Why is it so "cool" for young people to be liberal? It seems to be the default political view of young people.

Answer 1

Teens want to imagine themselves as instant experts in everything. They don't have the patience to really research an issue and become a legitimate expert, and Liberalism is a great escape. You don't need real facts, you just need to present an issue cloaked in words like "fair", "equitable", "just", and "compassionate". Libs just eat this stuff up.

It's great being a Liberal if you're a teen. All your heroes (musicians and actors) are Liberals. You get to feel like you know everything without any real effort. Think you understand the complexities of climate change? You don't need a doctorate in climatology. Just watch a Michael Moore movie. Poof ! You're an instant expert. No fuss, no heavy mental lifting involved.

Teens are like birds who need to learn how to fly and leave the nest. They have a need to reject all the "mistakes" of the older generation and spread their own wings. To them, everything is "lame". To them, hearing some high school dropout comedianne bash Bush is an legitimate source of valuable information. Of course it isn't. It's just a lazy way to get an opinion, all pre-packaged with humor sprinkled in for the MTV generation.

Young people believe they have all the answers, but are often still thinking at the 8th grade level in terms of politics, and what is reasonable, fair, and feasible. Teenagers are Liberals because they don't understand that "feel good" policies that ignore reality often do far more harm than good.

Liberalism somehow got the cache of being "cool", while Conservatives are supposed to be close-minded (wow, has that definition ever flip flopped!) Most of their idols are Liberal Hollywood types and music stars, bastions of know-nothing Liberals, whose political savvy is summed up in the moronic lyrics of Pink's latest song "Mr. President".

Answer 2

I can only speak for myself and this is very true for me.

When I was younger I was very much into doing "my own thing". Partying, skirt chasing, getting into drunken discussions that ultimately made no sense at all thinking all the while that I was soooooooooo open minded. I was of the thought that welfare was cool, because it gave those that didn't make a lot of money a way to live and pretty much do as they wished even though I never used it. I felt that many of the criminal laws on the books were way to stiff and penalizing. I felt that the police were the enemy and not there to help us. I though abortion was perfectly okay and that marijuana should be legalized.

I believed this way because if all of these became legal and accepted, it would cover my rear because of my behavior.

Then I grew up. I have continually striven for more education and training. I got married, then divorced, then married again. I have two kids, and pay what I consider to be a HUGE tax bill even after GWB's tax cuts. It was even larger in the 90's. Today I look upon the police as friends. I ticks me off to no end that there are people out there that are perfectly capable of working, learning and doing better yet they CHOOSE not to and continue to sap off of the welfare system. I don't party anymore mainly because I have more important things to do, like raise my family and build on my career.

I wholeheartedly agree with Winston Churchill's quote.
"If your 20 and not a liberal you have no heart, if your 40 and aren't a conservative, you have no brain."

It was true then and very true today.

Answer 3

I've been both. Seen the good and the bad in both. Now I'm a moderate because the extreme sides of both ideology are annoying.

That being said and to answer the question, kids think it's cool to be liberal because many of their heros are liberal or championing liberal causes. You don't see the guys from Green Day or Jay-Z talking about fiscal conservatism or marriage being between a man and a woman. You're more likely to hear them talk about the plight of people in the cities or the need to educate people.

Answer 4

From a European perspective, this idea that being "liberal" is somehow any kind of issue is a little weird. I've often noticed the term used as if it meant rabidly left wing but surely liberalism by definition means occupying the centre ground with socialist and/or radical to the left and conservative and/or libertarian to the right. If it's "cool" to be liberal, that must be a good thing. It implies an unentrenched position where preconceived ideas are tested and is as such an admirable quality in the young. As one gets older, one's tolerance may decrease generally in either political direction but to imply that being liberal is in some way a problem is ludicrous.

Answer 5

i know this is an anecdote, not data, but i still think it's interesting. i tried to find actual data which showed the media or public schools have a liberal bias because warrior mentioned it. i haven't found anything other than people assuming themselves to be right.

but where i went to college, there was a huge enclave of libertarians. keeping a neutral stance on abortion as a party--the people seem to be in favor of strong civil liberties. this is in concert with the liberal view.

however, at the same time, they seem to value economic independence and efficiency. a liberal view will find this unsatisfying. a conservative view will be in line with that, but not the civil liberties.

the end result is a group of people generally dissatisfied. and i think that's the root of the young person mantra. be anti-establishment. that used to mean be liberal. now it means be against the government in a whole new way.

Answer 6

Actually, I am a Republican but on the classical political spectrum, Im liberal, as are most Republicans. As far a American politics, you will find that there are quite a few of American conservative teens in North Carolina. The issue of abortion has many young teens becoming Republicans. there are many other issues too. I respect everyoneand I am quite open-minded, but I do know in some of my classes that if you are not liberal, close-minded kids try to bash you, and not intelligently either.

Answer 7

Its been noticed before that one tends to be more liberal when young and get more conservative as one ages.
Its not so much a question of cool, as receptive to new ideas and distrust of methods that haven't changed much in response to the perceived needs of society.
Most younger people are also very aware of the fact that they cannot stand on their own yet. They need those loans for school and mom and dads help too for transportation and insurance. Telling them to stand on their own isn't appealing until they know they can.
As they age they begin to do that standing alone thing and soon they forget they were ever in that position, they work hard and don't want to spend it on things that others want, they just want to keep in and use it for themselves, after all, they worked for it.
After a certain point you worry about the selfishness and consumerism you see, and true conservatism comes into play, you know that there will always be a need for rational help for the less fortunate and that a well run government is the best way to provide this.
I don't think they have a catchy name for this phase yet, but as more of us move into it I'm sure they will come up with one.

Answer 8

i'm a youthful self sufficient that leans greater to the Left. i basically won't be able to help the sought after-day Republican occasion. they have a techniques too many ignorant extremists that don't comprehend the form and the perspectives of the Founders. Their representatives are a humiliation. The greater we overlook with reference to the information of our Founders, the greater this us of a will fail. I grew up with Bush in workplace. that's some thing i will not at all overlook. The youthful human beings has a tendency to look at subject concerns with a greater sparkling recommendations. they have a tendency to help what's ultimate for the country, not themselves. don't get me incorrect, I have not have been given any love for liberals. I basically see them through fact the lesser of the two evils. does not propose i does not vote for a conservative if i assumed they actually knew what they have been speaking approximately. My hero is Thomas Paine. he's somebody many Republicans could prefer to purge from historic past, or re-paint his image.

Answer 9

For the most part, you're right. I believe much of that stems from not having dealt with self responsibility, paying their own bills, and an outlook on life in general that is rose-colored. They haven't yet experienced life's real problems. They have roofs over their heads, are fed, parents foot the bills. If the money you propose to spend is not earned by you... What the heck!

It's when they're on their own for a few years that they gradually begin discovering those taxes taken out of their paychecks. After a bit, you begin questioning where those taxes go and for what. What an eye-opener that is!

That's about the time that little by little, they tend to lean towards the right. People are known to vote for their pocketbooks and that's what will kill the Democrats during this next election.

Answer 10

way to go. excellent question, dollface!

from diapers to high school we are taught to adopt the mindset of the liberal party, the liberal media, the liberal propaganda of the public school systems (which fail at any attempt to educate Americans very efficiently).

we apply to college and are prompted by the US government to become wards of the state and apply for financial aid, because "college is so expensive." we attend public and private colleges where liberal dogma prevails, overwhelmingly, and we apply for jobs in liberal minded gov't bureaucracy, public school systems dominated by the unions, post office or any other safety employer pushing the socialist/liberal line. apply for a job in the dreaded private sector and chances are you actually have to show up and work at a real job, and be productive (how miserable!)

in short it is easier to be herded into a sense of liberal sleepiness and vote for the representatives who can tax and spend in your favor.

when the revolution comes, remember where you stashed your gold, u will need it to survive.