When did you become politicized?

I just began to vote when I was able. I have always followed the issues to some extent.

I just got sick of the bullshit.
My views are based on experiential and implicit education.

I think many of us realized the price of not paying attention during the Bush years.

I started my political life when I was 13 or so and I was more or less forced into politicization by my church (I was taught that the Falwell-style Republicans were the good guys in a cosmic battle against evil). By the time I was 15 or so, I had (under the influence of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart) become completely and utterly a hardcore, conspiracy-theorist (I thought George Bush was trying to establish a theocracy) Dennis Kucinich-supporting, Socialistic liberal who hated organized religion (though I was still a practicing Christian, ironically). I then gradually slipped into atheistic, old-school conservatism (economically) before finally settling as an agnostic classical-liberal (laissez-faire in every sense of the word) who is utterly and completely disenchanted with anyone who firmly sets themselves into one of the two leftwing or rightwing camps.

When I first voted at 18. Then when Reagan was assassinated I became familiar with the succession element of an administration and realized it was a little more complicated than voting for the guy with the best smile.

These past few years though have been absolutely amazing for being part of the political process and living in Illinois, the past 5 governors have been indicted and many did time…and yesterday I got the notice in the mail that we will vote on legislation to impeach the current Governor! What could be more exciting than that!! Woo Hoo!!

Years ago in college during the Reagan years. My political views have evolved since then.

Age 11. Our 6th grade class held an “election” between Carter, Reagan and Anderson, and Mrs. S used it to show us how we mimicked our parents’ views instead of thinking for ourselves. So we had to read the political stuff in the paper, think about whether we agreed with the candidates’ platforms and decisions that various government officials made, why or why not, and then we voted again. I think maybe 30% of the class voted differently than their parents the second time, and could better articulate their burgeoning values.

@aprilsimnel Heh, My 4th grade class had an election between Nixon and McGovern. I was one of two people in my class to vote for McGovern.

I don’t think I ever have…try as I may by following it, I just don’t understand politics. I don’t think my brain is wired to comprehend how it all works, I just can’t figure it out. All I have are my deceased father’s conspiracy theories he probably based offa the movie Falling Down and about how Bush and Bin Laden were yucking it up in the Whitehouse.

Viet Nam. I was eight years old. Need I say more?

I was working at a pizza place and the Clinton impeachment hearings were on, with the whole ensemble of Ken Starr, Linda Tripp, David Shippers, Monica Lewinsky,and Slick Willy himself all having their credibility questioned. Then Clinton did some airstrikes in Iraq in the middle of it. I found the whole thing fascinating. Then I particularly enjoyed the VP debates between Gore and Cheney in the 2000 election and started watching political shows regularly after that. Unfortunately I randomly picked Fox News as a station to watch, and voted for Bush. When I eventually learned the truth of Fox News, it served as a life lesson and mission to be deceived as little as possible.

My Dad pretty much raised me to be a Democrat and I’ve always been active in various projects.

I voted for Humphrey against Nixon when I was five. My dad held me up to pull the voting machine lever.

I can give you an exact date: February 16, 1997. I was in second grade, age seven. (I’m not making this up. It’s the airdate for an episode of The Simpsons – “Homer’s Phobia” – which sparked a discussion in which I learned my father and I disagreed completely on the issue and I knew I had to put forth every effort to change that.)

My parents are Republicans who are by no means content with their party.
The community I live in is filled with Democrats.
I am a registered Independent who votes Libertarian.
We do not share the same views on many, many issues.

The only person who had a strong influence on my political views is my older brother.

I am apolitical. So, no big story here. lol

I remember listening to the No Nukes concert on the radio in the late 70’s or early 80’s. I heard Jackson Browne talk and James Taylor and Carly Simon sing Mockingbird. I was still pretty young but I remembered watching the Viet Nam war and Nixon resigning and politics became fascinating to me. I realized pretty quickly that my gut reaction to almost any political situation very closely resembled that of a bleeding heart liberal. It still does.

I became politically aware during the Watergate scandals.
I don’t think I have become politicized yet.
I have never felt an affinity for any of the political parties.
I thought about joining the Reform Party until it was hijacked by Perot, but I always thought he was part of the problem not the solution.

I voted as soon as I was old enough to. Minimum age in my province was 18 for federal elections. I’ve become more political the older I’ve become but I would say that I have always been very interested.

When I realized I was a feminist, in high school.

In high school when JFK was assassinated.