Forgive me if this is out of place. I don't post that often outside the FSX forum, so I might have misread the theme over here.
I've noticed that the opinions I read in this forum tend to espouse a particular world view that could be described as, well... conservative. Now I've never thought of myself in that way, at least not since voting for Reagan that one time right after I was old enough to cast a ballot. So generally, I feel pretty much out of the mainstream on FS forums, politically speaking. It made me begin to wonder... why exactly do I hold the views I hold? Why do any of us?
That last thing I'd want to start is a "my politics are better than yours" thread, which would be beyond useless. What I'd like to discuss, value judgments aside, is: are you aware of why you hold the views you do? Have you always thought the way you do now? If not, what changed your mind?
Since I brought it up, I'll go first. I was raised primarily by my mom and stepfather. Mom was pretty much apolitical - probably too busy raising four kids to even think about politics - but my stepfather was a red-in-the-face screaming racist bigot who thought just about everyone around us was an idiot, and didn't mind explaining that fact to anyone who would listen. He was also a drunk and a swindler, but that's another story. For whatever reason, the political manifestation of his toxic world view was that he was bellicose in his support of far-right politicians. That said, I'm not sure he ever voted even once.
My father, whom I idolized but with whom I didn't live, was an artist and self-described agnostic and liberal, a professor of design at the local art college. He was a gentle soul, generous and kind, who would go out of his way to help somebody out if they were down on their luck. He was also well-read and fiercely intelligent, and never met a Democrat he didn't like. I have to laugh thinking of it now, because he's exactly the sort of person that comes to mind when someone on Fox mentions the liberal elite. Except of course, that he wasn't rich enough to be classed as elite by any measure.
You can see where this is going, can't you? By the time I was in college and was starting to form my own views, I was already predisposed to a left-of-center mindset, just based on the facts of my upbringing. It really had much less to do with any rational decision or side-by-side comparison of viewpoints. Couple that with going to art school (not only was it where my heart lay, but it was free ), which is generally a hot-bed of liberalism, and the pathways in my young brain began to skew decidedly to the left.
I'd say by the time I was 25, my views were pretty well set. I've always had a touch of wanderlust, and I moved to the west coast around then, too, to San Francisco. I was smitten with the big-city atmosphere and the stark, dry beauty of that part of the state. As you can imagine, who did I end up meeting and befriending? More liberals!
Thankfully, I also met my wife. After the two of us got tired of the high cost of living in Silicon Valley and the constant gridlocked traffic, we looked for another spot to live that was a little calmer and more sane. She's from Hawaii, and wanted to stay close to her family by remaining on the west coast. We looked at Southern California (too plastic and too expensive), Seattle (great city, but too crowded - it was another Silicon Valley in the making), and that left us with Portland, Oregon. It's a gorgeous little city, very livable, even if it is too damn wet for six months out of the year. It's also, by and large, a liberal bastion, though it floats in a sea of red countryside. So by locality, most of our friends end up sharing our particular beliefs and views, and it just keeps being very easy to feel the way I do about life.
None of this is to say that I'm a mindless drone who doesn't regularly challenge himself. I watch the news, try to reason through my reaction to what is happening, and apply a little logic to my opinions. Let's face it, though; the pathways in my brain are very well-worn indeed now that I'm in middle age. What makes the most sense to me is what I've always known. That doesn't mean it's wrong, but I'm honest about why I feel this way.
So, how about you? Regardless of what opinions you hold, what shaped them?
Bookmarks