Free My Ideology And Cognition Essay Example

Based on a comprehensive self-analysis process, I can say that I am mostly a conservative person. Most of my views on economic as well as social aspects have a conservative premise. I get most of my ideology from three primary sources. These are my family, religion and most important, a significant emotional event.
My family has mainly been conservative for a long time. They have held a conservative view on almost all aspects life and naturally, this has spilled over to me. Just like my parents, I have found myself being mostly conservative in nature. My conservative ideology has made me have relatively strong opinions on several issues in the world including drugs, gun control, abortion and even the environment. I find myself most of the time disagreeing with the liberal views.
Religion has also played a big role in my ideology. I have been raised as a Methodist, and this religion has been very influential in shaping my ideology. In fact, most of the decisions and choices I make have a premise on religion and I find myself assessing these choices and decision from a religious perspective. I don’t support or condone things that would be offensive to my religion or that my religion would not allow or approve.
A significant event that helped shaped my view is the death of my husband. After the death of mu husband, I was left to raise three daughters alone. This event greatly reinforced my beliefs in conservative principles. My husband had always wanted to raise our daughter conservatively and my resolve to raise them in the same way was accentuated.
At this point of my life, I do not ascribe to a particular political line. I simply do not believe in the political system. Although I have several views of what the government should or should not do, I do not ascribe to one singular political party as I do not believe in them. Perhaps this is because of my experiences with these parties where I have seen them make empty promises in the campaign process only for them to fail to fulfill these promises when they get to office.
The social perspective that I find most interesting is the interactionist perspective. In my opinion, it offers the best explanation of why humans behave the way they do and why they believe in the things that they believe in. Generally, this theory postulates that people impose subjective meanings on events, objects and behaviors, because naturally, individuals behave based on what they believe rather than what is accurately or objectively true (Agger, 2006). Simply put, this theory asserts that all of society is socially constructed via society interpretation. This is an aspect that I have seen apply vividly in my life, and perhaps this is why I find this theory so interesting.
The social perspective that best fits the film “The Taking of Ajmal” is the conflict perspective. This perspective postulates that social life is essentially shaped by individuals and groups who compete and struggle with each other for various rewards and resources. (Agger, 2006). This result in specific distribution of wealth, prestige and power in both social systems as well societies. This obviously shapes everyday life patterns including ethnic, class inequality and racial relations between regions and nations.
I believe that I am a critical thinker. The hand out is very clear on the components and characteristics of critical thinking and after assessing myself, I can accurately conclude that I am a critical thinker. I always analyze things from a critical perspective, and I rarely make rash decisions.

References

Agger, B. (2006). Critical social theories. Paradigm Publishers, PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605.