Interview!

          I decided to interview my lovely mother- Her political views came from personal history and experiences. She grew up working class in the inner city Dorchester area- and then moved 3000 miles away to California and experienced totally different views. She has a very mixed sense of political affiliation-its more towards a person than a party. "I grew up poor I never received anything for nothing- I've earned everything I've ever received. I'm the only one in my family that has gone to college I never received handouts or scholarships I always had to pay for everything. Having a son with a disability sometimes it bothers me that I have to work so hard for everything and I still never qualify for anything . so politically I look for individuals that do not want to raise the taxes, I do not believe in a welfare state- but at the same time support people in need".
      She considers herself a conservative independent- because "fiscally I think a republican in a sense but as far as opportunites for people I think an independent your more open minded on how to make things happen". As for her views on key issues I asked her about her thoughts on taxes- "I think whoever is in office should truly make the top 3% pay – and these universites and large hospitals should pay their fair share and I think that there shouldn’t be a free ride for anyone—everyone should work for what they get and pay their fair share. But at the same time I think people who are getting services should work for those services and should be taxed on what financial they received—so everyone is taxed from the top to the bottom."
    As for myself, honestly I haven't really discovered my own political views yet- within the last year I became legal to vote- but still not registered. When I think about politics and how the world is coming along- I just get frustrated and want to change the subject. Also because I have only had one job in my life and taxes and things like that weren't a factor its probably not such a big issue to me- I do think about all those things but I don't really have a set view on them.
    From this experienced I learned that people can get very passionate about politics and it can be very personal issue. Interviewing my mother made me realize how much she's actually gone through and how those experiences shaped her to have the views she does today. Personally this has put politics on the radar for myself- I think now I will probably pay more attention when debates are on- such as the new mayor race thats currently going on- I never would have payed attention before but now it made me realize that I am growing up and there are major issues going on in the world and I should open my eyes and see whats going on!