My Political Socialization
Autobiographical Essay
Awarded 1st class
Political socialization is a learning process transmitted generation to generation where citizens acquire political orientations relevant to individual norms and values corresponding to the position in a society mediated via various institutions of society (Hyman, 1959). Agents of socialization inculcate social behaviors and beliefs forming a political culture (Bender, 1967). The interactions with these agents shape our political stance and attitudes on issues from participation in politics to decision-making patterns (LeVine, 1963). Factors that greatly affect my political beliefs are family, peer groups, mass media, social media, education, and government institutions. These socializing agents influenced a strong inclination towards liberal values in me.
Family is the fundamental aspect of socialization since it provides strong influencing moral and political viewpoints via informal learning since childhood. As minorities in this nation, my family has faced institutionalized racial discrimination based on skin color, religion, ethnicity, and societal status due to internalized systemic racism in the government constitution. Malaysian Indians do not represent the economy or the government as much as other races. Poor diversity in the representation of minorities in business, parliaments, and government institutions persists even after 64 years of independence. This is due to the preexisting socio-economic conditions and affirmative action policies which exclusively benefit individuals with “Bumiputera” status. The Indian community has limited access and faces difficulty in possessing education, loans, properties, and secure jobs (Ratuva, 2013).
Therefore, my parents emphasized heavily on education which enhanced my critical thinking skills and social skills. The organized educational setting in school such as history classes enlightened me on the political system of the state. My parents often criticize the race-based political parties and Islamic policies in Malaysia due to their inefficiency and manipulations to promote disunity and divisiveness. They were more concerned about the economic progression and prosperity of the country. Moreover, being a product of vernacular schooling, I learned the segregations in society and desire a change in the socio-political system in the nation by embracing equality. Human beings are naturally diverse but created equal, deserve happiness, equitable opportunities, and fair treatment. These values were strongly influenced by family input gained via discussions and arguments based on political conditions from a minority’s perspective.
Back in 2016 during our discussion on the legalization of same-sex marriage, I questioned the purpose and ridiculed the fact homosexuals can’t have children naturally. Her reply to that took me by surprise as she mentioned that gay people want to get married due to love and affection. This incident changed my conservative beliefs backed by religion and traditions. Also, cultural globalization mediated by mainstream popular culture brought in many western ideas into the nation like awareness to intersectionality. Participation in debate sessions in college and conversations about western media amongst friends influenced and critically challenged my thoughts and perspectives. Thus, it’s fair to say that peer groups influenced my political stance by instilling values such as liberty of choices, bodily autonomy, gender equality, civil and human rights.
Interest in world affairs and comedy led me to western mainstream media such as American late-night TV shows. Late-night talk shows and Netflix comedy shows by Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, Hassan Minhaj, and Dave Chapelle initially were a stress buster and an entertainment source. However, these entertainment media heavily influenced my political socialization and interest in politics especially during the 2016 US election when Donald Trump was rallying against Hillary Clinton for the presidency. The monologues by these comedians covering the elections were very political, liberal and definitely impacted my political beliefs. I loved the audacity of equality & liberty they expressed through their shows; I desire that in my homeland so that journalists and the public can question political authorities without biasedness and keep their jobs and security. People should voice out their opinions, exercise their freedom of speech within constitutional rights. Nonetheless, the Malaysian governments tend to be less democratic by restricting political speech that seriously challenges elected or religious leaders and the monarchy (Sani, 2008).
Celebrities and the public were even able to express their heartfelt feelings and criticize the US president on social media and mainstream media without facing any serious consequences. However, in Malaysia, authorities can sue individuals, websites, and institutions for defamation due to detraction of common law (Derbyshire principle) hence, speech limitations and fear persists in public to express their opinions and criticisms (GoodRoad, 1998). Although western individualistic ideas are different compared to Asian communitarian values, I still prefer the liberal democratic model as it enables people to be more vocal and it benefits the governments to enhance performance and accountability.
Additionally, the advancement of technology in society led to many opportunities for individuals to educate themselves and engage in current political and controversial issues. Social media platforms such as Twitter allowed me to understand the lack of transparency and corruption such as the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia. In liberal societies, politicians are asked to publish their tax returns to the public however, only recently have Malaysians learned how much politicians make and it’s outrageous. Transparency helps to strengthen democracy and government efficiency. These strong beliefs and mindset for freedom and transparency were instilled by the mainstream entertainment media and social media platforms.
To conclude, these political socialization agents greatly impacted my political beliefs by instilling liberal values. I am currently involved in Model UN, Debate, and often participate in policy writing competitions to create and voice out for a change in the domestic political realm. By learning International Relations I hope to explore more about the challenges facing Liberalism in the 21st century especially, the global economic inequality.
