For this week’s Personal is Political blog, I decided to interview my friend Mallory here at Penn State to get her account on growing up in rural Pennsylvania and the impact that had on her political stance throughout the years. She had told me before this interview that when she was younger she leaned into a more conservative political perspective mainly because of the environment she grew up in and many people around her also shared conservative beliefs, but since then her political viewpoint has evolved. I was very interested to hear her perspective on this, since I consider myself to have more liberal political views, and coming from a progressive Massachusetts town, I’ve never really experienced what it’s like to have changing or different political views than the people around me.
Can you explain a little about the area and environment you grew up in?
So growing up, I lived in a rural area that was predominantly very conservative in their views and my parents were very conservative in their views. I feel like I would have conservative news channels on in the background and my parents would talk about it periodically, so that’s just what I knew. Specifically, in middle school, we had a mock election when Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were running, and Donald Trump won with flying colors. As I’ve grown older, the impact of moving schools helped me form my own opinions that strayed away from the far right beliefs, not necessarily all the way far left, but I’d say I’m more independent in my beliefs and in politics.
Were there any specific events or experiences that influenced your change in political beliefs?
I think moving from a very rural middle and elementary school to a private school in a more suburban area that was predominantly more wealthy population had an impact. It was somewhat of a culture shock at first, but moving schools combined with just maturing and forming new opinions were the main causes of my changing beliefs.
Have you faced any challenges or conflicts with friends or family as a result of your changing political stance?
So one thing that I think really influenced my parents political views was my mom converting to Catholicism, which is I’d say primarily conservative nowadays. She really gets into the conservative views of moral issues in politics and our world, so I think that definitely caused some conflicts in our opinions and viewpoints. I’d say an example is abortion. My mom is very pro-life and personally, I think it really doesn’t matter what people do to a certain extent. So yeah, we have differing opinions on that.
How do you navigate conversations or debates with people who hold different political beliefs now that your views have shifted?
I think I do a good job of really listening to others and really putting myself in their point of view and trying to find an equal, middle ground that we can both agree on. I also just think it’s important to listen to others and respect their opinion.
This viewpoint was interesting to read about. I believe everyone should take time and think about which stance is most true to them and not to where they grew up or their families. A lot of time people just choose the side their parents are on and think nothing more of it. I’m glad your friend was able to find a stance that was true to her. Wether your conservative or more liberal it’s important that you truly believe in the side you are on.
I enjoyed getting to read about your friend’s changing political beliefs. As I have gotten older and gained new experiences my political beliefs have also made some shifts. I think a lot of people are pressured into believing whatever their parents or family try to make them believe. I like to try and think about where I stand on individual political issues instead of defining my beliefs by a general category of “left” or “right.”
It is important that when making decisions in the political realm that we think for ourselves rather than what we were raised into thinking. Especially since we are the next generation where our votes (I’d like to think) matter the most. I am glad your friend was able to discover her beliefs herself.