America’s Political Ideologies

As seen in the video, there are many political ideologies that Americans associate themselves with. There are conservatives, liberals, libertarians, etc. However, the two most common ones we see are liberals and conservatives. The primary value of conservatives is small government. They believe that the government should have limited say in what we do in our day to day lives. They believe that the military should receive one of the largest budgets. Most conservatives are known to be religious and believe in many biblical values. For example, most conservatives are against abortion. Conservatives are known to lean on the “right side”. Then you have the liberals. Liberals are known for wanting bigger government. They believe in high taxes that will help pay for different social programs. They believe that the government should also have a say when it comes to certain things like corporations because they don’t believe corporations have the ability to make decisions to benefit the greater good. Most liberals believe in individual rights like abortion and legalization of weed. However, unlike conservatives they are for the government controlling certain things like gun control. While America does have many political ideologies you can associate with, these are the main 2 we see in elections and social media? 

What makes a person conservative or liberal? While the things I’m about to list are generalizations, peoples political ideologies depend on numerous factors. For example, if you grew up in a conservative household, you are more likely to be conservative. Vice versa, if you grew up in a liberal household, you are more likely to be liberal. Studies have shown that white Catholics tend to lean more conservative while Jewish citizens and African Americans tend to lean more liberal. Then there are also cases in which Hispanic Americans are mostly catholic but lean more liberal when it comes to politics. Political scientists think this is the case because Jewish, African and Hispanic Americans tend to get more government aid. 

5 Discussion Questions: 

1. Why do you think conservative and liberal are the two main political ideologies in America? 
2. What do you think is the most popular political ideology in your town?
3. How do you think political ideologies play a role in political culture today?
4. Look at the 2020 voting map. Which part of the United States voted in favor of conservatives? Which part of the United States voted in favor of liberals? Why is this?
5. Argue for, against the liberal or conservative side. You can also argue against both sides. 

I really enjoyed this assignment. I liked watching different videos about people’s ideas of political culture. I definitely think you should keep this assignment.