Political Ideology: How it's kinda like Divergent

   

Hey, I am Nat, I'm a Senior in high school, and am writing this blog for my APGOPO class. In this first post, I have to discuss my political ideology. First, you have to know what political ideologies mean. Have you ever read Divergent? If you have, you probably know that each person has to choose a group to belong to; that is kinda like political ideologies. You have to examine what you value and that will place you in a political ideological group. Instead of having a whole ceremony though, it can simply be done by this quiz that I had to take in class.

Taking the quiz, I found that I am a Solid Liberal. Solid Liberals basically whole-heartedly support positive social and economic change made by the government that makes everyone more equal to each other (i.e., supporting Black Lives Matter, raising the taxes on the rich, gay marriage, etc). In addition to that, we support diplomacy with our foreign allies so the policies made can benefit both our country and the other, ensuring peace.

If you take the quiz, you'll find that there are mainly different types of ideologies, but I think the one that is the most direct contrast to mine is Country First Conservatives. They are more invested in traditional values than social change and would rather prefer to have the government intrude on personal life and businesses the least as possible rather than investing in welfare programs to help people's financial situation. I also find that they are a bit more socially conservative since they are against gay marriage and immigration, the exact opposite of a Solid Liberal who strive to get equality for all demographics. They advocate for the free market so they can make the most profit as possible, while on the other hand, Solid Liberal advocate for more regulations so that workers are treated fairly. They are also a bit of an isolationist because they also want the least foreign integration as possible (which probably influenced their anti-immigrant attitude) so America can make decisions that best benefit themselves, unlike a Solid Liberal's value to be more active in foreign policy. 

Though one thing I find similar to both Country First Conservatives and Solid Liberals is the fact that they believe that we should help all Americans, even if we go into more debt. Trump, who seems like a Country First Conservative, passed a tax cut in 2017 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017). It would lower taxes for all American at the expense of the government getting less money, ensuing in a bigger debt.

I believe major factors that influenced by political ideology are my family and where I live. I am a minority in addition to my parents being immigrants. Because of this, I support immigrants to the fullest and can recognize how hard they work to be apart of America. I also live in a generally liberal city and as a result, I can easily be influenced anywhere and everywhere I go in town. Based on the demographics of where I live, most of my peers are also liberal, so I am also influenced by whomever I am with.