Defining Political Moments in Your Life

[dazzleman]

What would you say is the moment in your life when your political views crystalized?

For me, it was a couple of things.  One that really stands out is a class on the legal system that I took in my last year of high school.  We learned about a case in which a person's house was repeatedly burglarized when he wasn't at home.  In response, he set up some kind of trap for the burglar, and the burglar fell into it and ended up breaking his leg.  The burglar sued the owner of the house, and a liberal judge ruled in his favor.

I have since seen many miscarriages of justice perpetrated by liberals who favor criminals over the victims of crime, and this case always comes back to me when I hear the ramblings of liberal trial lawyers who try to twist the perpetrator of a crime or injustice into the victim in the name of some vague concept of social justice.  I believe in individual responsibility for actions, and I see the left as dangerously undermining this concept.

The other major issue that brought me to the Republicans is defense and national security.  In the era when I came of age, in the post-Vietnam era, Democrats seemed to be working to weaken national security.  I thought it was a dangerous trend that would lead to war.  Today, Democrats have the same tendencies, and tend to blame the US first and foremost for things that go wrong in the world.

I know some people here have changed their views over the years, but my views on major issues have not really changed.  Anybody else care to share their moment of political awakening?

[MarkDel]

Dazzleman,

Growing up as a kid, I was old enough to remember watching the Vietnam War on television, and also watching the the student, anti-war protests. I remember being a little boy and thinking how I hated the people who would protest against our soldiers. I guess my first recollection of this would be when I was about six years old.

But the truly defining moment came during the Carter Presidency. While Carter's entire term was a disaster, the Iranian Hostage Crisis was what sealed my political views for all time. Carter allowed a third rate, third world power to bully the United States and the policy of the Carter administration, and the Democratic Party, seemed to be to sit back and hope for a diplomatic solution.

During the Iranian Hostage crisis, another defining moment came in school when my extremely liberal teacher, who always spoke about the virtues of free speech, engaged in the kind of politically correct, HYPOCRITICAL CENSORSHIP that truly defines the modern political left. I was in 8th Grade and was the Editor of our Middle School Newspaper, which was an awfully big deal to you when you're 13 years old. Well, I wrote an editorial that was highly critical of Iranian students (some of whom attended our nice little private high school) who engaged in anti-American, pro-Khoemeini demonstrations. I mean these kids were actually going around saying how evil America was when they themselves had left Iran because of the Revolution, where they would have likely been killed for being the children of rich, pro-Shah families. Well, my editorial was typical of the way I write, not subtle...LOL...and the teacher who was the adviser, this left wing broad, refused to print it. Well, I kept pushing and pushing the matter on the grounds of free speech, but school officials HATE to side against a teacher even when she's wrong, so I eventually talked to my father's friend, who was an attorney, and got him to file a lawsuit against her and the school. The matter was settled with the compromise that they would not print my story, but would not print the newspaper unless they used my story...hence this left wing teacher destroyed her own pet project, the middle school newspaper, rather than see my patriotic views expressed.

This is just one example of the overall time frame (1979 to 1980) which turned me into a Republican for life. Truth be told, I have a lot of problems with the Republican Party, but I know the alternative is potentially fatal to this nation, so I guess you could definitely say that I am more anti-Democratic Party than I am pro-Republican Party.

[dazzleman]

Dazzleman,

Growing up as a kid, I was old enough to remember watching the Vietnam War on television, and also watching the the student, anti-war protests. I remember being a little boy and thinking how I hated the people who would protest against our soldiers. I guess my first recollection of this would be when I was about six years old.

But the truly defining moment came during the Carter Presidency. While Carter's entire term was a disaster, the Iranian Hostage Crisis was what sealed my political views for all time. Carter allowed a third rate, third world power to bully the United States and the policy of the Carter administration, and the Democratic Party, seemed to be to sit back and hope for a diplomatic solution.

During the Iranian Hostage crisis, another defining moment came in school when my extremely liberal teacher, who always spoke about the virtues of free speech, engaged in the kind of politically correct, HYPOCRITICAL CENSORSHIP that truly defines the modern political left. I was in 8th Grade and was the Editor of our Middle School Newspaper, which was an awfully big deal to you when you're 13 years old. Well, I wrote an editorial that was highly critical of Iranian students (some of whom attended our nice little private high school) who engaged in anti-American, pro-Khoemeini demonstrations. I mean these kids were actually going around saying how evil America was when they themselves had left Iran because of the Revolution, where they would have likely been killed for being the children of rich, pro-Shah families. Well, my editorial was typical of the way I write, not subtle...LOL...and the teacher who was the adviser, this left wing broad, refused to print it. Well, I kept pushing and pushing the matter on the grounds of free speech, but school officials HATE to side against a teacher even when she's wrong, so I eventually talked to my father's friend, who was an attorney, and got him to file a lawsuit against her and the school. The matter was settled with the compromise that they would not print my story, but would not print the newspaper unless they used my story...hence this left wing teacher destroyed her own pet project, the middle school newspaper, rather than see my patriotic views expressed.

This is just one example of the overall time frame (1979 to 1980) which turned me into a Republican for life. Truth be told, I have a lot of problems with the Republican Party, but I know the alternative is potentially fatal to this nation, so I guess you could definitely say that I am more anti-Democratic Party than I am pro-Republican Party.

MarkDel,

I would also describe myself as more anti-Democratic Party than pro-Republican Party.

You're right about the impact of the Iranian hostage crisis.  It seemed that there was no situation in which the Democrats were really willing to take action to protect our freedoms.  I have long believed that Carter's handling of the hostage crisis is what let the terrorist genie out of the bottle, so to speak, and effectively raised terrorism from a tactic by low-level criminals to a form of war waged by states and multinational groups.

I was disgusted by the fact that Carter was almost apologetic to the Iranians for having launched his failed rescue attempt.  And the grass roots of the Democratic Party has changed little since.

The issue of liberal censorship has changed little either since then.  Your newspaper story is a perfect example of that.  It reminds me of those today who are more concerned with protecting the sensibilities of Muslims who are hostile to the US than protecting the lives of, potentially, tens of thousands of people.

It is the Democrats and what they represent, more than anything the Republicans say, that has kept me firmly in the Republican Party.

[TeePee4Prez]

I wasn't around back then to know the Iranian hostage crisis.  However, I will say what turned me into a Democrat.  I was an independent at first, but Rendell's gubernatorial candidacy was the catalyst for me switching parties.  I was going to do it anyway because I felt the Republicans distorted Enron and used patriotism as a blank check.  This is coupled with the very uneven tax cuts/deficits, Bush attempting to scale back labor regulations and OT pay, and the Purittanically zealot FCC that wants to censor everything.  Not to mention we were lied to about engaging in Iraq which cost many lvies and billions of wasted dollars.  The Republican party is one of hypocrisy and lies and there are few decent members in it.  Bill Clitnon lying under oath was one thing, but Bush should be held accountable for much more.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

We learned about a case in which a person's house was repeatedly burglarized when he wasn't at home.  In response, he set up some kind of trap for the burglar, and the burglar fell into it and ended up breaking his leg.  The burglar sued the owner of the house, and a liberal judge ruled in his favor.

I thought this was one of those Rush Limbaugh parables in the '90s that turned out to be a fabrication (like the farmer who supposedly got busted by the EPA because he accidentally killed a rat with his tractor).

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The defining event for me was around the age of 12 when I saw what a bunch of complete and total hypocrites the New Right was.

They claimed to be such big defenders of morality, yet they claimed it was my fault some neo-Nazis at my school broke my arm and tried to kill me because I was poor.

I used to be as conservative as Goldwater. Now I'm mature. I've seen the real world, and it ain't pretty.

[MarkDel]

Dazzleman,

The amazing thing about the Iranian crisis is the events which led us to Khomeini coming into power. Most people don't know the history, but if they did, they would have a greater understanding of things that took place many years later, especially over the last few years. Here's a timeline of key events in Khomeini's life that are very interesting:

1. He's a radical cleric in Iran in the 1950's and early 1960's who preaches the overthrow of the Shah and the implementation of strict Islamic rule.

2. In 1963, the Shah decides that Khomeini has to go, but his allies in the US government, the Kennedy/Johnson administrations convince the Shah that he should not kill Khomeini because he would be more dangerous as a martyr. So he is exiled to Turkey.

3. He lives briefly in Turkey, but the secular government there doesn't like the garbage coming out of his mouth because it gets the religious wackos all worked up, so they tell him he has to leave.

4. Khomeini now ends up...IN IRAQ...where he is welcomed with open arms by the Baath Party and some guy named Saddam Hussein. Hussein and the Baathists keep Khomeini as sort of a bargaining chip against the Shah, using the tactic that they'll let him back into Iran if the Shah doesn't "play nice" with Saddam.

5. Eventually, Saddam decides in the 1970's that this guy is more trouble than he's worth since he's getting the Shiites all worked up...including the father of a certain current Iraqi cleric named Al-Sadr, who is a close ally of Khomeini!

6. So Saddam decides that he wants to kill him...BUT...he is talked out of it by...his friends THE FRENCH!!! Saddam's close personal friend, Jacques Chirac, aids Saddam in working out a deal where Khomeini is exiled to France and thus out of the Middle Eastern world forever.

7. Some utopian retard from Georgia named Jimmy Carter gets elected to the White House and decides that even though he's our ally, the Shah is a bad guy, so he needs to encourage a Democratic movement in Iran. The Carter government's BRILLIANT conclusion is that Khomeini has the following to be a popular revolutionary figure in Iran, and that his followers will join with Democratic reformers to build a more humane government than the Shah, or at least FORCE the Shah to start behaving the way we want him to. So, at Carter's instruction, and with the help of the CIA, Khomeini is smuggled from France to Iran, where he eventually leads an Islamic Revolution to overthrow the Shah.

8. Khomeini and his followers KILL or REPRESS all Democratic reformers, and then they turn their sights on the US, and Carter's reward for helping this scumbag is the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

[MarkDel]

The defining event for me was around the age of 12 when I saw what a bunch of complete and total hypocrites the New Right was.

They claimed to be such big defenders of morality, yet they claimed it was my fault some neo-Nazis at my school broke my arm and tried to kill me because I was poor.

I used to be as conservative as Goldwater. Now I'm mature. I've seen the real world, and it ain't pretty.

Bandit73,

Neo Nazis?? Attacked you because you were poor?? You are a piece of work...I couldn't INVENT a character like you...LOL

[ilikeverin]

I got liberal in 2000, when I supported Ralph Nader

I got Democratic in 2002-2003, when I realized what George W. was doing to this country  I also started wanting to be a Senator, and realized I couldn't get elected as a Green

[dazzleman]

Dazzleman,

The amazing thing about the Iranian crisis is the events which led us to Khomeini coming into power. Most people don't know the history, but if they did, they would have a greater understanding of things that took place many years later, especially over the last few years. Here's a timeline of key events in Khomeini's life that are very interesting:

1. He's a radical cleric in Iran in the 1950's and early 1960's who preaches the overthrow of the Shah and the implementation of strict Islamic rule.

2. In 1963, the Shah decides that Khomeini has to go, but his allies in the US government, the Kennedy/Johnson administrations convince the Shah that he should not kill Khomeini because he would be more dangerous as a martyr. So he is exiled to Turkey.

3. He lives briefly in Turkey, but the secular government there doesn't like the garbage coming out of his mouth because it gets the religious wackos all worked up, so they tell him he has to leave.

4. Khomeini now ends up...IN IRAQ...where he is welcomed with open arms by the Baath Party and some guy named Saddam Hussein. Hussein and the Baathists keep Khomeini as sort of a bargaining chip against the Shah, using the tactic that they'll let him back into Iran if the Shah doesn't "play nice" with Saddam.

5. Eventually, Saddam decides in the 1970's that this guy is more trouble than he's worth since he's getting the Shiites all worked up...including the father of a certain current Iraqi cleric named Al-Sadr, who is a close ally of Khomeini!

6. So Saddam decides that he wants to kill him...BUT...he is talked out of it by...his friends THE FRENCH!!! Saddam's close personal friend, Jacques Chirac, aids Saddam in working out a deal where Khomeini is exiled to France and thus out of the Middle Eastern world forever.

7. Some utopian retard from Georgia named Jimmy Carter gets elected to the White House and decides that even though he's our ally, the Shah is a bad guy, so he needs to encourage a Democratic movement in Iran. The Carter government's BRILLIANT conclusion is that Khomeini has the following to be a popular revolutionary figure in Iran, and that his followers will join with Democratic reformers to build a more humane government than the Shah, or at least FORCE the Shah to start behaving the way we want him to. So, at Carter's instruction, and with the help of the CIA, Khomeini is smuggled from France to Iran, where he eventually leads an Islamic Revolution to overthrow the Shah.

8. Khomeini and his followers KILL or REPRESS all Democratic reformers, and then they turn their sights on the US, and Carter's reward for helping this scumbag is the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

That's a great history, dude.  I didn't know that much about Khomeini's background other than that he was a sick f**k and had been exiled in France prior to returning to Iran.

I knew Carter was (typically) irresolute with respect to US policy toward Iran as threats to the Shah's rule grew, but I had not previously heard about any Carter role in returning Khomeini to Iran.  It wouldn't surprise me if it were true, given Carter's misjudgments about other brutal dictators as well as the Soviets.

[WalterMitty]

for me it was growing up during the reagan 80s,

in many ways i still admire reagan.  but i must admit he is not even in the top 10 of my favorite presidents.  

[Gustaf]

My upbringing, I guess...I usually try not to let emotional factors influence me too much. Reading novels has done a lot though, books like 1984, Esperanza and "Eremitkräftan" definitely helped form my political views. The only such moment I can really think of though, was probably attending my new elitist school a year ago, where I was a little shocked by all the snobbism...that moved me somewhat to the left I guess.

[dazzleman]

We learned about a case in which a person's house was repeatedly burglarized when he wasn't at home.  In response, he set up some kind of trap for the burglar, and the burglar fell into it and ended up breaking his leg.  The burglar sued the owner of the house, and a liberal judge ruled in his favor.

I thought this was one of those Rush Limbaugh parables in the '90s that turned out to be a fabrication (like the farmer who supposedly got busted by the EPA because he accidentally killed a rat with his tractor).

I heard about this case long before anybody ever heard of Rush Limbaugh.  There have been many outrageous miscarriages of justice perpetrated by liberal courts.

[??????????]

I heard of someone that kept having the rims on their tires stolen. They put razor blades along the inside. When the crook got cut they sued the owner of the vehicle and the police arrested the vehicle owner for assualt.

[migrendel]

Don't be alarmed about the rat incident. The judge was merely applying statute. The law forbids killing an endangered species. It doesn't mitigate the punishment based upon the facts of the commission of the crime. Therefore, the farmer can be fined in full accordance with the law.

[MarkDel]

Don't be alarmed about the rat incident. The judge was merely applying statute. The law forbids killing an endangered species. It doesn't mitigate the punishment based upon the facts of the commission of the crime. Therefore, the farmer can be fined in full accordance with the law.

I'm sure the farmer involved and the average person will find it very comforting that the judge held to the strict application of the statute...I guess judges can only use "common sense" when it comes to changing laws that impact "social justice"

[Brambila]

Well, I always had to have political views. I went to a very pro-gay school, and so obviously it was pro-Clinton. I remember in the 1996 election me and my sister being the only Dole supporter in the entire school. I asked everyone. Everyone. They all said Clinton. All the teachers. All the janitors. Everyone wanted Clinton. I remember how disappointed I was when Dole lost the election.  I must have been nine or ten. It was right after Haloween when a friend of mine to get me upset dressed up as Bob Dole.

I wasn't too interested in politics after that except when the elections went on (In the 1999 mayor election I was pro-Jordan and anti-Brown, in the 1998 gubernatorial election I was pro-Lungren and anti-Davis). But towards the 2000 election I grew more interested in politics. Many of my peers were very liberal, and some of my adult friends came up with good arguments that I couldn't refute. So I started learning more about conservatism and politics, and I'm proud to say I am the most right-wing member of my extended family

[Huckleberry Finn]

The big number one: The fall fo the Berlin wall in 1989. I was 15 years old in those days.

First Persian Gulf war had big effect too.

Both events worked for my conservativism in the very important age.

[MarkDel]

The big number one: The fall fo the Berlin wall in 1989. I was 15 years old in those days.

First Persian Gulf war had big effect too.

Both events worked for my conservativism in the very important age.

Huck Finn,

I wish more of your European brethren had that type of view towards the Fall of the Berlin Wall...most of Western Europe acts like it never took place...

[12th Doctor]

I don't really have a defining moment.  My veiws have changed and evolved over time.  I believe that my basic principles have solidfied, although I cannot claim any moment when that happened.

[Huckleberry Finn]

The big number one: The fall fo the Berlin wall in 1989. I was 15 years old in those days.

First Persian Gulf war had big effect too.

Both events worked for my conservativism in the very important age.

Huck Finn,

I wish more of your European brethren had that type of view towards the Fall of the Berlin Wall...most of Western Europe acts like it never took place...

No I think most Western Europeans see the Fall of the Berlin Wall as the great event for our continent. In Finland probably little bit more because we were Soviet leaning, "neutral", NON-OCCUPIED, Western European, MARKET economy, democratic country during to whole the Cold War. (This complicated definition about Cold War's situation in my country is necessary, because of situation was...complicated)

http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/after.html