Social And Economic Issues example essay topic

"Possible Effects on the Political Beliefs of American Voters" Many factors affect the way American citizens view political ideas and decisions. Often one's environment or background strongly influences the opinions that one develops over time. However, while these variables make an impact on American political beliefs, they cannot always predict how an entire group will vote. One's family background generally shapes a person's political views. Children begin identifying with their parents' political beliefs very early in life. By fifth grade, over half of American children identify with a specific party, and another fifth claim to be independents.

As children grow older, they take on even more of their parents' views. By the time they are finishing high school, only nine percent of children identify with the party opposite to that of their parents. Although once children leave the nest, their parents' influence lessens; about sixty percent of American adults retain the same party affiliation as their parents. However, children frequently have opposing views on specific issues and party policies. This difference in opinion is often explained through variance in generational values, more idealism in young people, or lack of thorough communication of consistent positions by parents to their children. Peer group, social class, religion, and geographic area also have effects on a citizen's beliefs.

Just as children pay attention to the views of their parents, people respond to the thoughts of their peers. Political discussion and activity exposes people to other ways of thinking, which may cause them to change their ideas to match those of their peers. One's peers are usually in the same social class, and live in the same geographic area. Certain religious denominations share many of the same voting patterns. When religious and ethnic groups first immigrated to the United States, they settled in the same areas, had the same economic status, and faced the same discrimination. Catholics and Jews were often poor and subject to much discrimination.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant families, or "WASP"s, were the founders of this country, and therefore never the objects of persecution. As a result, they remain conservative on both economic and social issues today. Generally, Catholics are more liberal on economic issues than Protestants, and Jews are much more liberal on both social and economic issues. Historically, both religious groups often supported the Democratic Party, as it seemed to have the most to offer them. In today's world, both Catholics and Jews enjoy greater economic prosperity and social freedoms, and so their support of the Democrats has waned.

Religious tradition provides another explanation of the effects of religion on voting patterns. Historically, the Jewish religion has always emphasized the importance of social justice as much as personal morality. On the other hand, evangelical Protestant denominations stress personal salvation much more than social issues. This difference in teaching has created large numbers of liberal Jews and conservative Protestants.

Education level and occupation also impact voting patterns. Studies have shown that the longer a person spends in school, the more liberal one is likely to become. Possible explanations of this phenomenon include the increasingly liberal faculty at institutes of higher education, the likelihood of becoming exposed to and involved in political causes while in college, and the somewhat self-selective pool of students who can afford to stay in school for that long. Most of these students not only grew up in wealthier families, but also will start out with a much higher paying salary once they finish their education. These liberal students grow up to be part of the more liberal upper-class sector of American society. Their political views, especially in economic areas, often radically differ from their working-class counterparts.

In addition, race, gender, and age impact the voting trends. African Americans, Latinos, and other minorities generally have different views on some issues than white Americans. The majority of Latinos identify as Democrats, although much less so than do blacks, and Asian Americans are even more identified with the Republican Party than Anglo whites. On social issues, Asian American views are much more similar to Anglo whites than those of blacks or Latinos.

Latinos are somewhat more liberal than whites or Asian Americans, but much less liberal than blacks, except on the issue of bilingual education programs. However, majorities of all groups oppose the use of racial quotas, want the courts to get tougher on criminals, oppose making abortion legal in all cases, and wish that the Census Bureau would stop collecting data on race and ethnicity. Huge majorities of both whites and blacks think that too much is made of racial differences and would be willing to vote for an African American presidential candidate. While race still clearly influences political decisions, the gaps between groups are narrowing.

More young African Americans identify themselves as Republicans, and think that social and economic distinction between whites and blacks are not mainly due to racial discrimination. Just as age marks differences with African American views, it shows varying opinions in all other sections. Elderly Americans and young Americans concern themselves with completely different issues. Older people worry about things like Medicare and the social security system, while younger people worry about things that impact them now. And even within age categories, there is still a great "gender gap". Women tend to vote based on social issues, and therefore frequently support Democratic candidates.

Men, on the other hand, concern themselves chiefly with business and economic issues. In the last forty years, voting records have exemplified this as men have become increasingly Republican. The biggest reason for this shift lies with attitudes about the size of government, gun control, spending programs for the poor, and gay rights. Men have always been more conservative than women about these issues, but it wasn't until the late 1960's and early 1970's that men switched their party loyalty to match their policy preferences. When I examine my personal political beliefs, I wonder just how much they have been shaped by the factors previously discussed.

I am a Libertarian, but like both of my parents, I identify with the Republican Party. However, both of my parents tend to be very conservative. I am a "liberal Republican", although I consider the term to be somewhat of an oxymoron. I think that my peer group has certainly influenced my political beliefs, perhaps even more so than my family background has. When I was younger, my school had mock presidential elections, and like everyone else, I voted for whomever my parents supported. We blindly followed our parents' views because we had yet to fully examine our own.

However, many of my political views were formed at the same time that my friends and I began to formally discuss politics. Through these discussions, I was exposed to many ideas beyond the ones found in my own household. I also found other views through my education. In my history classes, law classes, and personal edification, I have read many more political opinions and theories than I would have ever developed on my own. Although I believe that my core political beliefs have already been formed, I don't rule out the possibility that as I am exposed to even more theories in my higher education, I will take on other causes and ideas. I don't feel that either my religion or geographic surroundings have influenced my political views.

As a Catholic, I have been taught certain doctrines that contradict my personal beliefs. I am a firm supporter of abortion rights. I am against most government spending programs aimed at helping the poor. I believe that people should help themselves, rather than looking to the government. Neither of these beliefs corresponds with my Catholic upbringing. I don't even think that the government should be involved in social aid.

I think that all of those efforts should be turned over to private charities, and the government should start spending their time and my tax dollars on more pressing issues. However, I think that my race and economic status have definitely impacted my political views. For example, I think affirmative action should no longer affect the college admissions process. I also don't think race or economic status should be a factor when a person undergoes consideration for any type of employment. Since I have grown up in an upper-class white environment in which education is highly valued as opposed to a minority working-class environment, I possess confidence in my abilities to obtain admission to college and job opportunities without needing quotas to get myself in the door. However, these "equal opportunity" programs are actually making it more difficult for people like myself to get into college now.

I think that my age certainly affects my political concerns, and they will change with time. Even though I doubt that my core beliefs will change as I age, I do know that when I am a member of the elderly population, I will focus on different things than I do at the present time. I question how much my gender truly impacts my political decisions. Although I feel strongly about many social issues, I still find that economic issues come to the forefront of most of my beliefs. I would much rather vote for a president that could keep the economy under control and have to fight for what I feel is socially and morally correct than have an economy in shambles and be satisfied in other ways.

Even if social issues inspire passion, economic issues seem more practical at the end of the day..