Introduction
A 7th grade student walks to school on a Friday morning. Throughout his usual routine, he witnesses a ring of students chanting derogatory phrases of gay or homosexual context while throwing a child around in their circle. To the 7th grade student, this child being tortured has done nothing wrong, and this fact alone constitutes intervention. Much like this child’s thoughts on bullying, political opinions are generated by people who lack understanding of what is occurring, yet can measure the value of discussion inside the circle. In the example of the student, this 7th grade child is formulating his opinion on an issue that does not involve him, but somehow invokes thought. He may have been influenced by his family, and was taught bullying is wrong. He may have been taught by his teachers that “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the Golden Rule. Or maybe the child is extremely profound in morality and wise beyond his years. These reasons to why he has generated a position is essential to understanding fact-less political opinion. When people opt to sit outside the political battleground and comment on political warfare, the events and influences on their lives provoke thought, and therefore can generate a personal political opinion.
Family
“My father is an Aggie, therefore I must be an Aggie.” As ridiculous as this proposition may be, it is a reoccurring theme in the development of political opinion. As discussed in lecture by Professor Shaw, there is correlation with personal political view and parental political view (Shaw, 2014). A child’s ideology is often related to a parent’s ideology, an instance that is more prominent with Republican father-figures though not completely excluding the mat...
... middle of paper ...
...t about. Non-factual political opinions are opinions based on how one believes an issue should be seen. It allows for a mix of fact and opinion; what is correct by data and what is correct by morals. If the United States became predominantly Republican, would it be a problem for our 7th grade student to support gay marriage after learning the boy he saved from the bullies was the reason the student’s mother got a heart donor? I would like to see facts argue that.
Conclusion
Family, personal experience, and religion funnel into political socialization (Shaw, 2014). This is the end result of all the factors that influence an individual’s perspective, and what the individual will have to say about a political issue. When the time to state an opinion rises, political socialization will be where the factors are valued, rated, and fused to form the political opinion.
A straw man fallacy, in its most lucid form, is executed when a person not only disregards an opponent’s counterarguments, but also distorts them into exaggerated versions of themselves in the interest of making them easier to refute. In many cases, the adversary’s arguments are skewed to such a severe point that they wind up being completely different than what the adversaries were actually fighting for; however, this is all for the convenience of the proponent. An innumerable amount of politicians and authors are infamous for using this problematic method of disproving opposing arguments, even notable celebrities like George W. Bush. The straw man method of persuasion is a proficient way to make a personal stance sound factual, but it
Political Polarization is one of the most widely accepted causes of political gridlock, as the two sides continue to drift further and further apart. But why does the chasm keep growing? A few different theories call out the masses and the elites as being the principal actors in driving polarization. Fiorina says that the masses, or just average people, are not the ones that are polarizing. In fact she thinks that it is the elites who are driving polarization as they attempt to stay as far away
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
All of our interactions within this world hold a certain degree of influence that we do not often think twice about. In certain occupations this influence and power can be seen and understood. A college professor, for example, may or may not be aware of his or her influence on a student’s opinion. Professors are in a position in which they can persuade or influence a person’s opinion. Because students often find trust in what their professor is saying, it is easy to succumb to their views, beliefs, or opinions. Not all students can be persuaded so easily, however over a decade of a teaching a professor has likely influenced thousands of studen...
Pre-pubescent children all came to the same conclusion: stealing is wrong and he should be punished. But pubescent teens saw things differently. They acknowledged that stealing was wrong, but they also questioned the degree of immorality. Would it be more wrong to let your wife die or to steal to save her life? The physiological development of the brain allows adults to reason at a higher level than children. While children see moral issues in black and white, adults see moral issues in shades of grey. And while some of us view political issues such as racism, ethnocentrism, feminism and cultural progress in shades of grey, many of today's conservatives view them like children: in black and white.
Fiorina, Morris P., and Samuel J. Abrams. "Political Polarization in the American Public." The Annual Review of Political Science 11 (2008): 563-88. Annual Reviews. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
To understand American society fully, one must understand America’s political makeup. In order to do that, it is necessary to understand a person’s political opinions and how they came about. This is done by examining how political ideology and political socialization influence society and individuals within that society. Political ideology is the set of beliefs that shape the way someone views government action; it is the way that they think the government should act and react to certain situations. In the United States, the two main political ideologies are liberal and conservative. How American’s teach the tenets and goals of the political system is known as political socialization. This is typically done through parents, peers, school,
Same sex marriage has been a controversial issue since homosexual couples started to petition for their civil and marital rights. Even though homosexuality existed long before our society labeled it, it is still not socially accepted by many groups as well as individuals. As a result, people tend to be biased when reporting facts concerning homosexual marriage. Biases can be hidden in many literature works like books, journals, magazines, and articles. Through these documents writers try to provoke an emotional response from their readers in order to influence their view of a usually highly debated matter. An example of this would be three articles through which the rhetors dissimilarly influence the opinion of their audience by omitting or emphasizing certain facts about the legalization of gay marriage in New York State.
Socialization is a gradual process that takes place as we grow up. It is the process that aids in developing attitudes and opinions that allow us get along within a society. These beliefs affect the political views we hold later in life. Through social agencies such as family, schools, peers, and media we become aware of social rules and develop a social identity. (Introduction to Sociology Pg. 96) A product of this development is political socialization, which is the process of learning political attitudes and behaviors. The idea of political socialization helps in providing the answers to the questions concerning who votes. It aids in explaining how and why people participate in politics. The strongest agent in political socialization is the family. What this means is that most children adopt beliefs similar to those held by their parents. Therefore most people will believe in and vote for issues that are important to members of their family’s. The extent to which an individual is involved in the political process is shaped by his or her family’s level of involvement. For example, a child is less likely to vote if they are raised by parents who don’t regularly go to the polls on Election Day. Children of course, don’t always copy their parents’ political learning’s, but are often heavily influenced by them. As a result, most people end up favoring the political party that their parents generally identify with. Social Characteristics also affect how an individual will participate in politics. Whether a person is young or old, black or white, rich or poor, northerner or southerner will have a heavy impact on his or her political opinions and behavior.
Kernell, Samuel, Jacobson, Gary C., Kousser, Thad, & Vavreck, Lynn. 2014. The Logic of American Politics 6th ed. Los Angeles: CQ Press
7. I’m not quite sure what topic I want to write about for my senior thesis but will revolve around American politics, I have been considering a few specific areas including foreign policy, voter suppression, as well as constitutional interpretation. I’m not sure where I want to go yet but for voter suppression specifically in the 2016 election as many states had enacted tougher voting laws and I would be interested in working with Dr. Nadine Koch from the political science department as she is really the one that was giving me ideas, and this one I remember very clearly, along with a professor from the History Department Dr. Dawn Dennis as she teaches many courses on race and American history. For foreign policy, specifically middle eastern
A belief shared by most people, the voice of the people. The opinion of the public is the popular view. Opinions bring public beliefs to the attention of decision/policy makers. Public opinion is that opinion which government must heed to. Public opinion is reflected by public policy through five models according to Norman Luttbeg.
The education system and the peer group within the school system are important socialisation agents in an individual’s life. Children from an early age absorb the values, attitudes and beliefs of the society in which they participate (Ashman & Elkins, 2009).
The socialization process is the process by which people follow the values and beliefs of their culture, including religion, nationality, and social class. One can agree that prejudices and other beliefs are instilled via socialization. Socialization
Even families with similar financial statuses and religious values had a difference of opinion. Through social imagination, it can be asserted that the problems that students face in convincing their parents are more biographical and personal. The biographical aspect of social imagination focuses on the personal lifestyle of an individual and the immediate environment they live in and interact in every day (Mills, 1959). Students who stayed back often belonged to conservative families, while students who moved away were tied to more liberal families and values. We can link this back to the two types of parenting techniques evaluated by Annette Lareau. Most liberal families preferred concerted cultivation over accomplishment of natural growth. Concerted cultivation is a parenting technique that involves parents taking an active role in fostering activities and opportunities for their children (McKenna, 2012). In contrast, accomplishment of natural growth is a parenting technique that involves parents sustaining their child's growth through authority (McKenna,