Abhisek+Vaidya

=Political Tolerance =

 Being a minority I tend to be more tolerant about certain issues as compared to others. I am not an excessively religious person although I am Hindu. I respect others' beliefs as long as that person or those people don't attempt to force their beliefs on others and/or try to cause harm to others because of their beliefs. I respect an atheist or a homosexual or a communist speaker. I would not, however, tolerate the actions of a racist or a terrorist due to their (generally) violent nature.  I suppose I am more tolerant than most people. I am pro-choice and I advocate stem cell research, which, for many, is very difficult to understand. I do respect the counter arguments to these based on religion however I wouldn't accept them.

=Political Trust =

 A) I trust the United States government. I believe that Congress, the President, Supreme Court and others will do the right thing as long as they receive input from the population.  B) I have trust in the "political actors" that I see to be doing what I believe is right. President Obama, for example, is progressive about his ideals. Also he has taken steps, they may or may not have worked, but he has attempted to better America. I politically trust him.

 Overall I believe my views aren't overly different than the majority. They may be slightly more democratic that most. = = =Political Socialization =

 As an immigrant, my first political memory was the election of 2000. I had arrived in Fargo in May of 2000 and I distinctly remember my parents watching the presidential debates on TV. My political socialization was mainly from my own education. My parents are liberal, however, my personal amount of liberalism is farther left than theirs. My education has changed my beliefs. I am a person who loves biological sciences and always look at controversial issues through a scientific lens; it could be argued that my views may be skewed due to this, however, I strongly believe that science has made me more liberal. There are reasons, I suppose, that cause me to be more liberal. I am Indian (as if everyone didn't already know that), Hindu and middle class...as an immigrant I have been through many of the naturalization processes. As a result I understand what others go through. As a middle class I would fall in the stereotypical liberal area. Finally I believe that all of these things play small roles in the final product that is my political ideology.

=Ideology =

 Due to the fact that I haven't yet stated that I am liberal, I will say so now. I believe I am moderate-strong liberal. Obvious issues like 1. Abortion: I am pro-choice, 2. Embryonic Stem Cell Research: I am pro, 3. Gay Rights: I support, 4. Socialized Health-care: I support. These are the main issues that clearly show that I am liberal.

=Political Efficacy =

 I had very little internal efficacy prior to taking this class and so my internal political efficacy is currently growing. As for my external political efficacy, I believe that the government does indeed respond to the people's voices.