Beth+Osman


 * POLITICAL TOLERANCE**

I would consider myself to be pretty politically tolerant. I think it is beneficial to any person to listen to opposing viewpoints simply because it can strengthen their own personal beliefs. For example, if an atheist came to school to speak on religion, I would definitely be interested in going and hearing what they have to say. I would not agree with them on a single issue, but it would strengthen my own personal beliefs in a higher power. I am open to listening to everyone as long as they have an opinion that they can back up, but it does not mean I am going to agree with them.

I also believe that everyone has the right to be heard. Everyone should be able to exercise their first amendment right and speak their mind. I do believe, however, that freedom does have to go both ways. I believe that racists have the right to say what they want, but I also believe that people have the right to walk away and ignore them if they wish to. Freedom should go both ways.


 * POLITICAL TRUST**

a) I have very little trust in the majority of political institutions. I believe that the members of Congress are no longer looking out for the majority of Americans, but much rather their own personal victories and political parties. You can see this in the fact that there are more and more fillibusters each year in the past couple decades simply because congresspeople now feel as though they have to stick to their party lines instead of voting for what they believe to be the best option. It's hard to trust a system that doesn't seem to have the American people's interest in mind. b) I have even less trust in political actors. I have a very hard time trusting people like President Obama, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi because I don't trust them to make the right decisions for America simply because we disagree on the majority of them. I also have a hard time trusting these actors because they talk the talk but don't necessarily walk the walk. The perfect example is President Obama. He made a countless number of promises to the American people when running for President, and the majority he failed to see happen or even to pursue. It's hard to trust people who say things just to get elected, but never act on them. (Not that I really mind thought with Obama, because I wouldn't have agreed with them anyway, but still). c) I guess it really depends on what policy it is. I trust the policies that deal with direct government, or the policies that take care of what the government was intended to do. I don't however agree with social engineering policies.


 * POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION**

My first political memory is pinning a George W. Bush pin onto my book-bag during the Bush/Gore election. I have definitely grown up in a conservative household and it would be a lie if I said that it has not affected my political beliefs. Growing up hearing my parents discuss their conservative viewpoints, has led me to be a strong conservative as well. I truly do believe in the majority of conservative beliefs and I think my parents and my strong faith in God has led me to be like that. I truly do believe that morality and traditional values should be present in what happens in D.C. but that's just my opinion. I feel as though my region and age haven't affected my political beliefs in comparison to religion and my parents. I don't think region has affected my belief system simply because I have been exposed to different viewpoints from a very young age. I joined debate in sixth grade and debaters love to talk politics and argue with each other. The majority of debaters do seem to be liberal and I have had the privilege to discuss different viewpoints on many topics. I have also traveled the country and have discussed different issues as well. I don't live in a sheltered conservative world just because of the fact that I live in North Dakota.


 * IDEOLOGY**

I definitely have a conservative ideology. I would consider myself to be a strong conservative. I take a conservative stance on almost every issue. I am extremely pro-life, I, I'm for big business, little government regulation of business, I support faith based policies, etc. The only position that I take a liberal stance on are euthanasia. I believe that a big factor of why I'm such a conservative is because I believe that everyone has the opportunity to become successful in the United States. I believe that the people who don't find success have this issue because of poor personal decisions that they have made. I think people find themselves in economic trouble because they weren't financially savvy and didn't save for a rainy day or because they didn't focus on their education and get a degree in an area where they could be successful. I think that people need to take care of themselves and not be able to rely on the government because that is when they will actually get their act together and figure stuff out for themselves. I'm definitely a believer in individualism and personal responsibility.

http://www.drudgereport.com/


 * POLITICAL EFFICACY**

I believe that I have a high level of political efficacy. I believe that I do know what is going on in politics that majority of the time. I do also believe that there is always room for growth though. I think that I have a moderate level of external political efficacy. I do think that some politicians listen to their constituents while others completely ignore them. I think it depends on what politician we are discussing.