Ben Rogaczewski

American National Government

Political Socialization Paper

There are several areas of the political socialization process that have either indirectly or

directly affected me in life. This was evident within my upbringing through my family, within

major events that I witnessed, and finally, within the different social circles of high school and

college. Each of these areas, as the reader will see, have affected my political socialization.

Concerning the family, the political sentiment was certainly drawn to the democratic

party, but not staunchly. What I mean is that my parents did not primarily support the

democratic as much as they opposed the republican candidates. Often the republican

candidates seemed backwards in their opinions and bellicose hawks, as opined by my

parents. However, both of my parents have bachelors, or higher degrees (one is a lawyer, while

the other is a teacher), so it is not surprising that they fit the demographic for the democratic

party (Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes: p. 117). Also, I rarely disagreed with their logic within political

elections, especially since most of my political socialization took place during the Bush

administration when we were in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This had been preluded by a

further development when a major event devastated the nation: the attack on the World Trade

Center in New York City.

I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when news broke about the

attack on the twin towers. It seemed almost surreal, as if it was not happening in the real life.

This was one of the major turning points, however, within my political socialization. I can safely
say that I had little or no allegiance to one party or another, and could be swayed either way.

The sentiment was clear from both parties that if we were to succeed as a nation after such a

devastating attack, we must remain united. It was the reaction to the attack by the Bush

administration, however, which pushed me towards the democratic party. Whether it was

because of the media or not, I felt it was wrong to use the attack as a springboard into two

major wars that still have a lasting affect today, and intolerance towards Muslim Americans.

Growing up, I was taught to accept everyone, a constant teaching found in my parochial

upbringing. Therefore, the idea of intolerance being normalized through added security

measures seemed not only alien to me, but also unnecessary. This same feeling against

intolerance drove me further left on the political spectrum.

In my later years of high school and throughout all of college one of the primary political

issues facing our nation same-sex marriage rights. I had many friends who identified as gay,

lesbian, or bisexual, and since I firmly believed in tolerance, I wanted these friends to have the

same rights afforded to me. Again, the reaction from the conservative right did not sit well with

me. This was another area where the media certainly played a role in my political development.

For one, numerous conservative talk show hosts found the idea of same-sex marriage to be

repulsive and unnatural, while more liberal pundits often mocked these talk show hosts

pointing out how homosexual tendencies were exhibited by numerous species within the

animal kingdom. This notion was especially interesting for me, as this political debate was

happening while I was still preparing to be a biologist in college. However, the final push from

political observer to candidate came towards the end of my college life. It was during this time

that national politics were slowly making Wisconsin more present within the public eye through
the political protests of Act 10 in Madison. There were many reasons why I felt so strongly

about these protests. First, I was now becoming a historian with the hopes of becoming a

teacher myself, and Act 10 seemed like it was direct attack against educators in Wisconsin. The

second reason concerned exemplar educators in my life. I knew many of the teachers who

traveled to Madison to protest Act 10, and my mother was pushed to retire because of Act 10.

However, this was more than just a personal political moment for me. It was also a moment

when I started to associated words like aggression with conservative republicans. This was

evident when Governor Scott Walker unwittingly told news reporters that he had a Louisville

Slugger he wanted to use on the protesters.

It was moments like these that pushed me from being just a democrat to more of a

progressive and, oddly enough, inspired me to consider a life within politics. As a historian, I

was beginning to see inspiration in earlier progressives like fighting Bob LaFollet, and wanted

to learn more about them and political science in general. It became a means to make sure I

could impart this knowledge to my students, to make sure they were informed on these areas

of politics as well.

Ultimately, my political socialization does not seem to have encountered many conflicts,

and was more of a progression within the democratic party. This is not to say that I have not

held strong political debates with other democrats or republicans. On the contrary, it happens

every four and two years, and usually while enjoying a beer. Yet, I would not term these

interactions as negatives. Instead, I have come to view them in a positive light, using them as a

means to progress in my political socialization.