The Influence Of Political Culture

The American dream, the idea that everyone has the freedom to build themselves a better life, many people are aware of this concept, but what they are not aware of is that it is a key idea of America’s political culture. Some are not aware of what political culture is and how it effects them, the government and society as whole. In order to get better understanding of what political culture is there must be an understanding of: how political culture is shaped and how it has changed, how factors such as, political socialization and public opinion, have played a role, and what groups or things influence an individual’s political culture.
Before going into the details of understanding political culture let’s define it: political culture is the …show more content…
This is one of the basic principles that America was founded upon, so it would only make sense that this idea would carry through to how political culture in America is shaped. The next element is equality, now this does not refer to equality for all men, because looking back in America’s past equality for all has not been one of bright spots in America’s society; rather, it refers to the idea of equal opportunity. American’s believe that everyone should have the ability to an equal chance to better themselves, this foes along with the American dream. Slowly the elements are adding up, and creating the American political culture. Democracy is another key elements in Political culture; in saying this, citizens have a duty to choose wisely the official they elect to represent them, because elected officials should be an accurate representative of those who elected him or her. Another belief, which may be surprising since America’s voting percentage is the lowest in democratic nations around the world, is that Americans must take pride in their civic duty and it should be taken seriously. Individual responsibility is another characteristic …show more content…
Political socialization is the process in which individuals acquire the information, beliefs, attitudes and values that help them comprehend the workings of a political system and orient themselves within it. Basically, the process in which people acquire political culture. The way individuals acquire this knowledge is through an array of sources including family, peers, geographical region, socio-economic status, the media, and key events. (We shall dive into further detail for some of the sources later.) Political socialization is important when discussing political culture, because depending how an individual is introduced in to government and politics greatly impacts the individual’s perception of political culture. In addition to political socialization, public opinion is also important. Public opinion is a cornerstone in democracy; it is the collective expression of attitudes about the prominent issues and actors of the day. It’s what the common consensus is on major events and opinions on popular people of the time. Public opinion is important when it comes the political culture, because other people’s opinions and political cultures’ can influence his or her own political