Poli 1223 Political Socialization (with personal examples)

Travel

I like to travel. I have visited 37 countries. Recently I have taken OBU students to visit: Greece, Italy and who knows where next time.

Media

When I was a child, my family used to watch NY Yankee baseball games, Old Yeller, Daniel Boone, and King Kong. We did not have a television in the home until JFK was assassinated. The first thing I saw was Lee Harvey Oswald killed live on Television. My family loved the I LOVE LUCY show. I grew up to marry my Latina just like Lucy married her Latino.

Notice I am a composite of many of the television shows that others allowed me to watch. What if you allow your child to watch video games???

The Tree Stump of

Political Socialization

Tony Litherland

I have worshiped God as a Free Methodist, Catholic, Four Square, and as a Baptist since 1983.

I worship at Hazel del Baptist where we strive to serve the poor, save the lost and teach faith

Schools and family

My Political Socialization

Travel

I earned a 14 year perfect attendance pen

CHURCH: 16 Mission trips

Eastern Illinois University 1975

My Great Grandfather lived to 103 and danced in Church every Sunday

I have spent a lot of time in Washington, DC. I have been to the US Capital, Washington Monument, Supreme Court, and many other national landmarks. I spent 1 year as a legislative intern in the US Senate Office of Senator Bob Graham of Florida. I was there to use one of the first email systems.

My mother married poorly twice and then found a wonderful man named Wayne. My Grandfather was a retired minister and helped stabilize my life. He would drive miles to pick us up and take us to church.

My political socialization has developed through a multitude of different subcategories of the five original agents. Here are some pictures that represent me.....

Associations

The American Legion is the most important organization that I am active in. We conduct parades, memorial services, banquets, flag retirement ceremonies and help veterans with their problems, especially financial and health care.

I have lived in Illinois, N.H., Spain, and Oklahoma

Family

I grew up listening to missionaries explain their life serving God overseas. I wanted to travel, live overseas and marry someone international. God allowed me marry the most amazing woman in the world, Mrs. Doctor Litherland.

There are Six (6) broad forces that shape who you are politically:

My Friends...

Our family has hosted 88 international students over the last 30 years.

Agents of socialization (5)

Family, Religion, Schools, Peers,

and the Media

Cue Leaders (2)

Cultural Leaders and Political Leaders

Education (1)

What level of education can you attain?

Life History (3)

Political Ideology

Major events, conditions, and circumstances

Public Opinion plays a critical role in the US political system

Political Knowledge (either hi or lo)

A.I.D.-C or L-I-V (P.I.G)

Three Types are common

Personal traits (4)

gender, race, ethnicity, age

Where does region belong?

Liberal

Moderate

Conservative

What role should the government play in foreign policy?

Cooperative

Competitive aggressive

What role should the government play in domestic policy?

Political Socialization

Active government role

Passive government role

Social services

Free market solutions

Environmental policy

Protect liberty

20%

What is Political Efficacy?

The attitude that you can make a difference

What is Positive Political Efficacy?

You can make a difference politically or in public policy?

Native Americans

Can one lady sitting on a bus make a difference?

Can protestors stop oil pollution?

Can young people make a difference?

20%

What percentage of voters are die hard Liberals?

What percentage of voters are die hard Conservative?

What percentage of voters are moderates, or undecided?

What is the Rule of 51%

What is the fastest growing segment of our political culture?

Turn to your neighbor

James David Barber argues that politicians fall into active and passive and positive and negative traits

Positive

My First Political Memory

Active

Passive

Negative

Which of the presidential candidates will turn out to be the most active and positive?

Welcome to the Political Socialization Tree stump. Much like how each ring on a tree stump represents a year of life, each ring on our stump of political socialization represents a new experience, agent or event that has impacted your individual political beliefs. Now let us look at what "political socialization" actually means.....

Definition

Family

As a small child, my family was not political. I first became aware of politics through JFK's assassination, then watching the new President Johnson take over. I was keenly aware of the investigation into the assassination.

Then I became fully aware of the controversy over the Vietnam War and the Watergate coverup.

I became very much aware of racism and that I did not want to be like any of the racist people on television. I teased my mother that I wanted to grow up and marry an African girl.

I fell in love with books and read countless books as a teenager and young adult. I learned that the Romans, Greeks and Founding Fathers believed in virtues. Guess what, so do I.

Political Socialization refers to the process by which individuals develop their own personal political views and beliefs. It is the Process by which an individual acquires political knowledge and values.

This category usually includes parents, or anyone in the home that has an impact on the daily lives of all the other individuals in the home. Family is the most common agent from which people receive their political socialization.

What will you do?

How will you raise your children?

Will you pass on negative or positive political efficacy?

Each Generation will react to events

1871 to 1889: New Worlders

1890 to 1908: Hard Timers

1909 to 1928: Good Warriors (G.I. or the GREATEST GENERATION)

1929 to 1945: Lucky Few (Silent)

1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers

1965 to 1982: Gen X

1983 to 2001: New Boomers or Millennials

2001 to Present: Gen Z (New Silent)

Let us examine a Republican Family first

Personal development

Joseph

Teddy

G. P. Bush

Now let us examine a Democratic Family

Long Review of Socialization

Character makes you trustworthy

-- Vision, direction, leadership, self-management

-- Unity, justice, effective interdependence with other citizens

-- dominion over self, self-government, control yourself, mastery of self, know the limits

John

Biblical inputs

-- to Know God intimately

-- to Love God 100%, to love others, and your enemies

-- to Serve God, to serve the Church, to serve those less fortunate

-- to rejoice, be full of Joy and worship God; John 15

Bobby

Aging

The tremendous power of Television

Dysfunctional families

GHW Bush

Jeb Bush

1929

GW Bush

Great Depression

1957

What happens to your socialization if it is dysfunctional?

Space race

1960

We are low information voters: very few people know much about life and especially politics

We are dependent on CUE LEADERS to digest politics for us and then tell us what to think.

The danger is manipulation (more later on the role of the media)

JFK vs. Nixon

1963

Age 5 = we discover that something is terribly wrong

Age 10 = we adopt a world view (critical events)

Age 20 to 25 = we attain maturity

Age 32 = producer, volunteer, contributor, believer = we become positive political citizens

By age 64 = we are more wise and more conservative

Assassination

The End

Malcolm X, Bobby, Martin, Wallace, Reagan

How is Prince William socialized?

How are children of presidents socialized?

Space Shuttle Disaster

Obama

Clinton

Reagan

Carter

Rags to riches to rags

2000

Gang m

2011

Change Principle

Attitudes

Calculate age 10

Education is a precious diamond that is worth almost everything else in life. God agrees; the gift of faith then discipleship; you study hard to prove yourself worthy.

Uneducated people have a hard time with faith and life.

Pollsters take samples and measure the public's support for a public policy.

God is timeless = loving

Nothing stays the same: we mature over time as we react to events

Constant battle: Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan was shot in the head for wanting to obtain an education.

Work hard, save a lot, be generous, and think before voting

Faith, grace, love, and sacrifice - God's way of doing things

I can make a difference in the lives of others.

The Agents

People love to blame the "liberal media.

Where did Danae learn to blame the media?

They blew it in 1936

Why?

See? Political Socialization starts at a young age and stems from a variety of sources. Let's take a look.....

Literary Digest began predicting winners in 1916.

Individuals acquire their political views from their environment around them. The five agents of political socialization are Family, Peers, School, Mass Media, and your associations.

What happens if you give in to peer pressure?

Peers

Fox News predicted that Mitt Romney would win very late into the evening.

Why?

An agent is the means by which or source from which people learn their political views.

Peers includes all friends, coworkers, sport team members, school peers etc. Because most people spend countless hours with their friends, this agent is substantial in influence.

Predict: who is winning the demographic battles?

Younger, less religious, non-white, lower classes

like Santa, the agents leave individuals political ideological presents without the individual ever realizing.

This agent includes television, social networking, the internet, radio and newspapers/magazines. Most individuals learn current political events and certain opinions on such happenings, through mass media.

Mass Media

Associations

Are you a member of any of the following groups?

Synagogues

Churches

mosques

Temples

The Schools play a critical role in teaching patriotism

Witch covens

Constitution

Civil Rights

Civil Liberties

Symbolic

Flag

American Eagle

secret societies

Civic duties

Voting

Knowledge

Well-informed voters

interest groups

Attitudes

tolerance

mutual respect

School

Children receive political socialization at school through the learning process. What we learn in school about history and government helps us develop our own political views.

Conclusions

A random sample can predict amazing things.

The American voter likes 13 out of the 14 major parts of the Affordable Health Care Act (AHA).

Political socialization is a 24/7 process.

Americans do not want another war.

Political Socialization is a 24/7 Lifetime process that never stops:

• We are given a set of conditions and parameters as a young person. Some are positive and many are negative.
• Some remain immature and overly dependent on their television "sugar Daddies" to tell them what to do.
• Some mature and develop skills, knowledge and wisdom as to what we should do politically. It is my hope you become this kind of mature watchdog and not a dependent lapdog.
• As the Bible hints, your goal is to become a great tree under which others can recline and be blessed.

Cannot change: Gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc.