The first time I encountered the subject of politics was in middle school during the 2004 presidential election. My interests at the time included reading Harry Potter books, swapping food items at lunch, and collecting Pokemon cards. While waiting in line for lunch one day, a friend of mine asked if I was a republican or democrat. All I knew was that politics involved "grown ups" voting for the country's leaders. Being a soft spoken person, I paused, and then answered republican. I thought nothing of it at the time, but as time passed, I wondered what the question and my answer really meant. I started paying more attention to the topic when it arose in conversation but was still hesitant to participate.
As high school approached, my view of politics was still very foggy. It seemed that amongst young people, the "cool" thing was to become a democrat. The image created in my head was of a young, hip political leader who reached out and changed laws to help people. On the other side, my peers spoke of republicans as aged, unrelatable and traditional. The political question started becoming more common as a conversation starter. By this time I had watched a few debates and could identify the biggest views held by each political party. However, I found it hard to identify with only one party, sometimes I was republican, and the rest of the time I was a democrat.
To this day I still find it hard to identify myself under only one label. I understand that mankind has a tendency to organize and feels a need to place any item under the sun into a specific filing folder. There's taxonomy, color groups, stereotypes, etc. I can agree that it's very beneficial to understand the big picture when we connect the similarities and separate the differences. However, a problem arises when people create an social obligation for you to join only one group and then when you choose not to, question your ability to make up your mind. I tell these people that the opposite is true: I have made up my mind. I choose not to join a group just so they can tell me what I believe on a particular issue.
Then comes this blog, where I wish to discuss my ideological journey in real time. I am constantly looking for new perspectives in order to gain a better understanding of...well anything. In particular I am very interested in analyzing the way our country is run, politically and economically. I am very proud to be in a free country where I am allowed to think independently, but am still surprised how easy it is for the general public to clump together as groups and think collectively. I don't think there is enough dialogue to welcome and encourage young people to enjoy politics and economics. Being a nerd, it's easy for me to get overly excited about topics such as these and I want other people my age to see it. We all don't have to get degrees in these fields, but in order to become more active members of society, it is necessary to develop more understanding. I'm Olivia, an inquisitive college student, here to prove that this can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
As high school approached, my view of politics was still very foggy. It seemed that amongst young people, the "cool" thing was to become a democrat. The image created in my head was of a young, hip political leader who reached out and changed laws to help people. On the other side, my peers spoke of republicans as aged, unrelatable and traditional. The political question started becoming more common as a conversation starter. By this time I had watched a few debates and could identify the biggest views held by each political party. However, I found it hard to identify with only one party, sometimes I was republican, and the rest of the time I was a democrat.
To this day I still find it hard to identify myself under only one label. I understand that mankind has a tendency to organize and feels a need to place any item under the sun into a specific filing folder. There's taxonomy, color groups, stereotypes, etc. I can agree that it's very beneficial to understand the big picture when we connect the similarities and separate the differences. However, a problem arises when people create an social obligation for you to join only one group and then when you choose not to, question your ability to make up your mind. I tell these people that the opposite is true: I have made up my mind. I choose not to join a group just so they can tell me what I believe on a particular issue.
Then comes this blog, where I wish to discuss my ideological journey in real time. I am constantly looking for new perspectives in order to gain a better understanding of...well anything. In particular I am very interested in analyzing the way our country is run, politically and economically. I am very proud to be in a free country where I am allowed to think independently, but am still surprised how easy it is for the general public to clump together as groups and think collectively. I don't think there is enough dialogue to welcome and encourage young people to enjoy politics and economics. Being a nerd, it's easy for me to get overly excited about topics such as these and I want other people my age to see it. We all don't have to get degrees in these fields, but in order to become more active members of society, it is necessary to develop more understanding. I'm Olivia, an inquisitive college student, here to prove that this can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
