The letter to a friend with different political views:
My friend, if you would be very well informed in Politic, Economic and real History, you would be thinking differently. May be you are specialist in the field of Engineering, or Psychiatry, or Physics but not in Economics, Politics and History, which are my major interests (hobbies).
Were you raised in a household with politically aware or involved parents who instilled in you righteous morals? I was. And my brother was elected twice in Russian Parliament (Duma) during the 90-s and was in geo-politic committee there, when wild capitalism started devouring Soviet Union and Russia, my motherland.
Did you have an experience later in life where politics affected you directly? I have. These are just examples. You can explore your consciousness, appraise your abilities in critical thinking and knowledge of major political/economics studies you have received (and if you went through such education at all) and based on what sources of information you are standing were you are now and then it will help you to understand how you formed your own political views.
My friend, if you would be very well informed in Politic, Economic and real History, you would be thinking differently. May be you are specialist in the field of Engineering, or Psychiatry, or Physics but not in Economics, Politics and History, which are my major interests (hobbies).
Were you raised in a household with politically aware or involved parents who instilled in you righteous morals? I was. And my brother was elected twice in Russian Parliament (Duma) during the 90-s and was in geo-politic committee there, when wild capitalism started devouring Soviet Union and Russia, my motherland.
Did you have an experience later in life where politics affected you directly? I have. These are just examples. You can explore your consciousness, appraise your abilities in critical thinking and knowledge of major political/economics studies you have received (and if you went through such education at all) and based on what sources of information you are standing were you are now and then it will help you to understand how you formed your own political views.
I first began to truly pay attention during Bush's second election. Then with everything that happened during his administration, and just growing older and becoming less self absorbed, a parent worrying about the future of children, looking at the world around me has become more important then ever before.
Maybe that's why I'm Independent, pragmatic and conservative.
There was never anyone telling me what to believe, I had to dig through the information and the BS on my own. Life in the real world, common sense, ability to see the reality, knowledge received through constant education of myself and a firm belief in the principles of the Bible (I am Christian), in the US Constitution (base law of the land) which is not working fully in the US now because of the multitude of Executive Orders passed by a multitude of persons happened to be US Presidents has shaped my ideology.
I am open for discussions and I am trying to respect other people's religion if it based on traditional human morality. I have one main principal and that is I let the truth lead me.
"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you!" - Thomas Jefferson.
Is it identity that shape ideology, or vice versa? Why? Considering the USA and its demographic multiculturalism, multientiticism and multipoliticism, it is observed that all the citizens of America are in the desire to call themselves American though there are Spaniards, Italians, Latinos, Indians, Asians, Australians and some other European and African backgrounds. Their 'id' urges them to call themselves American, and this gives pleasure to them; this is perhaps an ideological echo as well. However, after 9/11, the ideological anxieties have made many of them to go back to their mother-born identity. I mean, the conditions may lead somebody to shape a novel identity (sometimes towards back-identity crisis).
I feel that I am returning to my Russian roots now and have a clear vision of what is going on in the world (all the mess in Ukraine, in Middle East, shaped either by the secretly working hand of US, or Israel, or Saudi, or Turkish forces). You can't trust anybody, but only yourself and your ability to get the right information from the right sources by making research yourself, so you could be prepared to face what it is coming and make right choices and decisions that will affect how you will live.
Let me give you a musical example of the attachment between identity and ideology. In his ballet "The Three-Cornered Hat," Spanish composer Manuel de Falla identifies characters with the regions where they were born, and these regions, with their local ideologies, determine personality. For instance, the Miller is from Murcia with its manly melodies, that lead him toward jealousy. His wife is from Navarre, with its Northern graceful rhythms, leading her to coquettish grace. The villain of the ballet is the crafty, cunning Corregidor, from tyrannical, centralizing Madrid...
It is of great pleasure to make ideological or political connections with some rhythms in terms of musical compositions. So, it is obvious that our past and present experiences plus knowledge we've acquired shaped who we are now.
In addition masculine and feminine features come into play. Psychologist John Gray became a celebrity overnight when he wrote “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.” But at least men and women are in the same solar system – sometimes, people whose politics you don’t agree with seem like they’re from another galaxy.
What values do conservatives, liberals, libertarians and others have in common? How do they differ? Which ones are “right” and “wrong”?
Psychologists Jesse Graham and Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia developed a scale called the “Moral Foundations Questionnaire.” After putting it up at their website, www.yourmorals.org, and getting thousands of respondents, they discovered a fundamental difference in how distinct political groups view moral issues. Even more amazing: the same trends appear in results from all over the world.
Care to find out where you fall on the morality scale? Follow this link to register: http://www.yourmorals.org/register.php and look for the “Moral Foundations Questionnaire” at the top of the table of studies.
My American friend told me:"I was raised in a home that was very loving and nurturing. My parents were professionals a doctor and a teacher. They were Democrats. When I was young I leaned Republican and voted for Richard Nixon when I was 21 the voting age at the time. (Because he said that he had a secret plan to end the Vietnam war). I had just returned from Vietnam and knew that we were lied to get us into the war. Sound familiar? That is when I realized that all politicians lie. Now I don't believe in either political party - Dem or Rep because both are bought by the same big money. If you haven't noticed not much changes which party is in power."
And he is right. Those who question it are walking-dead zombies.
Maybe that's why I'm Independent, pragmatic and conservative.
There was never anyone telling me what to believe, I had to dig through the information and the BS on my own. Life in the real world, common sense, ability to see the reality, knowledge received through constant education of myself and a firm belief in the principles of the Bible (I am Christian), in the US Constitution (base law of the land) which is not working fully in the US now because of the multitude of Executive Orders passed by a multitude of persons happened to be US Presidents has shaped my ideology.
I am open for discussions and I am trying to respect other people's religion if it based on traditional human morality. I have one main principal and that is I let the truth lead me.
"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you!" - Thomas Jefferson.
Is it identity that shape ideology, or vice versa? Why? Considering the USA and its demographic multiculturalism, multientiticism and multipoliticism, it is observed that all the citizens of America are in the desire to call themselves American though there are Spaniards, Italians, Latinos, Indians, Asians, Australians and some other European and African backgrounds. Their 'id' urges them to call themselves American, and this gives pleasure to them; this is perhaps an ideological echo as well. However, after 9/11, the ideological anxieties have made many of them to go back to their mother-born identity. I mean, the conditions may lead somebody to shape a novel identity (sometimes towards back-identity crisis).
I feel that I am returning to my Russian roots now and have a clear vision of what is going on in the world (all the mess in Ukraine, in Middle East, shaped either by the secretly working hand of US, or Israel, or Saudi, or Turkish forces). You can't trust anybody, but only yourself and your ability to get the right information from the right sources by making research yourself, so you could be prepared to face what it is coming and make right choices and decisions that will affect how you will live.
Let me give you a musical example of the attachment between identity and ideology. In his ballet "The Three-Cornered Hat," Spanish composer Manuel de Falla identifies characters with the regions where they were born, and these regions, with their local ideologies, determine personality. For instance, the Miller is from Murcia with its manly melodies, that lead him toward jealousy. His wife is from Navarre, with its Northern graceful rhythms, leading her to coquettish grace. The villain of the ballet is the crafty, cunning Corregidor, from tyrannical, centralizing Madrid...
It is of great pleasure to make ideological or political connections with some rhythms in terms of musical compositions. So, it is obvious that our past and present experiences plus knowledge we've acquired shaped who we are now.
In addition masculine and feminine features come into play. Psychologist John Gray became a celebrity overnight when he wrote “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.” But at least men and women are in the same solar system – sometimes, people whose politics you don’t agree with seem like they’re from another galaxy.
What values do conservatives, liberals, libertarians and others have in common? How do they differ? Which ones are “right” and “wrong”?
Psychologists Jesse Graham and Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia developed a scale called the “Moral Foundations Questionnaire.” After putting it up at their website, www.yourmorals.org, and getting thousands of respondents, they discovered a fundamental difference in how distinct political groups view moral issues. Even more amazing: the same trends appear in results from all over the world.
Care to find out where you fall on the morality scale? Follow this link to register: http://www.yourmorals.org/register.php and look for the “Moral Foundations Questionnaire” at the top of the table of studies.
My American friend told me:"I was raised in a home that was very loving and nurturing. My parents were professionals a doctor and a teacher. They were Democrats. When I was young I leaned Republican and voted for Richard Nixon when I was 21 the voting age at the time. (Because he said that he had a secret plan to end the Vietnam war). I had just returned from Vietnam and knew that we were lied to get us into the war. Sound familiar? That is when I realized that all politicians lie. Now I don't believe in either political party - Dem or Rep because both are bought by the same big money. If you haven't noticed not much changes which party is in power."
And he is right. Those who question it are walking-dead zombies.
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