Wednesday, January 24, 2007

State of Union

Last night while watching the State of the Union address I was thinking about political ideology and the determinants of that ideology for individuals. This was all playing through my head as I tried to understand why I have so much disdain for President Bush. It is not because I believe him to be an evil human being set on world destruction (although, I do believe his motivations behind many of his policies are not included in his public rhetoric). The simple fact is we see the world through different lenses. But where do these lenses come from and how do they get colored by our life experiences? And how did my lenses get inside Gloria Steinem’s Aviator Sunglasses? I’ve read through some of the academic literature on these questions with little satisfaction with the available answers. Yes, there are positive linear relationships between education and liberalism, but this only tells part of the story. The process by which political ideologies evolve within individuals is not elucidated by this observation. What is it about education that has this effect?

Personally, my political views have been to the far left since I can remember. I did have a brief stint with the Republican Party as a 4th grader when I voted for George H. Bush in a mock election staged at Airbase Elementary School. In my defense, when asked “what was the difference between a Democrat and a Republican” my teacher inanely responded with “Republicans are rich and Democrats are poor.” I, of course, already had big plans for my life at that point and being rich was a part of it, so I cast my ballot for Bush. But that would prove to be the last time I made a mistake on my party affiliation because, somehow, I became an environmentalist. But how? Perhaps it was my empathetic disposition that enabled me to grieve for the suffering of the planet and its non-human inhabitants, or maybe the countless hours I spent watching Captain Planet, Flipper or my love for Jacques Cousteau. It wasn’t long before these views about human responsibility for the earth’s ecosystems brought me to other issues like animal rights, and then later to the smorgasbord of left-leaning political beliefs I routinely disgorge on this virtual space. So I’m left wondering what factors were important elements of George Bush’s life that have molded his views so differently from my own. And for the future of this planet, how can we change him and others like him?

Posted by RiOtPoOf on 01/24 at 10:44 AM
(0) Trackbacks • Permalink