Political socialization
Political socialization is the process by which individuals learn about politics and that factor can shape political culture. I think the main aim of political socialization is to create good citizens. From the playground to the classroom, the office to the dinner table, much of our lives affect our political opinions. The most easily identified agents of this are family, schooling, peers, community, region, race, religion, media, and significant events.
The first stage is when a child begins to realize that there is a world around him/her. Then, he/she realizes that outside the family there are more powers. He/she starts living and learning outside family. They put certain demands on the society and recognize authorities, which operate in the society. Your family is the most important part of who you are. Your family is there for emotional support. The family is where we acquire our specific social position in society. If your family is rich then you are in a different social class than if they are middle class or poor. Family values instilled during childhood are a prime example of latent socialization. At an early age we learn our parent’s political attitude and support them throughout our lives.
As I think about the process in which has molded me into the person that I am today, I realize that most of my beliefs were instilled in me at a young age. These beliefs have directed me in most of the decisions that I have made over the course of my life; and these decisions are exactly what have given me my identity.
I was raised in a family with strong moral values, for the most part, congruent to the values of Ukrainian culture. I accepted the fact that my mother and father were the authority figures in my life and allowed them to guide me. Being very young I believed what they told me and adopted their beliefs. This helped me to develop my own self-concept. I admired my parents achieved status and social success and realized that I wanted to lead a life like theirs. Just like the beliefs of my parents.
That critical interaction between my family and peers has truly been the building block of my life. It has helped me become a functioning member of society, and helped me to gain the confidence I need to succeed, they believed the only way for me to attain that dream was to go to school for a proper education. Being around my peers also helped me realize that education was considered a norm, and anyone who did not follow through with it received personal ramifications in their lives. Eventually I graduated high school and based on the accepted beliefs of my family, and also viewing most of my peer group continuing on to college, I decided to be a part of that. College was a whole new, liberating experience.
The opportunity for education in my life has created many changes over the years. When I was a child, I was an inquirer, a dependant, an elementary student; and today I am a college student, an employee, a significant other, etc. However, fearing the disapproval of my family, and realizing the importance of education, I continued school. I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect, so I just told myself that this was going to be a fundamental moment in my life, and to expect inevitable change. So through the resocialization that college brought about, I had began to create a self-image to create me as an individual. I soon realized that I did not have to follow in my parents’ footsteps exactly, and that I was now free to create my own set of values. Without school, I would not appreciate the achieved status I have acquired, nor would I realize the importance of creating and upholding my own morals and values.
I think after family and school the most important is community. I think community can be defined in different ways. There’s a community that you define as such because you are forced by where you live, by your background to be around those people. This isn’t a voluntary type of thing. This is your community because you live there. The place you call your hometown is your community because you grew up there, you knew people there. You didn’t really have a choice as to whether that would be your community or not, it just was. And so you were molded and informed by that surrounding, by that society, but it wasn’t a voluntary type. And that’s how I would describe my work community. It is my community because I have to work there and it is my workplace. That’s not to say that I don’t choose at times to include these people in other aspects of my life.
I am from Ukraine. I think now in Ukraine as in the US very bad economic situation. Ukraine now relies on Russia for many energy supplies, especially natural gas. The lack of significant structural reform and other planned-to-market transitional challenges have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. More importantly, it has codified the fundamental rights of free speech, freedom of the press and assembly
