How Cultural Factors Shape Political Socialization in America

Well, hey there and welcome back to Himler's History. Now, we've been going through unit four of the AP government

curriculum, and in this video, that means it's time to talk about political socialization. So, if you're ready to

get them brain cows milked, then let's get to it. So, in this video, here's what we're trying to do. Explain how

cultural factors influence political attitudes and socialization. So, the real question here is, how is it that

you and I come to believe in one political ideology or another? And as much as I'd like to tell you that all

Americans form their political beliefs by spending hundreds of hours pouring over complex works of political science

and delving into the depths of various primary documents of our national and constitutional origins. No, there are a

few people who do that. But in general, most of us form our political opinions based on humbler factors. And the

process by which we form our political opinions is called political socialization. So let's talk about the

six factors that work together in our political socialization. First and foremost is the family. And many studies

have borne out the truth that children will often hold the same or similar political opinions held by their

parents. For example, it probably won't surprise you to know that politics is often a discussion around the Heimler

dinner table. And my children picked these things up maybe without even knowing it. So, if you asked my

six-year-old son which political party deserves our vote, then you would no doubt hear this. Uh, that's complicated.

Yes, that is the right answer, my son. I'm raising him right. In fact, in 2002, Christopher Akin published a study

demonstrating that while experienced adult voters considered a variety of factors when it came to how they voted,

younger voters casting their ballots for the first time almost always relied on the political ideology they picked up

from their parents. Now, I should say that since the advent of social media, this connection has shown some signs of

weakening. But even so, the family remains the biggest early influence on people's political ideology. Okay. The

second factor in political socialization is schools. And though there is no wealth of evidence that suggests that

students become more conservative or more liberal as a result of being in a K through2 class, it does have the

potential to shape how a student thinks about politics and therefore the world. There's some classes like AP government

or a civics class that directly shape how a student thinks about politics. But again, back to the point I just made,

these classes usually don't make a student more conservative or more liberal even with direct exposure to

these modes of thought. But there are also other factors in school that while not directly engaging students in

political socialization do influence their political beliefs nonetheless. In this day and age it is the history

classroom that has created a political firestorm. For example, in 2019 the New York Times released something called the

1619 project which was a series of resources that argued the following. Every American institution is tainted

with racism because everything was built whether politically, economically or socially on the institution of slavery.

And some teachers use this material in their history classes. Well, as you probably know, such an interpretation of

US history is politically contentious to say the least. Such a perspective grows out of a liberal liberationist mindset

which seeks to challenge the dominant historical narrative and uplift the voices and actions of those who have

been historically oppressed. And you can imagine that as a student, if you were taught this, it would have an influence

on your political ideology. Well, in response to this, conservatives formed the 1776 commission and produced

resources that explained US history through a different lens. US history was not something to be ashamed of, they

argued, but rather something to be proud of. Yes, Americans have had their blemishes, but ultimately American

history is filled with progress and the advancement toward ever more freedom and democracy. And by contrast, you can see

that if this was the version of history you were taught, it would have an influence on your political ideology in

the opposite direction. So, schools both in direct and indirect ways influence our political socialization. A third

factor in our political socialization is our interaction with peers. Social conformity plays a huge role in what a

person believes. Like if your peers all hold to political ideology X and you hold to political ideology Y, there is a

huge amount of social pressure, even if it's not direct, to conform your beliefs to the peer group. A fourth factor in

our political socialization is the media. Spending so much time in front of screens has given people of all ages,

but especially young people more access to a wide range of viewpoints. Almost daily, we see people saying things in

the public square that shapes the way we think about politics. And we also see people getting cancelled for offensive

statements. and that can have a way of convincing us that we don't want to be on the other side of that counseling and

so we adjust our beliefs and language accordingly. Additionally, with the rise in the last 20 years of cable news,

we've seen a tremendous increase in conservative and liberal pundits who tell us with authority exactly how we

should think about everything that happens. And look, as long as I have any platform to stand on, I will always warn

anyone who listens to me to be very wary of those pundits. They are first and foremost entertainers and they care very

little about presenting the world and all its complexity as it actually is. Nevertheless, much to my chagrin, they

have very large audiences and they are able to shape the way people think about politics. A fifth factor in political

socialization is our participation in civic and religious organizations. An example of a civic organization would be

the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts. The Boy Scouts organization was founded with the explicit mention to teach boys

patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values. Now, since 1910 when that was written, the scouts commitment

to patriotism has undergone some change. But nevertheless, if you're a scout, it will affect the way you think about, to

use their own language, God, and country. In other words, political socialization is happening in a civic

organization like that. An example of a religious organization would be membership and attendance in a church or

a synagogue or a mosque. Now, all religious organizations vary in terms of their political beliefs. You've got

liberal churches and conservative churches, liberal synagogues and conservative synagogues, liberal mosques

and conservative mosques. The point is whatever political ideology is joined to the organization's religious belief is

the political ideology the congregation will be hearing about week after week and that has an influence. For example,

evangelical Christian churches saw a significant shuffling of members during the co9 pandemic. Some churches when

they reopened required masks in order to participate in worship and that offense was all it took for many members to

reject what they thought of as overt liberal political socialization and choose another church that aligned more

with their political beliefs. And the sixth factor in political socialization is globalization. By definition,

globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of the world by means of economic partnerships. And let me

hasten to add that is a very basic definition, but it'll do for our purposes. However, along with those

economic connections come political influences as well. Like in a globalized world, we are all influenced by factors

well beyond our borders. For example, through immigration, people bring their cultural ideas to bear on the political

culture of the United States. Immigrants from Asian countries have a much stronger sense of the good of the

community above the individual. And as they immigrate to America, that value can run counter to our strong belief in

the triumph of the individual. Even so, in some cases, such a belief might take root and affect a person's political

socialization. Okay, thanks for watching. Click right here to grab a view packet if you want help getting an

A in your class and a five on your exam in May. If this video helped you and you want me to keep making them, then lean

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Lur.