Generation Politics: How the Sides are Chosen

As rebellious and restless as the Baby Boomers of the turbulent Sixties were, our generation of young adults may be giving them a run for their money. The Millennial Generation is arguably one of the most polarizing to their parents as they are one of the most liberal and less religious demographics in American history. This is not to say in any way, that liberalness equates to rebellion, but it does mean that this younger population has very different views compared to times past. 

Yet, similar to religion, more often than not, political affiliation is an heirloom. And one deeply, deeply rooted in familial identity. So how are the sides between liberalism and conservatism chosen? Are they simply passed down and firmly fixed by how we are raised? Is it even something we have the freedom to choose?

There is this common and fairly rational belief that the younger populace tends to lean more left than the more traditional, firmly-rooted older one. And this assumption appears to be make a lot of sense. Generally speaking, young adults are more open to new and different ideas as they are still developing their sense of value and self; and thus are more inclined to be liberal as the Democratic Party heavily favors progression and reform. But according to an article by the New York Times, this conclusion is as valid as a "broken clock"; accurate at times, but mostly due to luck.

What really influences a political affiliation is time mentality. Contrary to belief, we actually hold limited power over what side of the political spectrum we decide to align with because this decision was more strongly influenced by the quiet power of history, past and present.

Academic research by political scientists Yair Ghitza and Andrew Gelman has found that generations have "ideological identities" and that political affiliations are established by events surrounding a person’s early years. This awareness of the world and its social conflicts can begin as young as 10 years old. 

Think about it. As a population, the Millennial Generation grew up during times of the infamous Iraq War and a struggling economy, both heavily blamed on the Republican Bush administration. And then after Bush, the young population witnessed the historical victory of current President Barack Obama. It also discussed and followed the long battle for gay marriage, seen the horrors of Sandy Hook and other related gun initiated tragedies, rallied for climate change laws, and amnesty for illegal immigrants. It’s no wonder this generation is more liberal. It grew up in a time of liberal dominance.

And to show this concept of time mentality holds, the rebellious liberals of the 1960’s came of age with the “glamour of John F. Kennedy.” “The babies of the late 1960s and early 1970s, [who] entered political consciousness during the Reagan years” and consequently, leaned Republican.

And once a side is picked, a person will be hard pressed to change it throughout his or her entire lifetime. Check out this interactive model of how birth year influences political views. Drag the bar and you can see a pattern of political mentality plotted against time. According to the data gathered, "events at age 18 are about three time as powerful as those at age 40". So once you pick a side, you're pretty much in for life. 

And this is what puts the Democratic Party at such a dangerous place.They may be bathing in the glory of a mostly liberal population but they are also most vulnerable now as they face a nation fed up with Capital Hill's political gridlock and slow progress. One wrong move here or there, and they may turn history's most liberal generation conservative. 

So Mr. Sam Tanenhaus, author of The Death of Conservatism, may say that “conservatism is exhausted and quite possibly dead”, but the generation is still young and coming of age. According to the Newsmax article, the youngest voters for the upcoming 2016 election were born in 1998, and “are probably too young to recall the Bush presidency, the reasons for the Iraq war, or even perhaps the euphoria surround Barack Obama’s Campaign”.

In short: nothing is locked in and everything is still up for grabs.

Pressure’s on left wing.