How long have you been paying attention to government and politics?

[blm]

Although I started paying attention in 72 and worked for Kucinich's first campaign as a schoolgirl then, I fluffed off for almost 15yrs, and then re-engaged during IranContra. Not heavily - there was no internet obviously. It took a while to get to the real facts about IranContra, there was so much obfuscation and little background to clarify it the way it can be tracked today. It was WAY more of a struggle to piece togather information.

But, by the time the illegal wars in Central America and BCCI became apparent, I knew there was way more evil going on than run of the mill corruption. Still, I could never fully engage on the complexities at the time, and only in hindsight, and with the apparent connection to today's terrorism and current policies has the issue become clearer and easier to grasp - thanks to the internet.

And by 2000, I was able to go back and study all that I missed in all the years that I ignored events or just didn't piece togather at the time, like the post WW2 policies, Korea, Vietnam, civil rights movement - thanks to the internet.

I often wonder if there was an internet then, what an amazing difference it could have made - in ALL our lives.

Did you get into the politics of governance because of any one event and/or are you engaged now in current affairs BECAUSE of the internet?

[stevedeshazer]

1. 1968

I was thirteen. I volunteered to hand out stickers and pins in support of the great Senator Wayne Morse. That was my first involvement.

Soon after, RFK came to visit my little town in Oregon, and I got to shake his hand. Eight days later, he was murdered.

I got involved due to a series of events such as this. By 1972, I was protesting against the nuclear power plant that was built in my area next to the Columbia River on an earthquake fault. Ironically, it is being demolished now and the cooling tower will be imploded in May. I'll be there to watch come hell or high water.

To me, the internet is a tool that I woldn't want to live without. Back then, we could usually rely on reporting; no more.

So I guess I am and/or. :crazy:

[blm]

2. I should have included that in my post - back then we could usually rely

on reporting. ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE from the last decade of media complicity.

[OneBlueSky]

3. 1968 . . .

I decided to go to the county Democratic convention, just to see what it was all about . . . I spotted our local Congressman (a raving liberal who had ridden LBJ's coattails to victory in a very conservative district) and decided to just approach him . . .

"So, Congressman . . . how does it look for us tonight?" . . . he responded with some detailed info about delegates from this town and that, and ended by apologizing that he didn't remember my name (we'd never met) . . .

I "refreshed his memory," joined the campaign, served on his district staff for a couple of years -- and have been interested (and sometimes involved) in politics ever since . . .

[ClintonTyree]

4. Since about 1960....

I was a lad of 9 years and watching the Nixon/Kennedy debates on the old black and white. Kennedy really put the hook in me, even at that young age. Nixon....the man looked like a seedy used car salesman, I didn't like him. I remember staying up well past midnight on election night, finally falling asleep before the results were final. I wouldn't go to school the next day until I found out who won. I was elated with Kennedy's victory.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a big thing, sitting on pins and needled waiting to see if there was going to be a planet under our feet the next day. And then November 1963............Dallas. :cry: I was devastated, more than many adults. The dream was over.

Anyway, I've been politically oriented ever since. I've seen some boneheads come and go but over the years but Bush......worst President ever. Hands down, no competition. Please make him go away! :scared:

[blm]

5. Went to a Catholic school - my clearest memory of 2nd grade is of the nuns

crying uncontrollably all over the school.

[Blue_In_AK]

40. I put 1966 in my reply below.....

...but I agree that 1963 was the real beginning of my political awakening. That was one of the worst days of my life.

[JeffR]

6. Too long

Way too long...

[salin]

7. 1984

Gary Hart's primary race. Then on to Washington DC during the second half of the Reagan years. Once hooked never stopped watching/reading. First stint actually volunteering was the 1988 elections for a local state rep, state sen., Dukakis... and (ironic given my less than tepid support now) for Evan Bayh in his first run for gov.

[salin]

9. While I was too young to pay attention

I remember my Dad's fury in the 1972 election - didn't buy Nixon's "secret plan to bring the troops home" claim (and the later revelations of the escalation of troops in the secret war in Cambodia proved him right) - and his screaming at the TV during the watergate scandals. While I wasn't actively following at the time - due to his strong reactions - the events did penetrate my awareness/psyche.

[dogday]

8. Election 2000

I am just a newborn compared to some..

[blm]

10. But, the internet allows you to catch up. Much of today's concerns are

connected and some deeply rooted in the events of the past, especially the Reagan-Bush1 terms. You may be surprised at what you learn and how you feel about it. You will also find yourself furious at those who could have done more and chose not to.

9-11 did not happen in a vacuum - it took decades of meddling and manipulations by longtime Bush cronies. The IranContra and BCCI investigations lay out alot of the same players.

I remember one of the original DUers who told a young activist interested in BCCI what to search for - he added "See you in a month, you'll never be the same."

[kittenpants]

22. same here

I'm ashamed of how apathetic I was my first couple years of college.

[blm]

34. I hear you. In the earlier DU days, I asked who actively protested during

the Reagan-Bush years while they were putting together this evil network as proven by the real IranContra and BCCI info that was slowly coming out in the 80s and 90s.

A number of folks here replied about their protest actions - All I could do was apologize to them for not adding my voice at the time, and feeling shame for not grasping sooner what was happening to this country and the world.

[madokie]

11. Oct. '70 when I returned from the service.

And then watergate and I haven't looked back. Up to then I was apolitical.

[ThomWV]

12. 1959 ... Kennedy

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. Since the Cuban Missile Crisis

That's the first event that I remember clearly and we believed that we were on the brink of nuclear war.

I grew up in NYC so I was raised with the belief that NYC and DC would be the first to go. One of the big reasons why I moved away.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Late '50s, early '60s. Civil rights movement started me off.

As a kid, I lived briefly in Florida. I saw racism at it's ugliest which spurred my awakening to the world. In the marines I experienced the expectation to kill other human beings for the sake of politicians.

I've been a radical ever since.

[bryant69]

15. Off and onn since high school, but seriously since 1998

The clinton impeachment. I was pretty naive then.

Bryant
Check it out--> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Minnesota Libra]

16. I was interested in "current affairs" and "politics" as far back as.......

.....1959 or so and can vividly remember Kennedy running and how I tried to get the kids in my school:applause: to influence their parents so Kennedy would win.:bounce: You do the math as to how old I am now.:blush:

[Hubert Flottz]

17. For over 45 years...

I was twelve when John F Kennedy was shot and killed in Texas...

[WinkyDink]

18. Since I was 7, Eisenhower vs. Stevenson. I liked Ike, my parents didn't!

I quickly saw the light, and have been a Dem ever since!
(I quit Girl Scouts in 1960, after a "mock" election showed me to be the only one for JFK.)

[trof]

19. It started with Nixon. It became intense in 2000.

I was an independent until the Bush-Gore race.
No more.

[blm]

21. I'd add that 2000, 9-11 and Iraq intensified concern for most here.

Young and old.

How do you think us BCCI watchers felt on 9-11?

[Seabiscuit]

20. 1952 - wore Adlai Stephenson buttons to school.

My mother gave them to me.

[TahitiNut]

41. I wore "I Like Ike" buttons ... "Ike" was like "Mike"

:silly:

[annabanana]

23. 1967

My senior year HS

a few anti-war classmates got my attention.

[0007]

24. fifty six years.

[Finder]

25. Since the 70s. n/t

[greendog]

26. Since the S&L scandal...

...at the time, I was living in Colorado. Neil Bush (the VP's son) and the Denver based Silverado S&L were in the local news a lot. I remember reading an article about campaign contributions from Silverado. They donated to Senator Bill Armstrong, a far right Republican...and to Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, a left leaning Democrat. As a matter of fact, they donated across the board.

It made me suspicious of the role business was playing in our government.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Joe Fields]

28. Since 1960, when my parents took me to see John Kennedy speak

on a visit to Kansas City, during his presidential campaign. I've been lucky. My parents were both very actively connected to politics and current events.

[Boomer]

29. Since 9/11

All my life I hated politics -- the lying, the smarmy hand-pumping politicians, the corruption, the control by a ruling clique -- all of it made me sick. In a rare burst of political activism, I worked on the John Anderson campaign and that failure returned my disillusion with the whole process. So I avoided political news, even though I did have strong progressive views myself. And the less I knew about what was happening, the more difficult it became to make any sense at all of what I did hear, so I was less interested than before.

Then came 9/11 and that was such a horrific event that I started reading the news again, several times a day, on my computer at work. I figured my interest would wane, but oddly enough, this time it did not. Reading the news became a habit, then a compulsion, especially once I found DU. I read DU first thing in the morning while I eat breakfast, when I arrive at work, on breaks, at lunch, just before I leave work, as soon as I get home and before I go to bed at night.

The more I learn, the angrier I become at the system, but I can't walk away from it anymore.

[LSK]

30. used to be casual, but since 2003 - hardcore

DU has a lot to do with it.

[BooScout]

31. Since Nixon and the Vietnam War. n/t

[Greyhound]

32. Late 70's living under the Carter administration. The economy was

in turmoil and in reading the news papers (back when they still printed straight news) it struck me as odd that the President was trying all these innovative potential solutions, but was fought by both parties every step of the way. Seems like it was a bout '78 when the universal "we hate Jimmy" club really got going, and I coincidentally met him. The pain and caring just radiated around him and I was struck by this profound sadness. I think he was the best human being I had ever met, unfortunately, he was far too concerned about the real people, and I think he knew he was doomed to failure.
Anyway, we all know what happened afterward. I got old enough to vote and then got angry and then got involved.

[blm]

35. heh.... seems a few of us DO REMEMBER what it was like to read the work of

real journalists and listen to REAL reporters discuss the news using STRAIGHT FACTS.

[etherealtruth]

33. I had the worlds most awesome political science teacher in HS

Through him I learned that "politics" (participating and making sure I was informed) was my OBLIGATION. He made learning fun, interesting, ... all consuming.

Dante` Chinni wherever you are take a bow!

(this was the late 1970's)

[BlooInBloo]

36. Since 1908.

[kittenpants]

56. In that case, I think you win! n/t

[hfojvt]

37. maybe I could say 1968 too

since that was the year I saw Robert Kennedy, but that was more of a celebrity thing. I remember following the campaign of 1972 where I became a Nixon fan (actually anti-McGovern because he said that the space program was a waste of money, and that was my sacred cow as a 12 year old boy). It was a quasi-intellectual thing to follow the news, watch 60 minutes, and read the paper (mostly Art Buchwald and the comics). I did not do more than vote and write an occasional LTTE until I was made aware in 2000 that there is more work that can be done, although I did protest the first gulf war.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. 1966 for me...

...through 1972 or so then kind of backed off while I was raising my kids. Although the Reagan years bummed me out quite a bit, and I was keeping track of the scandals, BCCI, etc., I didn't really have time to get active. But since 2000, with the kids grown and ** in charge, I'm back with a vengeance

[bemildred]

39. 1968. nt

[bigwillq]

42. Since 2000

before then I was in high school and really didn't pay attention at all.

[fortyfeetunder]

43. I think the Kennedy assassination did it...a little kid

I was two months into first grade. And I could not understand how or why a president got assassinated.

What I remembered best was asking my parents (who were firmly in the "children should be seen and not heard" generation) about seeing the Lee Harvey Oswald slaying on the TV news and asking what it was and my mother replied to me to stop asking questions. I remember getting the same response when asking the same questions about Malcolm X assassination, etc.

However, my parents didn't realize that I could read newspapers at that age. I stopped asking questions to them, and read everything I could get my hands on.

I have children now, and have learned from my childhood there are age-appropriate responses to the most controversial questions, and guess what? When they get that answer, they are grateful you took the time to explain it to them in a way they understand, and move on...

[nuxvomica]

44. I worked on RFK's senate compaign when I was nine

Stuffing envelopes and such but not terribly politically aware. I've followed politics ever since. Scariest moment was Reagan's inauguration. I started thinking, yeah, maybe he's not so bad after all. Sort of grandfatherly. Then I came out of it and realized that that's what they want us to think. I think the 80s were the very worst political period in my lifetime until now. Even during the Vietnam War there was still hope and a lot of people were thinking straight. But the 80s were scary cuz everyone was buying into the bullshit.

[pinto]

45. Since the late '60's as an observer, first voted (National) in '72.

[Hamlette]

46. 1956 but I didn't work on my first campaign until 1958

I was 8 (in 1958) but for the two years before that my aunts took me to the county and state democratic conventions. My whole family has been active in Demo party politics from day one...and they started us young too, as I did with my kid (who gets his degree in poli sci next week).

Freakin' junkies.

[sandnsea]

47. When John-John saluted his father

I really can't think of an event or turning point. My earliest memories are as much of watching Kennedy children run to meet Kennedy fathers as those of my own father. I grew up in California, the farmworker's protests were right in my own backyard. My jr high took part in a bussing program. My cousin by marriage was a POW. The Cuyahoga River. I always paid attention to politics but ended up becoming more involved in activist causes than direct campaigns. I remember volunteering for Second Harvest way back in 79, when it was just in its early stages. A variety of stuff since then, from homeless shelters to Head Start, leafletting and posting signs for a few campaigns in between.

I had a sense of how corrupt Reagan and Bush were, but never to the extent I did when I got the internet, and like you, went back and filled in the gaps. Proxy wars, BCCI, Carlyle. Red Line Agreement, Twin Pillars of Iran and Iraq. So much more. I guess that's why I can't turn back so easily now as I could in other years. The information just keeps coming, sometimes it seems hour by hour, showing how horrible these people really are. I just can't shut it all off and it is different than Clinton because I was online then too and NOTHING like this shit was happening then.

[blm]

48. Yep - once you KNOW, how can ANYONE turn back?

.

[stillcool]

49. my interest in politics was peaked

as a result of therapy, and really looking at my life, and what happened to me. Politics, and policy's, wars,...are subtle influences that give a series of misfortunes, more bang for the buck. It wasn't until around the 2000 election that politics and history emerged as my prefered reading material.

[in_cog_ni_to]

50. During Clinton's first run. I worked his campaign, but the 2000 election

THIEVERY really got me going. I was so pissed, I couldn't NOT do something to help.

[pinto]

51. As a "pre-internet" member, just wanted to add a comment about politics.

As I posted above, I've been politically "aware" since the 60's and first voted in '72.

The internet has proven an amazing source of information, a venue par none for political discourse, and a motivation, to some extent, for public involvement in the political process.

My caveat is just that - public involvement.

While I'm obviously committed to internet political discourse (I volunteer here...) I'm an oldie and think there remains a parallel and pressing need for "off line" involvement.

Get out the vote isn't a new concept, it's as old as elections, and it happens on the ground.

We focus a lot of discussion and energy on Presidential elections, but they aren't the only game in town. I would suggest that US Senate, US Representative and State elections mean just as much, if not more. Look at our "unchecked" Presidency.

Involvement in the local party isn't an outdated political process, it remains the way we build voting blocks and political power.

And much of our "constituency", as political partisans or activists, doesn't spend a lot of time on the internet outside of emails, sharing family pix, work related activity and such. You know what I mean.

While it seems odd, as a moderator, to say this - we need to get off line at times and engage the non-internet world, politically.

[blm]

52. And some of us were lucky enough to have a Dem meet and greet this morning

and Harry Taylor showed up.

Very inspirational.

[proud patriot]

53. 1990 is when I started becoming aware

of things bigger than myself

[understandinglife]

54. Since 1956.

Never Forget: George W. Bush willfully violated National Security to cover-up his willful launch of a war of aggression and illegal occupation of Iraq.

[Vidar]

55. 1966