Kevin Faber

Post Date: Jan 28, 2021

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3 Tips for Discovering Your Political Identity 

 

Politics can be a touchy subject. Aside from being a topic that can stir negative and passionate emotions, it is also somewhat convoluted. It can be challenging to discern where you place yourself along the party continuum. There are many topics and stances. Knowing what direction you lean toward is not so straight forward. Discussing poverty, gender equality, foreign policy, and same-sex marriage with friends and family can create extremely controversial dialogue. However, being more informed about politics and political parties can help you fully understand all views and agendas. This knowledge will guide you and help you make more informed decisions at the polls, get politically active and involved with specific issues, and engage in intelligent political conversations. Here are three suggestions to help you discover how you lean politically.

 

1. Analyze Your Passions

It is easy to get influenced and caught up in other people’s opinions and adopt them as your own. However, it is beneficial to discover what you are passionate about and what resonates with you. Maybe you are passionate about animal rights, human rights, and gender equality. Ask yourself the following question. If you could donate money or volunteer your time to any organization or charity, what would it be? What are some of the political issues that revolve around or impact that business specifically? Are they affected by foreign policy, immigration, or healthcare issues? Knowing the answers to these questions can give you an excellent place to start your quest for discovering your political identity.

 

2. Familiarize Yourself with Political Figures and Enthusiasts

Research and learn about influential political figures. They can be found abundantly across social media, news outlets, podcasts like "The Savage Nation Podcast" with Michael Savage, and in books like "The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg," and "Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky." Taking the time to read about and listen to leading political authors and speakers helps you think about and scrutinize the political climate and specific political issues. Tuning in to and studying the ever-changing and complex political world will give you better insight into how political agendas affect different age groups, gender groups, races, and socioeconomic classes.

 

3. Take a Political Quiz

It sounds simple; you are either a Democrat or a Republican, one or the other. However, it is not that straightforward. You can lie somewhere along the political party continuum. Divisions exist inside the binary political party identification, such as Core Conservatives, New Era Enterprisers, Disaffected Democrats, and Liberals. This can make the divide from right to left seem extensive. The typology of US politics is diverse. So which way do you lean?

 

Take a quiz. There are many free quizzes available online to help you determine where you fall on the political continuum. For example, The Pew Research Group quiz helps corral you into one of nine political divisions. In addition, the results show the percentage of people in the country who align with your political group. However, before you begin, it is good to familiarize yourself with some of the hottest political topics. The following rank among the most controversial:

  • Gun control
  • Abortion
  • Marriage equality
  • Immigration
  • Universal healthcare
  • Global climate change
  • Vaccines
  • Free-market capitalism

There is much to discover as you research the agendas and views from right to left. Instead of immediately deciding or conforming to one or the other, look at yourself as an individual and then align yourself with political figures and agendas you identify with the most. Take your time. Making the world a better place means something different to everyone. People will never agree on any one topic. What is seemingly beneficial to one group may be highly detrimental to another. However, it is best to discover where you lie on the continuum and analyze your values and your family's values. Where you decide to live, the organizations you support, and how you vote in the polls are all informed decisions you can make because you took the time to get to know your concerns, beliefs, and priorities.


Jan 28, 2021

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