're young you're on the left and you get more conservative as you get older".

To me that just speaks to the pendulum that was swinging through society as they aged: there was a conservative reaction to the decade of the 60s, a temporary end to keynesianism, etc.

To be honest, I really think my generation, who were children in the 80s - stand a good chance of going in the opposite direction.

Keynes is comin back, the Reagan revolution is dying, our Canukistani conservatives havent been able to make their turn to the right result in majority government - we started out in a conservative time and may end up following the rest of society leftward - just as our parents followed the larger trends in their time.

I understand that my point about having a "stake in things" may go against this somewhat but I'm never one to think that outcomes are decided by one factor..

[Darth Rotor]

My mom and dad were liberals in 1956. Their PoV hasn't moved that much, though Mom worked on John Anderson's campaign in 1980, and Dad stopped voting Democrat, presidents, when Jimmy Carter showed up. His vote local and state is mixed, as is Mom's. They try to stay informed.

My father to me:

"Dad, what this country needs is another TR."
"Son, I'm not sure it will tolerate one."

DR

[ProbeX]

Originally Posted by Cain

Some contend peer groups are more influential than parents, although parents could play a role in deciding who you hang out with in your formative years (still, they don't know what's really going on). Do you talk like your parents? Dress like your parents? Listen to the same music, watch the same movies?

Yeah, it really is hard to pinpoint exactly what causes a person to develop their particular personality/behavioral preferences, etc. My parents are both from Brooklyn, so that accent and a certain forward-attitude largely rubbed off on me. But our opposing preferences for many things in life may have stemmed from the fact that there was more of a social gap between GenerationX-ers and our parents, than kids today (GenY)and their parents (GenX), for example. Today you can watch many generation Y-ers comb through their gen-Xer parents' record archives so they can listen to "good" music with their parents LOL. There doesn't seem to be such a strong boundary set up around the parent-child relationship these days (for better or for worse).

Keeping that generation gap in mind, I never dressed like the parental units. In childhood my preferences were Reggae and punk rock. Now my tastes are more expansive (thankfully), and include some parental favorites. We do have similar movie preferences, at times. How about you?

Quote:

My father is a diehard Democrat (socially conservative, economically schizophrenic); my mother is a relatively apolitical moderate Democrat. No, I don't share their politics.

Did your parents party orientation influence your politics in any major way? How do you define your own set of politics at this point?

[ProbeX]

Originally Posted by leftysergeant

My dad once said that the two most annoying things on earth were barking dogs and Republicans, not neccessarily in that order.

Like father, like son?

[linusrichard]

Originally Posted by richardm

PLAGIARIST SPOTTED - Linusrichard totally copied Cain.

Oh, oops.

[Cain]

Originally Posted by ProbeX

My parents are both from Brooklyn, so that accent and a certain forward-attitude largely rubbed off on me. But our opposing preferences for many things in life may have stemmed from the fact that there was more of a social gap between GenerationX-ers and our parents, than kids today (GenY)and their parents (GenX), for example.

Which brings up generational belief in our formative years. People have stories about how their grandparents hoard things because they grew up through the great depression. Others spent their formative years in the sixties or with Watergate, which inevitably impacts outlook. I have Iraq, Clinton and W. Bush.

Quote:

Did your parents party orientation influence your politics in any major way? How do you define your own set of politics at this point?

My father always read the paper and tuned into cable news (he doesn't do the Internet). On vacation we'd joke that he travels thousands of miles to sit in a hotel room and watch CNN. I can't say his beliefs had much of an impact, but his interest in politics, its constant presence, must have had an impact... which probably explains why I went the poli-sci route.

My father would frequently debate religion and politics with friends, so I think I inherited a fascination with those subjects, but not his views or his moral outlook. If a ballot measure sought to approve commercial zoning for something on the other side of town, he'd favor it on account of increased tax revenue, lower prices, and convenience. I'd ask, "what if we lived in that part of town?" In that case he'd naturally oppose it. From an early age that NIMBYism never sat well with me. This moral sensibility probably came from my mother. In retrospect, I can see how I inherited my father's skepticism: he was very critical of other religions -- you know, the false ones -- but never his own. My mother may have set me on the path for for veganism and socialism, but would never bother seriously investigating either idea. These are things I fleshed out with friends. It's similar to if you have a parent who teaches piano, so you grew up always surrounded by music, but in your you start a rock band with friends.

ETA: Parents are also affected by their kids. A study came out about a week ago indicating that fathers who have only sons tend to be more conservative than fathers who have daughters.

[GStan]

My parents are and have always been fairly conservative and religious. They have been voting straight-ticket Democrat since the mid-60s. Politics was rarely discussed in our house as I was growing up. Pretty much all I knew about politics up through high school was that Democrats were nice and cared about poor people and Republicans were mean and rich. I also knew that Nixon was a crook and Reagan was an actor. That was it.

I went pretty much the opposite direction once I started to investigate and form my own independent opinions; liberal on social issues, but otherwise conservative. I've tried to make them as smart as me but I think they're just too set in their ways.

[sugarb]

Mom was a liberal Democrat. Her mom and my aunt, who did most of our raising, were and are Democrats...Robert Byrd hung the moon along with building bridges, dontchaknow! Little sister is a Democrat, liberal through college, getting a bit more conservative as the years pass. Older sister is a VERY right wing (socially) Republican to sometimes scary extremes--she wasn't raised that way, I blame Arkansas.

Me? I'm a Republican, although on social issues fairly liberal. Husband is a Republican. Most of our friends and neighbors are Democrats, although much much more "conservative" than either of us on just about every social/civil rights issue (which I find a little odd).

Our family never tried to influence us politically, though. Well, except Mom. She'd outright tell me I ruined my brain by favoring Republican policies. The usual insults...brainwashed, unreasonable, incapable of real thought, blah blah blah. The scary part was that for most of her life she really believed that. Sad how politics can make people so angry. Big picture, that's just sad.

Again, except for Mom, until not many years ago, our family was that old kind of family that believed in nobody revealing who they voted for. When we were very young, until we learned better, we would actually get in trouble for asking on election day who they'd voted for (we learned to figure it out by eavesdropping and paying attention to their remarks when the news was on). So now that I'm well into adulthood, it is kind of funny to watch them be all proud of who they voted for! When I think about it, it is hard for me to imagine, now, doing what they did--going through most of my life carefully concealing my political views. I don't know if it is a generational thing or what. My family is mostly women (men tend to disappear), and aside from myself, extremely independent women. My great grandmother was a feminist before feminism was really cool, and worked hard to raise her large family alone. We were raised to be independent thinkers, even if it resulted in fights. If we were going to argue as kids, they'd prefer to listen to us argue about something that made sense rather than hear a battle over Barbie dolls.

I don't think they really cared which party we voted for, or which way we leaned politically...just so we thought about it and fought about it instead of knowing naught about it.