How many here are politically the same as parents?

[Politically_Incorrect12]

Just curious how many political philosophies on this board are in line with they way you grew up and how many are different...also curious why they changed for those who are different.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Yup, mine are the same. Even at the tender age of 11/12, when watching tv and listening to some politicians speak, I understood clearly that those who happened to be on the Democratic ticket were full of BS.
At that age I did not know anything about economics, finance, money, the Fed, etc. I was pretty much right on target.

[Deleted]

I don't exactly know my parents political beliefs. I think they both lean left and they may even be registered democrats... but other than that I don't know too much.

[billisonboard]

180 out. They started to change the day my father sat there in his Air National Guard uniform attempting to justify the shootings at Kent State. I looked into his eyes, saw his own doubt that he refused to be honest about, and wondered what else he wan't honest about. My mother will admit now that she started to "cancel out" my father's vote late in their marriage. Even my father is not as conservative as he once was. (I have been a good influence on both I guess.)

[cael]

My parents are far-left liberal hippie social workers. I am relatively left but a lot more middle-of-the-road on some stuff than they are.

[mmhmm]

My father was extremely liberal, while my mother was quite conservative. They always cancelled one another's votes, as did my husband and I for many years. Over the years, however, both my mother and my husband became more liberal. My husband was actually, in some ways, more liberal than I by the time he passed away. Mother and I are left-leaning moderates.

[deziloooooo]

Same as parents I guess, I know my Dad voted that way, know that you ask, not sure about Mom, but knowing her, I think left in a way, really not sure, "Hey Mom, how do you vote"?. "OK , sorry I asked , me bad"
She said it's none of my damn business, came down from above and she sounded the same as when I screwed up, pissed at me. Nice to hear that again actually.



Doesn't follow in family though, Son very Republican, Daughter very much the opposite

[Deleted]

No. I'm not the same as my parents.

My mother is a Catholic (converted when i was already grown), and her social conservative views put her strongly in the Republican camp. Although she has been known to not vote a straight ticket.

My father is a Rand Objectivist who thinks Reagan was the greatest man, the first he could look to as a hero outside of Israel. He used to vote Republican. I don't think he's voted lately... I was so into the last election and he was so disillusioned, and his current wife it so socially conservative, i think he prefered not to vote rather than 'side' with one of us... He did just change his affiliation to Dem so he could help a friend get on the Distric Mag ballot for both Rep and Dem...

I guess you might say we all tend toward some independent views in voting, but they are definately more right than i am.

I've told this story before, but if you insist...
I was raised on Rand. I loved Atlas Shrugged when i was a teenager (back before i had a firm grip on reality)... I can specifically remember arguing with a my 'liberal college professor' that yeah, having more kids to get more welfare was a stupid idea... didn't mean it didn't happen... just that it was a sign of stupidity...

And then I taught Special Education in 1 urban and 2 rural districts for 8 years... and realized a few things... First an foremost, Rand writes a good fairy tale, but has no grip on reality... even she couldn't maintain the discipline and honor she wanted her characters to adhere too... To many people will always exploit that which is weaker than himself... and that leads me to Second, but not less important... the fact that social programs are NOT for adult whiners who could be working... they are for CHILDREN... and when we lose the social system... it hurts CHILDREN... and in a country bent on indivdiual freedom... fullfilling children's rights to basic food, shelter, health care and education are the only way to ensure that they are able to become a functioning adult citizen...

So there you go... the evolution of a liberal... lol...

[Deleted]

Ratchets the problem with those tests is that if you believe personal freedom extends to who you have sex with and marry, and whether abortion should be a choice, then you are pushing the results left... which isn't necessarily consistent... but what happens because the right is so socially conservative these days...

I should add to mine, i don't see myself as left liberal... although this board does... i like the middle... i like social programs, but i think they should provide the basics, and that fraud should be stamped out, and am not against strengthening adoption laws and severing of parental rights to make that a better option, or even looking at alternatives, although our current foster system isn't good at all.... but the money should be there to protect children and give them as much of an equal access/good start as possible...

[formerexpat]

My parents never brought up politics when I was growing up. I don't believe they were ever politically aware; and to a point, they still aren't now. I'm not certain that either of them vote to this day, which is sad.

My wife's parents are on the verge of fringe right. They aren't guns and ammo right, but they've got their stock of water and food. They also never change it from Fox News. I don't believe in getting ALL of your information from a liberal or conservative website or TV station. I like seeing the different points of views so I can determine where I fall. They also couldn't explain to me why they didn't like Obama other than him supposedly being Muslim and being black...which, I think they may be mildly racist. They've never fully said anything but I just get that feeling from them. I have gone off on other family members of hers for making what could be perceived as racist comments. I don't stand up for racism at all.

I was looking back at some of my writings early in college and they were liberal leaning. Then again, I also looked at the various readings that were assigned to me to complete these writings and there was a trend of the professors choices that would lean one to think "hey, that's not fair". So, I'm not surprised to see "educated" liberals that come from an educational system that has so many ivory tower liberals with no attachment to reality, especially the financial consequences such choices have on a country...which we are seeing unfold all across the globe now.

Now that I've grown up and researched more for myself, I have an overall socially liberal point of view [i.e. pro choice, pro gay marriage, pro I don't give a damn what you do in your life as long as it doesn't affect me; and that means financially too] but am so fiscally conservative it's not funny; so Libertarian overall.

[marjar]

Both were Democrats, but more fiscally liberal than I, and more socially conservative than I am. Sister was a Republican because she married well and decided they were kinder to the rich. Brother is a Republican because he worked for the DOD and felt the Republicans were kinder to defense.

My parents were both children of immigrants. The were taught that their parents came to the US for a better life. Voting was sacred to my parents. I recall being hauled along on election day, while my folks voted. They considered voting a responsibility to be taken seriously.

[ugonow]

My dad was a government hating racist. A big republican voter. I remember him sitting up at night with his buds ranting about taxes,blacks,and the big bad gubmint.

[billisonboard]

Mar 12, 2011 10:03:51 GMT -5 oped said:

Ratchets the problem with those tests is that if you believe personal freedom extends to who you have sex with and marry, and whether abortion should be a choice, then you are pushing the results left... which isn't necessarily consistent... but what happens because the right is so socially conservative these days...

...

And that is the beauty of The Political Compass.
www.politicalcompass.org/

[Deleted]

Billis.. the questions on that test are interesting and broad, which is good, but their conclusions are suspect... given that Left is equated to communism... lol... and they find most of the world to be right/authoritarian? ...

[Gardening Grandma]

I've pretty much changed my views 180 from the way I was raised (ultra conservative religious right). Why? My life experiences didn't jibe with what I had been taught. Too manycontradictions between what I had been taught and my own observations.

Interestingly, I've gone from being totally against the death penalty to being OK with it philosophically, but not with it as it's currently used.

I'm pretty much with oped in my view towards social programs. I support the idea, but feel that there is room for improvement in how they are implemented.

Having been a member of the "working poor" class for a number of years, I'm much more sympathetic to their issues.

[billisonboard]

Mar 12, 2011 12:01:32 GMT -5 oped said:

... and they find most of the world to be right/authoritarian? ...

[Tennesseer]

Some interesting comments here about parents. I only knew one was a republican and one was a democrat. I would ask who was which and they would always tell me it wasn't important to know. So I never knew.

Some of our parents knew it probably was not a very good idea to bring up politics at family and social gatherings (along with discussing religion and sex).

[Deleted]

Didn't you have an idea who your parents voted for? Supported? When i go to a rally, the kids go with me... the only one i kept them from was a Spector venue leading up to health care vote and a town hall earlier in the week had gotten heated... and we spent almost 2 hours in line to get seats for that one, and i'm glad they didn't go... it was tense... a bit young for that... But they've gone to several others, and they certainly know who we supported, although we teach to respect the process and others rights to think differently.... (unlike my step mother, whose daughter slapped mine when my daughter suggested that she actually liked Obama... )

[billisonboard]

Mar 12, 2011 12:29:28 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

And that is the beauty of The Political Compass.
www.politicalcompass.org/

Bills - That test in particular threw me for a loop. Specifically because each question had no middle of the road answer, it seemed to pigeonhole you into a left/right answer. Ironically though, it was the one that said I was most middle of the road. ...

So if I understand you correctly, the bottom line result of the test to gauge where you fall politically placed you where you think you fall politically. Is that correct? If so, what you call ironic, I call a well designed test.

[Tennesseer]

Mar 12, 2011 12:59:01 GMT -5 oped said:

Didn't you have an idea who your parents voted for? Supported? When i go to a rally, the kids go with me... the only one i kept them from was a Spector venue leading up to health care vote and a town hall earlier in the week had gotten heated... and we spent almost 2 hours in line to get seats for that one, and i'm glad they didn't go... it was tense... a bit young for that... But they've gone to several others, and they certainly know who we supported, although we teach to respect the process and others rights to think differently.... (unlike my step mother, whose daughter slapped mine when my daughter suggested that she actually liked Obama... )

As a kid in the 50s I wasn't interested in politics so if I went with a parent to the voting booth it was only because my parent(s) didn't want to let me out of their sight. As a teenage I was too busy being a teenager to even wonder about the parents and politics. Politics were for grownups.

By the time I was eligible to vote, I was already out of the house. So who my parents supported or voted for was between themselves. I had my own life and my own view of political candidates and issues.

[steff]

I'm still pretty much in line with my mom's political views. Both of my brothers are also dems. I know that all of my grandparents were very conservative and voted that way also. Altho, my mom's mother has changed her views quite a bit in the past 5 years and is much more open (liberal) in some of her views. All of us thought she would be the most against my brother being gay due to her religious & political beliefs, but she shocked all of us by accepting it and being happy for him. Extended family, aunts & uncles are all very conservative. They would say we're the liberal side because we didn't have a 'mom & dad' raising us. My brothers & I are supposed to have been the problem children because we were raised by a divorced mom working 2 & 3 jobs to support us. We've managed to never live up to their warped views of us.

[Deleted]

Bilis... i found some of the questions limited, kind of like ratch was saying, obvious in their slant and you have to agree disagree... and i think the way the parameters were named indicated a clear bias, as far as how different answers would be interpreted. It didn't place me exactly where i would figure myself, although not far off... I was in the left/libertarian quadrant...

Tenn... my kids go with me to vote most of the time... lol... their father is naturalized, and their portfolios include pictures we took the first time he got to vote... we had to get up early and go with him to the poll both, we made a morning of it... We take that stuff seriously around here...

[billisonboard]

Mar 12, 2011 13:12:49 GMT -5 oped said:

Bilis... i found some of the questions limited, kind of like ratch was saying, obvious in their slant and you have to agree disagree... and i think the way the parameters were named indicated a clear bias, as far as how different answers would be interpreted. It didn't place me exactly where i would figure myself, although not far off... I was in the left/libertarian quadrant...

...

We who hang out on a politics message board are, hopefully, a more politically sophisticated lot than the average person so doesn't surprise me that you understood how different answers would effect the result. The fact that the test result didn't place you exactly where you think you fall has two possible explanations.

[SweetVirginia]

When I was a kid, my parents could not vote because they were not citizens. My mom always seemed to follow politics though, and she liked Jimmy Carter vs. Reagan. She always said Reagan was a phony. My parents are now citizens and my mom usually votes democratic (sometimes votes for independent candidates). She is still old school on gay marriage, but she was happy about the repeal of DADT.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Neat test! I came out slightly libertarian-right, just as I would have expected. I suspect my father would have come out strongly authoritarian right, and my mother slightly authoritarian left.

[deziloooooo]

I came out near Gandhi..I'll take that..-3.50 on the econ/libetarian, -2.10 on Social /lib

Just as I have been claiming, middle to the left.

[Deleted]

How many here are politically the same as parents?


I am very much like my parents except they tend to be much more conservative than I am on social issues. I tend to agree with formerexpats statement:

Now that I've grown up and researched more for myself, I have an overall socially liberal point of view [i.e. pro choice, pro gay marriage, pro I don't give a damn what you do in your life as long as it doesn't affect me; and that means financially too] but am so fiscally conservative it's not funny; so Libertarian overall.

On the issues that I'm conservative on I tend to be VERY conservative (personal rights, property rights, less government, less government involvement, etc). I believe that if you don't stand up for your rights you will lose them.

oped, I equate the left with communism because I believe that the agenda they are pushing is the basic foundation of communism (make everyone equal by taking away from the rich & middle class & giving it to the poor). I also believe that history has shown that system was a total failure & it will be here in the U.S. too.

[formerexpat]

I came out very close to Friedman. I'll take that.

[Tennesseer]

I AM the Dalai Lama.

[marjar]

I am also the Dali Lama!