Political socialization is a process that modes the political values and

attitudes of a society. Through this process a society carries on values and

attitudes about life from one generation to another.

Political socialization starts at an early point of an individual's life. It

is though this medium that a child is instilled with certain expectations .

These expectations give the child information about the role they will have as an adult. You can definitely be sure that everyone is dependent to political socialization. But the ways through obtaining political knowledge and awareness are different among individuals. Most individuals are influenced by many institutions and agents, such as families, schools, media,

religious organizations and other factors that surrounds our society. In this

paper I will briefly mention three of the many agents, such as family, school,

and media.

The agent concerning family, can be said to be one of the best ways to

acquire political values. For example by communicating and acceptance in a

parent-child relationship. It seems that when the family consists of the two

parents being together it is most likely that the child will learn more values,

such as moral, religious, political and more (Janda, Berry, Goldman, 147).

Children observe what their parents do and will tend to follow in their

footsteps. For example, religion, if the father and mother are catholic then the child is most likely to be raised in that faith and hopefully continue, but of course there is always a chance that when the child becomes an adult he/she might want to convert. But that is what political socialization is about, the decisions we make as an adult and what influences us to make that decision. It is the same way with politics, If the parents are interested and aware of what=s happening in the world of politics then the child will be informed and therefore interested.

Another agent the children are influenced by is school. In school

children are introduced to authority figures besides their parents, such as the

principal , the teacher and also a police officer. When you start school

parents tell the kids that the principal and teacher are good people and want

them to learn and therefore making them feel secure. Once children are in

school then the teacher tells the children that the police officer will help them

and protect them whenever they are in a awkward situation, and so on. In

school children are influenced on political learning, such as learning The

Pledge of Allegiance, The National Anthem, national heroes and holidays, so

this is how it starts in school (Janda, Berry, Goldman, 149). As children

grow up, school will keep influencing on them and will be aware of political

leaders and government.

Almost everything that surrounds us influences in acquiring knowledge about politics especially through media. Television is one that mostly influences us. For example, Most of us watch the news on a daily basis. Even if one does not intend to watch the news, somehow most of the

channels show the news at the same time and perhaps there is no other choice but to watch the news. And so this is how we acquire knowledge about the world and politics. Another influence throughout the media is voting, which is considered to be influential in learning about politics. The rest of my group will talk in detail about voting.

I think political socialization will live on everyone until one dies. I

also think that as one grows older, political knowledge will also grows on us. I think that everything surrounding us are influential in acquiring knowledge

of politics.

Janda, Berry, and Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy.

New York: 1997. Pages 147-152.

By Mohammed Islam

A democracy is, of course, a system where the people are sovereign. The democratic system that primarily dominates western societies today can be traced back to the period of the enlightenment. It is undisputable that the philosophy of the democratic system is based upon the blue prints of John Locke (http://www.LibertryonLine.hypermall.com/Locke/index.hml) who wrote to undermine the divine rule by monarchs. This new idea of rule through rationalism would turn out to be the driving force for the French and American Revolutions.

So if this is the basis of society today then one could ask, "how has it been able to sustain itself going into the cede century?". The answer to that question is the process of political socialization. In the previous section we have seen an in depth description of this process. Now we will take a closer look at how the ideals of democracy are transferred through political socialization.

The idea of freedom and individualism is, undoubtedly, at the heart of a democracy. Ask a person why he/she dresses the way they do, or why they choose alternative forms of sexual expression they will respond that it is their freedom of expression. This philosophy of life, or rather, this attitude is not only dominant in social culture but it serves as the backbone of the mechanism that organizes the people's affairs - Democracy.

In order for such a way of life to be intact, we can derive the importance of socializing the masses. If the values, ideas, culture, and attitudes that shape a society are not handed down then the very existence of that structure is in jeopardy. So how are the masses given their political culture so that it may continue to reign? We can look at various institutions that play a role as agents of socialization such as the educational system. We are well aware that elementary students are required to give their pledge of allegiance to the flag every school day. This is one example where individuals are exposed to a certain reality. In other words these children find themselves in the midst of being socialized with values represented by the flag. They are also familiarized with patriotic songs that also serves the same purpose.

This exposure, however, is not just limited to these specific rituals. We can look to the curriculum presented to see that the founding fathers are presented as heroes. Junior and senior high school students are not exempt from this culturing either, for their history courses are also presented in a manner that praises the values of freedom. Students at this stage also start learning about the structure of the U.S. system of government. Indoctrination, therefore, is profound in all levels of education, even post-secondary. For instance, all graduates of Hunter college are required to take twelve credits in the area of Pluralism and Diversity, ideas that must be promoted in order to assimilate all under the banner of democracy (http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/academic/texts/dewey/d_e/chapter7.html).

So what does this all mean? It means that people are cultured so that they develop a trust in the system so that as citizens they will go to it to satisfy their needs.

Naturally they will participate in the system by voting, instead of revolting in the streets and this occurs as the result of socialization. People have been instilled with the idea that the power is invested in them so when the time comes to make changes they will proceed to do so by using the methods outlined in a democracy (i.e.. voting).

Whether socialization has been successful is a matter that can be disputed. On one hand people love their freedom and way of life. We see this in the two examples cited above and through the celebration of holidays such as Independence day. On the other hand participation in the political process is relatively low. So while people seem to enjoy their freedom in social life they are not exercising it when comes to political participation. There could be various reasons for this, some of which will be explored in the proceeding sections. On the whole, however, political socialization in the U.S. can be deemed as successful because there is political stability (i.e. there are no violent revolts, military coups, etc.). So in a sense people are politically socialized in that they are not calling for revolutionary action. Rather the masses seem quite content with the system that serves them.

Public Opinion is the voice of the people in a democratic government. In a democratic government the people have a right to choose who they want to represent them in the national, state, and city government. This opinions are based upon the persons knowledge of Politics in America. People become aware of Politics through a Process called Political Socialization Aa complex processes through which individuals become aware of politics, learn political Facts, and form political value@ (Janda 147).

Knowledge of Politics can be learned at an early age at home. Children learn through their parents because they follow everything their parents do. They follow the same religion and so on. They get a sense of politics and political parties in the government. Children know only a little of politics till they get to school where their knowledge of Politics will increase . Also they learn from their peers and their community. We learn Politics from a very young age.

Our knowledge of Politics is what makes us decide if we are going to vote or if we are just not going to vote and if we do vote then what do we base our vote on. Is it based on what the candidate says and does or is it based on the views of the Constitution and their knowledge of political involvement in Government. Every person has his or her own way at looking at a candidate for whom he or she is going to vote. Most people tend to vote because they like what the person is promising to do or how that person is going to change the environment in which they live in. Other people vote based on the views of the constitution. Will the person obey the law, make right decisions for the people and so on. The rest of the people vote just based on their knowledge of Politics. Also they base it on their religion and income. Some one with a high income is going to want to stay that way. Someone with a low income will not want to pay more taxes. So they look for someone who will be fair to both Upper and Lower class.

The Self-Interest principle Astates that people choose what benefits them personally. Taxpayers want lower taxes@ (Janda 164) . People look for someone who is going to benefit them in the most important way. The views of these people can change or stay the same based on a candidates progress in government. These views are what we classify as Public Opinion. These views have different ways of affecting the way our democratic government is runned. One year you could be in office , the next year you could be out based on the views of the people. That is why America has the process of AVoting@(Janda 232) . A process in which one person has the right to select a representative for their rights in the governmen. This process allows the person to bring in their views about the candidates and decide who they want to represent them. One might ask well, how does this affect who gets into Government? We can say that it is based on the Electoral College. These are votes allowed to each state. Some states have more than others based on the size and the population of the state. This process is used only for the voting of President. The candidate with the most votes in that state receives its electoral votes. The candidate with the most electoral votes from all the states is the winner.

One might ask how does the American society play a role in the views for voting people into Government. Society, The environment in which one person lives in. People tend to look for ways that a candidate can help change their society for the better. It might be to increase School funds, clean up the parks, more housing for the poor. These are just some of the things that people hope for that a candidate will do for them. Poor People would want a Candidate who will help them increase their income and help them achieve their goals in a middle class environment or in an upper class environment.

This is all brought to us by the AMass Media@ (Janda 175). What we here and see on t.v. and what we read in the newspaper. Does the Media tell us what is really going on or they just want us to here what they think is important to the public. Some one might say well how does this affect the way people vote. Well for one, it does not tell us the truth about the candidate, or what they really believe in. Some times people pick a person with out knowing the whole truth about the person=s background. This is why we find things out later after they are in office or during their term in office. This is how America perceives the view of its fellow Americans in Government. Most of Americans only know what they see or hear on t.v.

Now a days information about politics can be found on the World Wide Web. People can log on to different sites for a lot of information about anything they want. To search for public Opinion go to the web site Yahoo.Com Through this web engine you can search for many things related to Public Opinion. Also you can go to www.government.com. These are just few of the places you can search for information about Public Opinion and how the media affects.

Most of the sites found on Public Opinion really were mostly serveys which tells us how the American people really think about their government. Most of them realize that to make a difference in this country, you have to vote someone into office or someone out of office in order to make a difference. This is why some Americans go to the Voting booths on the first Tuesday of November. They are the ones who make the judgment who runs this country. All of this information can be found thru yahoo.com as stated above. These polls show who is voting and who is making a difference in the country. Whether minorities or the majority of the people are voting in this country.

This is where all their knowledge of politics comes in to hand. Whether they learned it from their parents or they learned it from school, they still have something to base their judgements on. Many people this days base their opinion on the views of the person running for office, the Views of the constitution and how their society will change for the better. When we put all of these peoples opinions together we come up with which is know as Public Opinion, the voice of the people in a Democratic government. These people learn all this through a complex process know as Political Socialization.

Voting in America is based on the views of the people of this country, for if it was not of the people of this country throwing off a Monarchy, Today we would still be under the rules of England. Democracy means freedom and with that people have the right to speak or say anything they want about the government. This is what keeps this country in tack. We elect people to represent us in the government because there would be too many people having too many different opinions in ruling the U.S. Many wars would break out and cause this country to fall apart. That is why we Americans go to the polls on that certain date in November to deliver our opinion of who should be in the government and who shouldn=t be.

Http://www.government.com

Http://www.yahoo.com

Janda Kenneth. Jeffrey M. Berry. Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy. 5th ed.

People acquire their political values through the process of political socialization. They

then reflect those values on public opinion, and also on voting. Voting is a good mirror to

show how much the people know the politics, gain perspective on government, and measure

new candidates and new ideas; and also to show how warm and sincere are the people in

political participation, and the quality of political socialization.

Since voting concerns political ideals, political process, and political institutions, we would

like to think about some problems from present state of voting.

It has continuously declined in percentage of Americans voting in elections. In 1996, it was

just 49% of the population to vote, the lowest turnout rate since 1924, that is to say, 27 million

citizens became non-voters in 1996. (Data: Federal Election Comm.)

Lower turnouts mean those in political power are actually losing their legitimacy, (reduce

the influence of government at the federal level.)

Lower turnouts also mean citizens have less respect and confidence in the relevance of

government in general. (by Michael Hodges: Voting Participation report)

The percentage of trust in government today is only 22%-31%. Comparing with 1960's

trust, it was 100% higher than today=s. (Hodges)

People think, two major parties are now in monopoly of control over government, (which

means less individual freedom of choice of citizens,) yet people are paying for it, why vote?

(Hodges)

Both Republican and Democratic are worrying about the phenomenon of the low turnout of

voting.

A Republican strategist, John Morgan asserted that eight million fewer Americans voted in 1996 than in 1992, and that many of the non-voters were Republicans. He said, AThey were tail-

end Republican voters, weak Republicans. However, they were the voters we depended on for

years to give us big margins.@

The Democratic has its own problem. Political science research shows that income and

education are good predictors of political participation, with high-income, high-education

Americans more likely to vote then low-income, low-education Americans. The groups most

vulnerable to depressed turnout this year, then, might well be low-income black and Hispanic

voters. If turnout in those two groups is down disproportionately, it could seriously undermine

Democratic electoral efforts. (by Stuart Rothenberg: Record Low Turnout Expected in 1998)

Political operatives from both parties are also concerned that parties= financial woes will

force the parties to sacrifice turnout programs for this year, reducing the livelihood that weak

partisans will go to the polls. (Rothenberg)

However, a low-turnout election will give challengers from both parties better changes to

pull off upsets. And both Republican and Democratic partisans are now doing their best to

strengthen their influence and make themselves successful in next election. (Rothenberg)

A number of Democratic Constituencies, including black and Hispanic voters, appear

unenthusiastic about the direction of their party. In addition, liberals have become increasingly

critical of the Clinton Administration=s failure to champion such as social activism and

economic fairness. (Rothenberg)

In order to comfort the voters who are unsatisfied about the present situation, President

Clinton recently made a AState of the Union Address.@ in the address to a Joint Session of

Congress. (January 28, 1998) This address mentioned about AA smaller Government, A

stronger nation; Reaping the benefits of prosperity; Shaping the global economy; A society

rooted in responsibility; An era of peace and security; and a more perfect union.@ This speech

is not only to encourage the nationals of the United States, but also to encourage the voters of Democratic Party, and to make preparation in the next election. (Congressional Digest, March

1998, vol.77 No.3)

Resources:

Voting Participation Report, by Michael Hodges

Record Low Turnout Expected in 1998, by Stuart Rothenberg

(Http://www.ro//ca//.com/4g91om7)