When it comes to Political Socialization I can’t help but to bring up my childhood. I grew up in an affluent very liberal area between Washington DC and Baltimore. There we had multicultural day and we would share food with families from school that were diverse. The number of immigrants was around 20 percent in this area. In fact the number of people that spoke a second language was almost half. In other words the perspectives certainly contributed to me embracing the melting pot values that are uniquely American.
I will say that the wars throughout the middle east after 911 contributed to my antiwar stance. Even though many people were government contractors in the area where I lived, they were often against the wars too. My friends and I could often be found in and around DC protesting against the invasion.
Only until I got older did the prisoner’s dilemma start to become a problem when I found myself exploring aspects beyond my upbringing. In fact the socio-economics of increased regulation was hurting my father’s business. He contributed to the campaign of an aspiring republican governor hoping that would turn things around. I began to explore some of the ideas of the republican candidate and it started making sense. I worked in circles throughout the campaign that seemed to consist of republicans that were also pro Bush. I had to divert my energy to the cause that was most important to me, which was less regulation in my father’s industry.
In many ways I became jaded to the political system. It took 4 more years and a Democratic candidate to pass legislation allowing for gaming in Anne Arundel County. I witnessed the corruption of political concessions to certain individuals. I remember one time my father tearing up his invitation to the Governor’s ball, since he said it was all promises that could never be kept.
With Collective Action it seemed that something would get done in the Maryland House considering the funding that would go to education. However, even though both parties were desperate to create new revenue streams. The corruption of public officials and who would be making money over the real estate development and the building construction contracts. The democrats and republicans are equally corrupt.
Many attorneys approached my father and said he could write them a check for $50,000 to lobby in Maryland. My father had pretty much witnessed and observed the corruption and decided to wait. He said at this point they all want money to do their jobs. Some people even alluded to the fact that a pay to play scheme existed with certain officials. My family was so absolutely disgusted.
If a person becomes so self interested it leaves them vulnerable in the realm of politics. In many ways it can turn an honest person corrupt fairly quickly. It is sad to have witnessed this sort of crony capitalism take place at the state level. However I will say that the socialization of your parents has much to do with your political viewpoints.
After being exposed to this sort of political culture. It became very easy for me to realize the motivating factor in many political decisions. I began studying history and some of the policies put into place and looked through those people that benefited. What I noticed more than anything was that high net worth individuals are behind most political candidates.
Imagine one gigantic puppet show and our politicians are simply ham-strung puppets. The puppet masters are their large and affluent donor base. They are always a call away and often meet in person to avoid having the conversation recorded.
In fact the prisoner’s dilemma became more and more apparent throughout the wars in the Middle East. Those politicians that did not vote to fund the war in Congress or the Senate were labeled unpatriotic and often lost their seats. Propaganda with gold star families became the norm and everyone simply supported an absolute idiot for President. In many ways this was about intuitive animals instincts vs actual rational outcomes. The concept of rational decision making was replaced mainly with emotions.
ABCD