From the time we are born, and throughout our formative years as children, adolescents, and young adults, we are guided in our understanding of the political culture in our political world, eventually forming our own social and political beliefs. We grow up as part of our political system, learning the truths of our parents, priests, teachers, and friends in places that are familiar to us. These truths do not exist in all facets of our community, nor do they necessarily extend to everyone around us; they are specific to each person’s sphere of influence.
Political learning, or political socialization occurs throughout an individual’s lifetime. “Developing a political self begins when children start to feel that they are part of a political community. They acquire the knowledge, beliefs, and values that help them comprehend government and politics.” (Paletz). Children and young adults are impressionable, and are open to learning many new things, but people are “most politically impressionable during the period from their midteens through their midtwenties, when their views are not set and they are open to new experiences.” (Paletz).
Children so often emulate the behaviors they are raised with, but while family and the nurturing learning environment of home are extremely important in the development of one’s attitudes and outlook, they often no longer hold the most influence on recent generations of developing adults. “The transmission of civic behaviors or practices from parent to child is an important pathway to explore when analyzing the political participation of young adults.” (Paletz). The explosion of technological development, and in turn, the phenomenal rise and popularity of social media platforms during the last decade may now trump radio and television media as the biggest influence on American political socialization.
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Our opinions of, and belief in our political system and personal political environment impacts every decision from career choice to charitable giving. While having new and advanced methods of communication available is exciting, and is beneficial to businesses, schools, politicians, and more, it can also provide mixed or negative messages to younger impressionable users. Young people who spend little time fact checking or confirming validity of stories or reports containing negative or slanderous commentary often form strong opinions based on exaggerated and untrue accounts of events or people. More than ever before, young Americans are exposed to far more advertising and political propaganda than any other generation. As social media platforms grow, so do advertisements.
Politicians accurately see this as an advantageous method of communication, and have begun using social media as a way to spread their agenda and personalize themselves to their audiences. “Students will absorb the necessary knowledge and the appropriate views without explicit teaching or discussion” (Niemi). Socialization is a lifelong process of people interacting and gaining more experience; a process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society (Fritz). Interest in politically charged topics boomed after the creation of and regular use of the many different social media platforms, giving people more ways to connect with others from all around the world, and share their ideas, suggestions, and complaints (Neundorf).
While technology and the ever-increasing sphere of influence known as social media are most likely the largest influences on American political socialization today, one cannot discount the thought that socioeconomic status plays an equally large role in American political socialization. People’s beliefs often lead them to specific political parties, and specific factions within those parties; certain parties’ beliefs may lean more toward one side’s ideals than another’s. As people mature, start families, increase their earnings, and gain more life knowledge, their political leanings often change. This change does not necessarily mean switching political parties, but it can often result in blurred lines where once there were walls. Political equality essentially means that an individual’s “right to life, liberty and property is respected and that government abstains from conferring any special advantage or inflicting any special harm upon one individual in distinction to another” (Wollstein). The idea of political equality ties into socialization so well because of the simple fact that these two things largely effect a person’s overall views on life; this includes how you spend or what you spend it on.
Everyone has their own idea of what socialization truly is, it shapes who we are and is the framework for our lives. With the United States being such a melting pot of diversity, it leaves for the open-mindedness of others’ cultures and not just their own, whether that form of diversity is from a political or cultural standpoint. Having a proper understanding for someone else’s belief is what keeps the world flowing. Without political diversity, we would have no motivation to think differently or “outside of the box”. It gives humans the understanding that not everyone is the same nor will everyone always agree on the “correct” answer.
There were many factors that played a major part of my life, but I think economics played the biggest role in my socialization. As I previously stated I think economics is one of the most important factors. Growing up in a middle-class family has given my political values a realistic standpoint. This is why my family has more times than not sided with a republican’s view, because the republican party leads realistic views and values in our opinion. Yes, that has influenced my political view but I learned for myself that the republican party is a party I share the same values as and have mutual understandings for over specified topics. This is not meaning I do not respect democratic views, it simply means my values are shared more with that of a republican. I learned at a young age to respect everyone regardless of economic standpoint, race and even religion. Respecting a person’s beliefs is important to me; even if they have a different view than I do, I do not disrespect their beliefs or make them feel lesser because of it.
I strongly believe I will continue to grow, learn, and be influenced by these factors throughout my life. These factors are the basis of every strong community. The people who are able to accept others’ diversity are the ones who are successful in life, in my opinion. Respecting others’ values impacts everything from workplace socialization to your relationships with your friends. My family raised me to maintain respect for everyone’s opinions. In doing so, I have the desire to understand, even though I may not agree with their political standpoint. I try to be observant and learn from the actions of others and from their understanding of the same topic, thus allowing my outlook to be broadened with a wider variety of topics that encourage my still developing political views to expand.
Socialization has left a lasting impact on my thoughts and views as I have grown up, and I think that it has left a very positive track in my life leading me in a very successful direction. With the knowledge I have gained from others’ views and the research I have done for myself, I now have a more solid understanding of what is means to vote and to make your voice heard. Although my political correctness differs from many others’ version of political correctness, it is likely that we all share the same passion to improve the United States, and to make sure that our voices are heard. I strongly believe that these factors will continue to play key roles in my life, and influence my decisions, especially now that I have entered adulthood.
Even though the constitution says all men are created equal, our views are not and will not always align and our endeavors may not always end up having the same goal. The experiences of one may differ vastly from that of another who is in a different economic bracket or house hold culture. Therefore, while we are all equal, we are not the same. With that being said, this does not negate the importance of any one groups desires, but simply saying this is what makes the United States such a great melting pot.
