“I don’t like greediness. I believe republicans look out for themselves (upper-class) Americans. I was born of immigrant parents and I feel that it’s not right the way they treat immigrants in this country.”
“I’m closer to being a liberal but I disagree with some of their beliefs, such as the affirmative action beliefs or their views on the death penalty also their views on long term welfare.” - Kenya Rivas
Hello, this weeks assignment for my current events class was to interview someone I admire to shape how they shaped their political identity. I chose to interview my mom, Kenya Rivas, a strong 35 year old woman who came to the United States from Guatemala as a child. I chose her mainly because I felt that she has more experience with government issues seeing as she grew up in a foreign country and she had to learn the rules and languages of another and has gone through the legal process to become a U.S. citizen. Growing up in Guatemala and coming into America in the early 80's my mother had to learn a new language, adjust to a new school system and even stay back in the first grade because she couldn't speak English, Spanish was all she knew. She and my grandparents have worked very hard for everything they now have since they started with almost nothing. My mom now makes almost $30 and hour and my grandpa owns a very successful tailoring shop on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. She believes in better and equal opportunities for the little guy, I guess that may be why she stands closer to liberal ideals but she still considers herself an independent.
She considers herself an independent. She agrees with several of both liberal and conservative ideas but she can't agree with one party all the way so she's independent. She looks at immigration a key point in a candidates campaign, she mainly votes democrat though. She hopes that as we grow as a country that we will have fair immigration rights and that taxes will not only be raised on middle class citizens but mostly increased for the upper class wealthy citizens. She hopes that we as a country can stop getting involved in wars or wars that are unnecessary. She plans on voting for Barack Obama this year hoping that he can make change in favor of the middle class.
As a 17 year old young man I honestly can't say that I have a real political identity, I'd have to say I support Obama's promises and ideas. If i register on time I will be voting for Obama. I guess my family has a huge influence on me and my political views. My grandpa as a business owner would like lower taxes for his business so he can make more of a profit and that sounds pretty good to me, seeing as he pays a lot of taxes. I believe that immigrants (legal and illegal) are treated unfairly and in cruel ways, not by the government but by the people of this nations, obviously as a human being I can't accept that. It's wrong to believe you're honestly above someone else. I have to side with the conservatives on the grounds of welfare rights, it should be limited. Me working at a grocery store I see a bunch of people with Massachusetts welfare cards with $300 of free food and $300 of cash that tax payers are basically giving them. The people that receive this help are usually rude or just mean, and I just stop and think "wow, this person is being a jerk while $50 a week from my check is going to people like them, in need of money and no job when they are perfectly fine." They might have had an injury that put them out of work for a few months but a few years, that's something i find very hard to believe. Yes, times are rough but as a 17 year old young man I was able to get a job getting close to $200 a week, getting a new job isn't impossible when you're not bring lazy. Sorry for ranting but that's my opinion.
I've learned that I have the power and my own voice when it comes to politics's and I don't need to agree with the people around me. I guess people vote liberal or conservative due to their past experiences or current views on things around them. Peoples personal prejudices may also have an effect on how they vote, some people are raised differently and in different time periods. My views have changed since I got older, I used to feel bad about people on welfare but now I just don't know how I truly feel. Politics is an awkward conversation for me, I'm still learning who I am and where I stand on certain issues. I like to watch The Daily Show to kind of laugh at politics now. Unfortunately it's somewhat a joke to me now, news stations are so biased its impossible to believe anything I hear unless I look deep into what's going on. I'm going to start doing as I get older and I'm allowed to vote.
