Your theory on why there are so many young conservatives?

[kentuck]

Some young lady on C-SPAN this morning said her number one priority was privatization of Social Security? Some caller accused her of "drinking the kool-aid".

But why do so many young conservatives adopt the conservative ideology? Shouldn't it be a more natural progression to be a liberal when you are young? Of course, there is the opposite question, why are there so many young liberals?

But, in my opinion, many young conservatives are more subject to peer pressure and ridicule than are young liberals. They would never want to be accused of disagreeing with Rush Limbaugh. They accept out of hand whatever the conservatives offer, it seems to me. They are lacking in critical thinking skills. Any other opinions on this other than "just stupid"?

[AuntPatsy]

1. Parents, upbringing, teach our children well, sometimes doesn't always

apply.

[serryjw]

2. Hero worship

It's 'cool' to want to be rich...f*ck everyone else.

[liberal N proud]

8. My thirteen year old daughter hits the fundies hard on hero's

She uses the bible against their hero worship, be it sports hero's or political. Telling anyone who tells her that their hero is ________________ that the bible says we are not to worship idols.
Then she will look at me and say, We are better Christians than those who claim you have to be a republican to be Christian.

I just smile.

[serryjw]

16. That's the division in the republican party

The money hungry thugs are different than the fundie christians. The hero wroshipers don't care what they do, as long as they make a lot of money doing it.

[acmejack]

3. You posted simultaneously with me.

She is vacuous, devoid of meaningful intellectual content and will never pass the bar (if she makes it through law school) she is cute and knows it though. She agrees with her elders because she doesn't have the strength of her own arguments to stand on.

[pooja]

4. They had a special news debate on a local news channel..

on the issue of flag burning... The local guys asked people what the thought of flag burning... most of the people thought it was illegal already (younger people)... They don't know their freedoms because they do not learn what freedom really means. On top of that.. most young people would rather take their own money and invest it themselves because they realize that they are paying into a system that they will never have a return on.

[mitchum]

5. Youth and ignorance are a natural fit

[eShirl]

6. same reason the young are attracted to gangs and cults

instant group identity flavor koolaid, just add water

[Atman]

7. Specifically, regarding the S.S. privatization, it is greed + fear

BushCo's strong suits have always been pandering to the basest elements of the human psyche. He appeals to the young by at once taking a big chunk out of their meager paychecks, while at the same time decrying the chunk being taken out of their paychecks and telling them that they're grown-ups (ooh...go for the jugular with them young-uns) and should be able to invest your money where you want to, since you there won't be a penny of it left if you keep giving it to the government.

Of course, a leader would explain the real problem to the people, come up with real solutions that benefit everybody who needs it as S.S. was intended to do. Supplement their retirement incomes, their pensions. Oops...pension? What's a pension?

BushCo knows all the right buttons to push. He's hoodwinked the kids into believing that the peace and prosperity they enjoyed during their high school years was but a fluke, a set up by which to hobble George Bush from taking on the world and keeping us safe from terror. Kids these days. Sheesh. They'll believe anything!

[zanne]

23. They believe they'll be very wealthy someday.

As part of the "ruling class", they'll be unaffected by a low minimum wage, anti-union laws, housing discrimination, harm to the environment (because they'll be the ones harming it), war (because they'll benefit from it), religious extremism (because it keeps the peasants in line), and fascism (because they believe the party will never end). I could go on and on, but I think you get my drift.

[Spaceman Spiff]

39. As Bil Maher said:

"They actually believe their dreams will come true. But they confuse themselves with the Asian kid."

[treestar]

42. Exactly. They believe they are going to be in the ruling class

They don't stop even to think what if they don't make it and have to be ruled.

[acmejack]

9. She tells how good it is to work 2 or 3 jobs!

All her life experience no doubt.

[blogslut]

10. personally,

I don't think there are that many. They're just louder and obnoxious so we notice them more.

[treestar]

34. I think this is most likely true, too.

[calico1]

11. Well, a lot of them have grown up getting

everything they have wanted from their parents. No earning anything, no working for anything. No ever wanting for anything. I think they cannot comprehend that there are people who work hard but cannnot afford homes, good schools, etc. If their own parents are very shallow and materialistic this is what they learn and are accustomed to. They see people who are down on their luck as totally to blame for it themselves. As long as the reality that most of us live doesn't touch them they have no clue.

[skids]

12. Republican propaganda/tactics work best on the naive. n/t

[elehhhhna]

13. EVERY immature person is SURE they'll be a gazillionaire one day.

[calico1]

19. So true! I worked with one.

He is one of those diehard Republicans that would vote for a monkey if that was the candidate. He was actually making plans to RETIRE at age 40! Very sure he could do it. LOL. Well, one marriage, one kid and one divorce later he is still working. Duh. I could have told him that years ago but you can't talk any sense into them until they actually experience real life.

[Toots]

14. Americans are not taught respect any longer

The one major theme of the GOP is lack of Respect. Lack of respect for other people, other countries and even the earth itself. They think being rude and "in your face" is actually cool and it excites them. Americans have no manners or any form of etiquette and are just plain rude people. That makes them a perfect fit for Republicanism.

[Lost-in-FL]

20. There's rude people everywhere

Even here in DU. I have seen very rude people overseas and noticed that Americans are much more tolerant (believe it or not).

BUT... I believe there is a potential for more people to be rude due to our current policies. Also, even non political talk shows in the radio treat young people like crap. Hanging up on them, making fun of them and are creating this atmosphere like being rude is cool. If you don't agree with the talk show host, on TV or radio you are ignorant or stupid and then treated disrespectfully. I think it all started with the likes of Limpballs and O'Reilly.

[Lost-in-FL]

15. They have not gone through any

hardships in their short life. I do agree with you about peer pressure. Kids succumb to peer presure when they are (or their parents) ignorants about other cultures and socioeconomics.

They have not been exposed to real poverty or war. Everything has been given to them so if a kid doesn't have the same material things it is because they are looser or the parents are lazy.

I think this young generation, those whose parents are currently in Iraq and have seen their families destroyed because of the war will be the next anti-war genaration. At least I hope so.

[BlackVelvet04]

17. The fundamentalist movement has been very

effective. Homeschooling, private Christian schools and fundamentalist churches have all bred a whole new breed of conservative children.

No matter how much we may disagree and disrespect the fundamentalists the fact is they have been very successful.

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. It has become 'cool'

to be a young rapture ready Bushbot fundie.

Most of these kids are either home schooled or religious schooled. They live very isolated but comfortable lives and never meet anyone different from themselves. They are fed a steady diet of fundie values and beliefs. After a couple of decades these groups now have their Armies of God ready to bring on Armageddon to fulfill their corrupted vision of the future.

[HughBeaumont]

21. Young and dumb. Party of the "rich".

It's cool to want to identify with a party that sells you "Horatio Alger" bullshit stories, packaged as a cult and decorated with Old Glory. The deification of Saint Ronnie still works to this day - "It's the Party of REAGAN!". Reagan had literally the best PR crew out of any politician of his day (that is, before Lancelot Link came along). I even voted for Bush 41, thinking I was riding the "Reagan" wave.

Then I went to college and read and talked to some student organizations.
And read.
And read.
And read some more.

Before long, I learned what greedbag, deceitful, anti-labor, pro-corporatist plutocrat fuckheads Repukes are. Boy, have I regretted that choice ever since and have not made that same mistake again. That was 18 years ago. We all eventually wise up. And then again, some people don't.

[reichstag911]

36. I, too, liked Reagan...

...before I wised up. I was a regular Alex P. Keaton at the Wharton School, enhanced by some people's perception of my resemblance to Michael J. Fox. My epiphany, however, came from, of all things, a George H. W. Bush career retrospective published in the runup to the '88 election in Playboy. Since then, I've been Dem all the way. The careerism, opportunism, criminalism and outright hypocrisy of that WASP douchebag turned me to "the light side."

[treestar]

45. The 80s were very careerist and these young people were raised

in the midst of that. Everything was you can do it if you only persist, etc. All those heartwarming stories about people who succeeded. Success in your career was everything. Everything else apparently just falls into place. Do what you love, etc. Sometimes it seems people are not materialistic so much as that they want the junk as proof they believed in themselves, worked hard, were persistant, etc. And these were the parents, so the children pick it right up.

It's like my parents' generation; they can't stand to waste anything, because they were children during the depression. They are more affected that way than the people you'd think - the ones who had to raise the children during the depression.

[Finder]

22. Young people need a cause...

and as others noted, are in the process of forming their own identity. The mentor who reaches them first is the one who steers them. The conservatives have done a thorough job since the late 70s in providing mentors, role models for young people. Internship programs, scholarships, all expense paid trips to conservative conferences are very attractive to serious students.

The conservative movement simply adopted the psychology the liberal movement did in the 60s(with added financial incentives). Liberals have gotten back in the game since the mid 90s but lost a couple of decades through complacency.

Libertarians(ala CATO)are in the game now as well.

Look at the different programs on campus now and you will find 3 major think tanks involved.

Heritage-Conservatives
Brookings-Liberal
Cato-Libertarian

[treestar]

41. That just reflects either an underlying weakness in the culture or

a cynicism about the human individual's capacity to think. It's probably the former. Just because someone is the first to get to you doesn't mean you'll have them forever (in spite of what the Jesuits say). In fact when they find out that you aren't the only game in town, you're most likely to be rebelled against.

The generation that questioned everything naturally has children who rebel and see the value of everybody conforming.

The essential weakness of American culture is extremism, too. It's not either every man for himself or some sort of commune. It's a matter of balance. That's the problem. The right wing paints itself as victimized because it doesn't get the lock step in society it wants. The left wing paints itself as victim if there are any social limitations whatever. All the kids pick up is that you have no choice but either extreme.

[Finder]

54. It is human nature...

and psych 101. I agree it doesn't mean you will have them forever, however, long enough to impact society.

Rebellion of youth is also a part of human nature, not unique to any particular generation.

I think the success of the neocons in the past few decades(the past decade in particular) has been their ability to merge liberal and conservative ideals into one package. Essentially they are attractive to the non-political center but also have issues that agree with those anywhere on the political spectrum. Their ability to target the appropriate message to the appropriate audience is simply good PR and Marketing. They did their homework!

We who see through the spin need to understand it is effective and implement the same strategies rather than insult those who have fallen for it. We need to replace the "meme" and target our message with a bit more focus on the audience.

[spanone]

24. Children of the yuppies. Material possessions are what they idolize.

[October]

37. Yeah, aren't we lucky the "hippie" generation is in charge now.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Because the Republican dismantling of education is working

By systematically removing the teaching of intellectual curiosity and thinking in favor of rote memorization and job skills training, the Republicans are finally achieving their desired effect of a young populace too dumb, too intellectually bankrupt, too beholden to unquestioningly embracing the words of authority, too obsessed with materialism and outward appearances, to be anything but republican.

[treestar]

33. Exactly. And the school system's goal is conformity, not education

Learning to think for yourself is the last thing they want you to do.

[CanSocDem]

71. Good one!! eom

[Marblehead]

John Dean

talks about this in his new book.

[Lady President]

26. Deluded Optimism

I hate to sound overly cynical, but I think that young people are conservative because they are so optimistic about their own futures. They still believe that if they work hard, they will be extremely rich-- if you're not rich, you're not trying. They are going to need those tax cuts because of the millions they will earn. They will have plenty of money to retire in style and shouldn't have to give hand-outs to the poor. After a couple horrible jobs, a lay-off, divorce, illness, etc., maybe they will realize that they aren't that special.

I'm tagging on to your peer pressure theory. Can you imagine expressing progressive ideas in a traditionally conservative class? It would be admitting that you are comfortable with the idea of living a middle class lifestyle. Although many of us have done exactly that, it's not easy for many young people.

[mtnsnake]

27. Here is one of the reasons

why I know for a fact that a couple of my younger acquaintances think and talk like conservatives. The funny thing is, these guys are actually more liberal than they realize, but for some reason they think they're conservatives. Anyway, here's the reason:

Both these guys work jobs that have them traveling pretty much daily, and much of that time spent traveling is in their cars. They've been traveling for at least 10 years each. Both appreciate music, but neither one is what I'd call a music lover. Out of monotony of driving so much, and since neither one is a music lover, they both got in the habit of listening only to talk radio while in their cars....and you all know what that means. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, ugh. Neither one of these two acquaintances of mine knows much about politics other than what they hear on the radio, and both are naive enough to believe what Rush tells them makes sense.

So in a nutshell, falling prey to rightwing hate radio in a job where you're in your car for most of the day, is a reason why some young people end up thinking they're conservative. They didn't try to be conservative on purpose....it's just that Rush go to them first and suckered them in over the years.

[SaveElmer]

28. It requires less thought...less effort...to become a conservative...

Learn a few one-liners, blame others for your problems, think only of yourself...

Hardly have to make any transition from childhood to adult conservatism!

[Shipwack]

29. Part of the cycle of society...

I think it is hardwired into our genetic make-up for a large portion of every generation to go against the societal norms, if only temporarily. Forty or fifty years ago, we'd be asking (at social gatherings) why so many kids were getting into that dirty beat-nik or hippie culture.

Twenty years from now, we just might have a whole bunch of die-hard "born again" liberals...

Which doesn't make the current generation of young neo-cons any less dangerous, just sad.

[Nay]

30. Most of them have never lived in a time when liberals were in

power or were even "allowed" to speak without being hooted down by the RW.

I exempt my 23-yr-old from this, since he is a raving liberal, union member, and absolutely despises Republicans. Thanks to a correct upbringing. :P :P

[ProgressiveEconomist]

55. Ding Ding Ding! And Reagan also deep-sixed the "Fairness Doctrine"

for the mass media. Reagan and his press secretaries transformed the "public debate". A Reagan-era Congress eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, making it the rule for TV "news analysis" and radio talk shows to discuss only one side (guess which one).

Democrats need to make bringing back the Fairness Doctrine a priority platform plank!

Until that day, Democrats need powerful microphones and cameras to hammer home our message thousands of times each election season, just the way the other side does. Talk shows, newspaper editorial pages, commercials from issue groups, and TV need to be financed, or we're stuck.

[nosillies]

31. I started thinking liberal in school.

During my civics, social studies, and American history classes, I really learned about the history of our government, what rights and freedoms we have, and how our actions affect the world. I came to the conclusion that I had to be liberal.

Unfortunately, kids these days get very little education in those subjects. Thanks to NCLB, we don't test on those subjects, so they're way under-emphasized.

[treestar]

32. Rebellion to the older generation maybe?

Mad Magazine once had this hilarious article about how the children of the 60s and 70s hippies would prefer classical music and study all the time.

The parents were so upset that their kids didn't want to party and smoke pot.

But then it reversed itself naturally again and the parents thought they had "real cool grandcats!"

:rofl::rofl:

[RandomKoolzip]

35. Two reasons, I think:

1. They're not so much conservative as anti-liberal. I've talked to a lot of guys and gals younger than me who, when I start talking politics, almost immediately throw some caveat into the conversation about how they're not liberal. "Hey, I'm no hippie!" I've heard on more than one occasion. They need to define themselves in the negative, just as all generations of young'uns found their identity by swimming against the prevailing waves of tradition and culture - except this time it's different, because they've somehow been convinced that liberalism is some stifling and oppressive force that's controlling them and stomping all over their buzz. Ask them why they think that is, seeing as how the conservatives control the government and the media these days and you'll just hear Limbaugh/O'Reilly talking points and name-calling, using epithets like "tree-hugger," "hippie," "faggot," etc. (It's also alarming just how homophobic this generation is - "gay" is used as an insult more than I'd ever heard growing up in the 80's.) It's clear that they just haven't quite worked out the finer points of their philosophies yet.

2. When they're not apathetic, they're rabid fundamentalist Christians. Abortion is a defining issue for a lot of these kids. The Christian right has done such an effective job religionizing the previous generation into a Rapturous froth that those same people are now programming their kids to be just like them. It was impossible to get into political discussions with people younger than me in Nashville, for instance, because they saw everything through the fundie prism - EVERYTHING came back to the Bible (Ask a fundie about where in the Bible it says anything about owning guns and you'll get some surprising answers.). I remember asking some anti-liberal cat a few years my junior about global warming, and he said "Who cares? I'll be dead before it gets too bad here. Plus, I pray and god will take care of me." Nihilism and Fundamentalist Christianity make for some strange bedfellows, don't they?

[CatholicEdHead]

38. Part of it is just plain rebelling

if their parents' generation was mostly liberal Democrat, then you are rebelling at that stage by becoming a conservative Republican.

[Joe Fields]

40. Because apples don't fall too far from the tree.

[RagingInMiami]

43. Naivety

[treestar]

44. It is about control

the world they grew up in is very unstable. Divorce, etc. They want something to be controlled. The specific RW philosophy could be the polar opposite as to details, but as long as it is about control, identity with a group and everyone having to follow the rules, they will gravitate to that. The RW could say people are required to be Buddhists and they would follow that. They don't care about the details so much so long as there be a set of rules that everyone has to follow.

[anarch]

46. you answered yourself: "They are lacking in critical thinking skills."

Why are there so many downtrodden, impoverished victims of exactly the kind of policies enacted by so-called "conservatives" who nevertheless insist on voting Republican, every time? Same answer, if you ask me.

Also, fascism maybe sort of appeals to the young. I dunno. It's like the Hitler Youth...they were some of the more fanatical, die-hard supporters, even after the Nazis had already lost. :shrug:

[cedahlia]

51. Yes, "critical thinking" is key here

I do remember being taught about critical thinking in high school, but by the time I went to college, my professors seemed desperate for it. I got the feeling that they didn't get much critical thinking from students in their class discussions or written assignments. But really, we live in an age where critical thinking is openly and forcefully discouraged. It's always "Watch what you say!", and "Don't you dare criticize OUR PRESIDENT in a time of war!", and "My country, RIGHT OR WRONG!" We can thank Fox "News" and the rest of their conspirators for creating such this lovely culture of DUMB.

Great point about the Hitler youth, by the way. I recently read an excellent book about them, and it was truly frightening (I kept thinking about the parallels between them and the "Young THUG Republicans" of today.) The alarming level of vitriol and passionate loyalty to such hateful causes, in such young people, is so depressing...some of those kids were of single digit ages! Such wasted possibilities to do good in the world...ugh.

[truthpusher]

47. We need to bring the 'New Rich" into the fold...

...people are always attracted to money, especially young people... the democratic party needs to be more attractive to this young(er) entrepreneurial group...like the American Apparel CEO who is all about NAFTA and Free trade, etc.

http://www.americanapparel.net/gallery/abc2020/qt.html

[cedahlia]

48. So many reasons

When young adults have the likes of Paris Hilton, the Laguna Beach kids, Jessica Simpson, Larry the Cable Guy, and yes, even South Park characters as their idols, then you're going to have some problems. Vapidness, uber-materialism, meanness, nepotism, and self-centered "libertarianism" are now "cool." And caring about others, being kind, being educated, and being concerned about the environment is just "gay" (i.e. that dirty word: liberal.)

When millions of parents, grandparents, and businesses across the U.S. have fucking Fox "News" blaring on the t.v. 24-7, you wind up with a nation who thinks it is educated on current events, when what they really are is a scary group of grossly uninformed Bushbots. When being fed nonstop bullshit, one become full of shit. I really think one of the number one reasons there are so many conservatives, period, is because so many people really do not know (or care) about what is really going on in the world. They have the sanitized, GO USA!!!, Republican-friendly version of events. So when you're living in lala land, where Bush is your God and as long as God is in control, everything will be okay, why would anyone want to worry their pretty little minds about the truth?

I must say, though, that there are plenty of kids today who are not self-centered Republican worker bees...many kids do care and are making a difference in their world. In light of all the bullshit that's out there, I applaud these kids for shining through all the muck. What a world they live in today...

[Binka]

49. They Are Dumb Assholes n/t

[omega minimo]

50. Are we still not recognizing this all started with Ronald Reagan?

They're still cloning Alex Keaton.

[grannylib]

52. Lack of education about basic civics. There are FAR too many people

in this country who are completely ignorant of the Constitution (including people who have sworn an oath to preserve, protect and defend it).

Look at Karen Hughes, running around the world telling people that our Constitution contains the words "one nation under God." Or that idiot that is now going to head up the NSA, who insists that the Fourth Amendment says nothing about "probable cause."
Have these people ever READ the document???

The only part of the Constitutiont that is sacred to these people is the second half of the Second Amendment (they conveniently ignore the dependent clause).

We need to make Civics a mandatory course for schoolkids, and remedial classes for the rest of the country would be a great idea...when we have idiots who think that the reason we have a holiday on July 4th is because "it's a long time between Christmases" we have a PROBLEM.

[napi21]

53. I'm not sure there really ARE that many.

From my observation, most young people pay no attention to politics at all! Of course you HEAR the vocal ones, so it seems like there is a majority, but I doubt it.

It's the same with the fundies. They are NOT in the majority at all, but they are so vocal, and manage to get soo much attention in the media, it seems like there are more of them than there really are.

It's a very difficult thing to get young people interested in politics because, since there's no draft, they don't see how it affects their life, and for SS, that's so far into their future, they can't comprehend it at all.

[insane_cratic_gal]

56. Home schooling?

Or at least sheltering kids from the truth and humanitarian ideas, which tend to be liberal. Just ask Gandhi, Buddha, Jesus, Dali Lama, Mandala, anyone of them will tell you horror stories of how their humanitarian liberal ideas were met with conservatives.


I know there are Liberal parents who home school, and I think it's great that they do, however Liberal parents tend to show children both sides of the grass and allow them to choose for themselves. I'm not so sure that conservative families who hide behind a flag,greed, religion and ignorance tend to expose their children to what it means to be truly human.

[rockymountaindem]

57. I don't think there are all that many

Had only people under 30 voted, Kerry would have crushed Bush with 330 votes, from what I saw.

[Gregorian]

58. Corporations, media, age of teachers and parents.

History forgotten. Greed of corporations who spawn evil commercialism. Lack of journalistic coverage of the truth.

[Yupster]

59. If it's true

that more young people are conservative, that's certainly a major change and a troubling one.

In every election in my lifetime, it has always been a major goal of the Democratic nominee to get as many young people to the polls as possible as it was assumd most young people were liberal.

If this is no longer true, it would be a major electoral realignment.

I doubt it's true.

[Raydawg1234]

60. For the same reason young people join street gangs

Except this one has a more acceptable name than blood or crips.

[NMMNG]

61. It's drilled into their heads by their parents

And not only are they not taught critical thinking skills, but they are actively taught to fear change, to avoid diversity, to not question "authority" (unless it is "Liberal" authority), etc.--all hallmarks of Conservativism.

[LaPera]

62. Because there is NO DRAFT!

And they all want and think they'll be rich---they are selfish and greedy and beleive that's a good thing...fucking people over is fun for these vindictive republican assholes!

[WinkyDink]

72. TRUE! They'd quickly learn their history and rights if they were about

to have their very lives on the line.

[Rosemary2205]

63. Rush Limbaugh

20 years of Limbaugh telling them grandma is going to suck the system dry and leave them with nothing. Limbaugh telling them the only one they can trust is Wall Street. After awhile even a blue eyed kid is bound to be brown eyed with that day after day pounding.

[SensibleAmerican]

64. This is not 1972 anymore

Let me elaborate.

McGovern won the young vote (under 24) by 20 points. This in a year he lost the election by 25 points.

The issues that motivated young people were first and foremost a war and second was the social welfare programs that McGovern would have instituted.

This dichotomy in politics no longer exists. There is no draft that young people have to worry about and Democrats are not proposing programs like full funding of higher education. Thus, a child's political view now is going to be tied much more to their family's political view than in times past.

Read this interview with McGovern to understand how McGovern and Bobby Kennedy motivated our youth:

http://www.offoffoff.com/opinion/2005/mcgovern_3.php

[wickerwoman]

65. Most young people haven't developed the capacity to

see complex issues as more than a black and white duality. And they approach politics the way they approach sports. You root for one team or the other. We're good- they're bad. They think loyalty must be absolute. And since the media keeps showing the GOP "laying the smackdown" on the Dems (whether or not that's what actually happened) they want to support the "winning team".

And the GOP feeds them the kind of over-simplified slogans they long for. They want to seem sophisticated and grown up by talking about politics but they don't really understand the issues so they reach for the opinion that's easiest to parrot. And that's generally the republican opinion.

On the plus side, most kids are also basically good hearted and can be turned around by someone patiently explaining just what the hell it is they're talking about.

[Greyhound]

66. Television primarily,

as the largest component of the their entirely corporate controlled life experience. 100% of their external input is controlled by some corporation trying to make them do something.

I believe I caught the very tail-end of the last taste of a "typical American childhood", as in, out the door as soon as we could gulped our food down, and roamed for miles playing until the street light came on and it was time for dinner. We only saw television when the weather was crappy and they were still pretty primitive in their technique, and diverse in their purpose.

I think anybody that was born after about 1984 has been thoroughly inundated by corporate input. At this point it will work or it won't, mostly it works and they're getting better at it all the time.

[FujiZ1]

67. It's simply easier.

Teenage principles often consist of popularity and fitting in. National concepts that are acceptably unacceptable such as homosexuality become easy scapegoats to solidify a group. "Simple" issues such as "supporting the troops" easily indoctrinate teens into the concept that not supporting the war would be not supporting the troops. It's all about creating a community or "being cool" and conservative issues are typically so easy to understand and so divisive that they become the concepts that take hold.

I'm not saying Democrats or liberals for that matter are better people, but often times the liberal or democratic stance on an issue is the one that takes some research and thought, not the knee jerk reaction.

Like abortion is killing babies? Pretty easy to be pro-life if you don't understand the societal implications of the movement or the history.

One example of this going the other way is the backlash against Bush going on right now. It the current climate it's cool to hate Bush, whereas 3 years ago people would have just ignored you or labled you as deviant.

[deutsey]

68. Liberals and the left do a poor job of making an appealing, relevant

worldview to younger people.

[MiniMe]

69. Because kids schedules are so regimented, they don't learn to think indepe

Because kids schedules now are so regimented they don't learn to think independently. When they grow up, they are still looking for a mommy/daddy figure because they don't know what to do on their own. When I was a kid, my mother didn't even know where I was most of the day (when not in school). I would go out with my friends and explore and play, all of it unstructured. Of course, we never worried about child snatching then either. I also did my homework by myself, and if I needed help, I asked.

Today, it seems like parents control almost every part of a kids life. They come home from school and go to soccor, or whatever other activity is planned. They eat dinner and then do their homework with their parents. Where is the unstructured play time spent? With video games. Where is the social interaction with other kids? Of course, this isn't true of everybody, but it seems like it. People used to chat when waiting for somebody. Now, people are in their own individual world plugged into ipods and blocking out everything else.

Its also the "Mine" generation. Kids don't have to work for what they get anymore, and they are rarely denied what they want. They don't learn the pleasure of giving, they want to keep it all.

Sorry, this turned into a bit of a rant. Obviously this is a stereotype and does not apply to many kids today, however, I think far too many fit into this scenario.

[WinkyDink]

70. Because they see Republicans as WINNERS---rich, powerful, "large

and in charge", CHRISTIAN and MORAL, courageous, hard-working, and PATRIOTIC.

Never mind the truth.
Well, except for that "rich" part.

[kittenpants]

73. Selfishness & materialism are considered okay, if not encouraged

in a lot of kids I think. That pretty much equals a republican (at least the ones I really have a problem with).

Also, I think coming of age during 9/11 has made a lot of kids knee-jerk flag wavers.

[Swamp Rat]

74. Most kids are 'liberal'

Almost all of them, except for the ones detained in x-tian bible schools, and x-tian indoctrination camps.

[Roland99]

75. It's the easy/lazy way out. Requires little or no thinking.