My Family And Political Socialization

Political Socialization
Many people in the Unites States chose to be a part of the different political parties. The reasons may vary, but, generally, joining a political party is about being a part of the government. Americans have to choose what party to be a part of by establishing their political beliefs and values. These certain beliefs are typically shaped by personal agents of socialization. These agents include family, school, religion, community, peers, media, and peoples ' opinion. Everybody has been affected by different agents of socialization depending on if they went to church, or if their families were politically involved, and many other factors. Personally, my agents of socialization are mainly dependent on my family, school, …show more content…
As a whole, my family is not very active in politics for many reasons, but the main reason is because my parents ' simply do not have time to go out and vote in every local election. My father believes that the local elections are not relevant because he thinks that nothing important happens at the local level of government. This kind of thinking is what I have always been around, so I subconsciously accepted that and that’s what I have always known. My mother, on the other hand, does not have time to keep up with politics and elections. Due to my parents lack of political involvement, this has greatly influenced the way I look at politics because currently I am nineteen and I still have not registered to vote. Most of the times I simply believe my voice does not matter, so why should I waste time standing in a line to vote if I honestly do not believe in the people I am voting for to be my voice. Another reason why my family is considered my number one agent of socialization is because of their party affiliation. My parents consider themselves to be Democrats because they relate to the blue-collar working class, and they share the same beliefs on social issues. My parents due associate themselves with the middle, working class, they believe …show more content…
Religion can be considered one of my agents of socialization for two main reasons, my attendance and my position on social issues. When I was younger, my family did not attend church on a regular basis because we usually used Sundays to sleep in and rest up. My family is so sport driven that as a child, I missed out on many church experiences because I was always playing in a volleyball match or attending a football game on Saturdays. When Sunday mornings rolled around, we usually slept in and missed church. I believe missing out on church as a child has greatly affected my stance on social issues. Since the church was not a big factor in my life as a young child, my stance on social issues, like abortion and same sex marriages, are more Democrat. I personally believe that if you want to marry someone then you should be able to marry them, and the same thing that applies to abortion. I would say that my lack of religious background is the factor in my political views as an agent of