Share your experience...

[tango-tee]

...how did you become a Democrat?

Do you come from old Democratic "stock"? Or do you come from a family whose political views sent you screaming into the night? Are you a progressive, a liberal, a moderate? Have you perhaps become more left-leaning throughout the years (as I have)? Or the opposite?

So many questions and possibilities, and they are as varied as the members of DU itself. I think that after this brutal week it will do all of us good to realize we're on the same side of the fence. With often greatly - and not necessarily politely expressed - differing viewpoints, but on the same side nonetheless.

My story: My parents grew up in Nazi Germany. By the end of WWII, my father was only seventeen years old. Both paternal grandparents were Social Democrats, and my maternal grandfather was a Serb with a bit of Romani. Thanks to my mom's defintely non-German name, olive complexion, black hair plus her ancestry, her third-grade teacher singled her out to stand in front of class as an example of the sub-human Slavs, where he beat her in the head until blood trickled from her ear. More than once - and my grandparents were helpless. My mother is now eighty years old and still cries each time she relates this experience. It is something that haunts her to this day. Thinking of what millions of others had to endure that was so many, many times worse...

Once the horrendous era of the Third Reich was over, both of my parents adopted the philosophy of "Never Again" as young adults - in the sense that it is our obligation to do our best to never allow such a travesty against humanity to happen again. They taught my sister and me to listen, think, educate ourselves and voice our opinions. Be a loudmouth when it comes to what you believe in. Don't be a coward.

Please share your experience, I would love to hear how you have arrived at where you stand today.

Solidarity!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

1. I'm from Chicago...

In Chicago they tattoo a D on your ass when you're born. :D

[tango-tee]

2. Snort!!!!

:headbang:

You go, Chicago!!!

[midnight]

3. I was born chicago... Raised in a community that

values freedom of speech.....

[ChicagoSuz219]

8. That's so funny...

...my answer was gonna be "I'm from Brooklyn." My American History teacher used to say you could run a ham sandwich on the Democratic ticket & win.

I now live in Chicago. Poor me... I never had a chance... LOL

[KharmaTrain]

14. Another Chicagoan Here...

My grandmother was a poll worker...every election they'd draw straws and the loser played rushpublican for the day. I doubt I met a GOOPer until I went off to college. And that was fine with me...still is.

I was swept up in 1968...first by Bobby Kennedy and then George McGovern. Became even more of a Democrat after living in all-red suburbs in the 80's...then vowing to help turn them blue...which happened in 2004.

[DailyGrind51]

19. I am a Democrat who was born in Chicago, but I am not a "Chicago Democrat"!

I usually vote against "Machine" candidates.

[Merchant Marine]

4. I'm going to be going union when I graduate from the academy

MM&P, Masters Mates and Pilots.

Dems are the party that support unions, so I'm here to learn the party politics a bit better and annoy folks who don't know too much about the maritime industry.

[ChicagoSuz219]

9. Cool... enjoy the Kool-Aid... ;-)

I hear it comes in grape now.

:H:

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

5. great great great grand father was Lincoln's man in SE Dunn county

Most of his daughter's married civil war veterans with land grants in the area. REPUBLICANS WERE THE GOOD GUYS .... BUT THOSE DAYS ARE LONG LONG GONE.
Now days there is not a single one left in the family, that will admit voting republican. it's not that my family changed but politics did. Nixon pushed even the Conservative relatives over the line. Then (my hero and one of the best presidents ever) Jimmy Carter pushed the Conservative family members back across the line to Regan. Then Republican lite Bill Clinton united us again as Democrats. No one admits voting for GWB but I suspect and I will find out. We still believe in God, Gun's, Family. Grandma was the last open republican. "the government that governs the least governs the best" her words, but now I need a Government to protect me me from the cooperations and leave my personnel life to me. So the world changed and we do not want (government to take care of us/ control us) but I cannot inspect every provider of food, medicine and on and on that I buy from.

If we look at it as most Americans want the government to control the things they can not, and leave us to control the things we can. The trouble is those things have changed over time and we need a real discussion in this country about redefining what is Individual freedom and what is shared responsibility. AND WHAT DO WE GET ... cooperate news of Celebrity bad behaver.

[PJPhreak]

6. Me...

My parents were divorced in the early 60's,my dad remarried and then vanished,my mom spent the next 5 years trying to keep it together but in her late 20's she suffered the beginnings of Schizophrenia,which at the time was not at all understood and hence got little in the way of mental help.

Needless to say the school system picked up on that something was wrong,brought the N.Y.State Child Protective Services into our lives....and took us kids away and put us in the N.Y.State Child Care System. (Foster Care)

This was a real eye opener for an 10 year old in the late 60's. Over the next nine years we(My brother and I) were shuffled from one "Home" to another.Some were good,Some not so much.(I'll spare you the details) Needless to say I reacted very badly,turned into a "Hippie Wild Child" and began to totally distrust the "System"

At the age of 19 I Aged Out of the system...Basically booted out on to the Street with no support system or aftercare.I was too old for Child Services so...
I then spent couple of years trying my best to figure out how to "Do for myself" but with the intrinsic distrust of the System (and a real lack of Life Skills,Education or Experience)I failed miserably.

So I did what a lot of kids of the time did (1978)...I hit the Road,looking for adventure and some semblance of self.

I spent the next few years Drifting around the country,and fell into the "Deadhead Scene".

It was now either 82 or 83 and I and a small group of us were sitting in a Coffeehouse in Sacramento Ca (Java City for all you Central Valley folk) one evening and the conversation turned to Ronnie Raygun.As one would expect the group of us were "Ronnie Bashing" and all of a sudden a Hippie Looking kid piped up "STFU...Raygun is a Great Man,You Effin Hippies have no clue!" I just sat there stunned...What was this,A Hippie praising St Ronnie? WTF?

Before any of us could react a very yuppie looking gent piped up and said "Oh you Mean the Asshole that thinks that Ketchup is a Veggie? This led to a,Well lets just say a very "Vibrant" Conversation! at the time politics wasn't on my radar,I could of cared less,But the statement "Ketchup is a Veggie" amazed me so the next day I bought a Newspaper and started to read...and to look around.

During the rest of St Ronnies Admin and Bush the First's Reign I became angry,These Dicks were treating this country like I had been treated when I was a kid,and it became personal,I and my group of "Cohorts" did everything to inform the rest of the world that these idiots were truly out to screw the world.

When Clinton was elected I thought we had Won,oh what a relief!

Then came Gingrich...And his "Contract on America"

Then the Repukes showed their true colors...Lie,Obstruct,Fabricate,Infiltrate,Divide and Conquer.

This is when I decided to get active...We Had to stop Them.

All from a simple stupid statement about Ketchup.

[tango-tee]

10. Before I had even finished reading your post I thought...

...It's because "ketchup is a vegetable"! That these meaningless words uttered by St. Ronnie were the ones to spark the ignition and sent you on your way! Love it.

Isn't it amazing how we get to where we have finally arrived? And you've travelled a rough road, my friend.

[PJPhreak]

16. Ya know Tho...

I have no regrets,in fact I am glad that my life went this way for so many years.

I have done things that most only dream about...

Cross country road trips. (been in all States excepting Alaska and Hawaii)

Sat apon many a mountain top watching the sun rise.(Climbed 16 14,000 footers so far)

Watched the sun set from the Big Sur Cliffs.

Attended many a Deadshow or Rainbow Gathering.

Sailed a Pulling Boat around the Maine Out Islands (Outward Bound)

I now have the Wilderness and Urban Survival skills to make it anywhere and everywhere.

Met many a interesting soul.

Rode my Mt Bike from Boulder to Austin ('03),from Cambridge Mass to Naples Fla ('04) and from Cambridge Mass to My home here in Ks. ('05) I'm getting too old to carry a 60 lb backpack any more,and with Mt Bike technology of today this my preferred way to "Roadtrip"

No better education money could buy.

Boy did I get the Adventure I set out looking for in the 70's!!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

25. You've led a very interesting life.

For all your mom's struggles she instilled something very good in you at a young age

that has helped you cope and eventually see the journey is more important than the destination.

Thanks for sharing.

[ChicagoSuz219]

11. Interesting story & well-told...

Before Reagan was Pres., Joan Rivers was doing stand-up. One of her jokes disparaging her own homemaking skills went something like "What do I know? I think Ketchup is a vegetable." I thought it was really funny.

Imagine my own surprise then when Reagan thought the same thing. No longer funny.

As for your early life, you can borrow my motto:

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." :-)

[PJPhreak]

17. Thanks,

I really wish I could write better...The stories i could tell,being homeless for so many years has led to some interesting times,people and places.

[ChicagoSuz219]

21. You came to the right place... :-)

Send me a private message & I'll help you a little to get you started. One of the things I do is teaching writing workshops - including memoirs' ones.

[Cosmocat]

13. I have increasingly gotten pissed off ...

I am off your timeline about a decade or so, and not the same level of childhood chaos, but ...

My mom was D (only child) and I had a very light dose of exposure to the D party in my hometown as a youngster ... I was rudderless for the early part of my adult years, but it started to burn my butt in the 90s when these jaggoffs did EVERYTHING they possibly could to take down Clinton - a man flawed like the rest of us, but by presidential standards a pretty darn good president ...

I was worried about the 99 election, and just was amazed that Jr. had the traction he got, amazed that a decent, intelligent and highly capable man like Gore was so systematically tore down to the point where the media was constantly talking about "who would you like to have a beer with?"

WTF ...

I still remember to this day the night at a bar with friends sitting there amazed that the country elected this moron ... And, what is really amazing is that as much as I KNEW that he would be bad, it was even worse than I thought it would be ...

Since then, I have increasingly gotten more involved, and I am currently a local elected official, and as much as my wife/family can tolorate it, will continue to push the envelop ...

[PJPhreak]

18. We need more like you,

Who are willing to put themselves in the public eye to try and bring about some small measure of true change...We need it very badly.


Thank You!

[gleaner]

7. I came from a family that was Democratic ..

My parents came to California in 1939 to try to survive the Great Depression. They taught me that the Republican party was for the rich and we were never going to be rich. My father quit school in the 8th grade to help support his parents and brothers and sisters. He made a living as a carpenter. Thanks to FDR we were able to live and abide in the middle class. My father brought the other members of his family to California too, one by one, when he could afford it. My father died of a heart attack in 1998 and my mother died of a stroke after I had cared for her during the last years of her life. That was in 2004. I still miss them both very much.

I joined Young Democrats when I was 15 and became active in the antiwar movement during Viet Nam. I also participated in several other radical causes. I became more liberal/radical as I got older and understood better what was going on around me. The Democratic party embodied many of my ideas of right and wrong. My husband and I ran a peace blog during the Bush years until I got too sick with MS to participate and he was unable to manage alone. I also posted here during that time until the illness got so bad I had to stop that too.

I began posting here again in June of this year. My husband's father had a stroke which took his life in April of 2009. My husband's mother died of cancer in October, a few months later. My husband nearly died of a bacterial infection called MRSA in 2008. He was in the hospital for over 14 weeks and his body was badly damaged. He is mostly bedridden and I care for him. It is my pleasure to do so. We have been married for over 35 years and I love him more than anyone else. He is alive and home and that is what matters the most. He is also a staunch Democrat and he is a member of this board. He mostly reads, but occasionally posts when his health permits.

We do not favor the Obama administration. We started with support of him and hope but his actions have made us think twice. He seems more like George Bush than the person he held himself out to be during his campaign. I accept that he lied and I see who he is. I think your parents had a wise philosophy, and I share it.

I am very sorry about what happened to your mother. It is unbearable to think about as are the other atrocities committed during World War II and all the wars that have followed. That is my story, and I thank you for sharing yours.

[tango-tee]

12. Dear gleaner,

You've had so many losses in such a short time, plus your and your husband's serious health problems. I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could help in a practical way, to ease burdens and sorrows. That I am unable to do so saddens me, but please accept a big, giant, humongous hug for the time being. Good vibes to you and yours...

My mom is bedridden now, and I know how difficult things can be caring for a loved one, especially if your own abilities are precarious.

:hug:

[gleaner]

31. Thank you for your kind thoughts ....

:hug: back to you. I hope your Mom is doing well, and that you both have peace and comfort.

[annabanana]

15. My parents were Eisenhower Republicans

My Mother's Mother was rock-ribbed, called Eleanor R. "That Woman" all her days..

They still thought the Republicans had something to offer the Country when Nixon ran the first time, and supported him. When he finally DID grab the brass ring in a later election they were horrified by what he did in office, and the people he surrounded himself with.

The combination of the way they recoiled, and my feelings about the Vietnam war that was snatching my classmates away made the Democratic Party my home, (a home that I have raised an occasional ruckus in, I'll admit."Hey Hey LBJ")

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

20. I grew up in the 50's and 60's in a Democratic

family. Dad was active in unions in NYC and in the Dem Party. He was a bit of a phony though - he would pretend to be Catholic ( attend Communion Breakfasts) to get in good graces of City officials (he worked for NYC) . He was an alternate delegate to the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City in 1964 so I got to attend that and meet Bobby Kennedy and other Party luminaries. But he told anyone who would listen that he voted for Repubs for President. For some reason I was thinking about this stuff while walking the dogs this am.

I was involved in student activism in the 60's and the hippie movement. I've had a leftist outlook ever since then. I originally registered as an Independent until I realized that I was shut out of primaries . So I registered as a Dem and I'm a member of the Left Wing of the Democratic Party ( and of the Democratic Town Committee in my town)

[Odin2005]

22. I grew up in a family of Old-School MN Dems.

[Iggo]

23. I'm not one. I just vote that way. (n/t)

[treestar]

24. Democratic family of Catholic working class

which rose to have their children become professionals.

Many in said family have diverted to the Republicans solely on abortion (they are very Catholic and that trumps any interests of the working class and even their own interests).

[csziggy]

26. I grew up in Central Florida before Republicans had primaries

So everybody registered Democratic even when they were conservatives or they didn't get to vote in most races since they were settled at the primary level. Many of the Democrats I knew when I was a kid were "Dixiecrats" who changed parties during integration. Now that area is pretty damned red and I am so glad I have moved to a solidly blue part of the state.

I've always been a Democrat at heart, so I did not change to the party. What is surprising is that my very conservative parents raised three (out of four) extremely liberal/progressive daughters.

ETA - Sorry my cat interrupted. Anyway, my parents raised us all to think for ourselves and although they may be politically conservative, they are very generous people who are open to new ideas and to all kinds of people. I don't understand how they reconcile the people they tend to vote for with the way they actually live their own lives.

[lunatica]

27. I was weaned on politics at home

My Democratic mother always won the arguments, and eventually turned my father who, to be honest, had too much compassion to be anything but a liberal.

[janet118]

28. I am the product of a mixed marriage . . .

My mother was a staunch Democrat, my father Republican. I remember them fighting over Stevenson and Eisenhower when I was watching cartoons. Because I went to Catholic school, I was taught to practically worship JFK and I canvassed for Eugene McCarthy before I could vote. I remember sticking one of those daisy-shaped bumperstickers on my parents' car.

Then, after Nixon got into office, I became very disillusioned with both parties. By the time McGovern ran, I was living with a bunch of back-to-the-earthers in Maine. I voted - but that's about it. The first time I felt like someone I liked won was when Carter beat Ford. He was the most honest president I could remember. I still say that, if we'd listened to his warnings about energy dependence, 9/11 might never have happened. But then came the return of the Republicrats who voted Reagan in and all my political activism was spent working on women's issues.

The first time I worked hard on a presidential campaign was when Bill Clinton ran. I saw him at a town hall forum in NH and said - "I really like that guy." A sort of upbeat, more telegenic version of Carter. I stood at bus stops holding signs and baked chocolate chip cookies from Hillary's recipe and sold them in front of a supermarket to raise money to send to the campaign. When he won, I went back into apolitical hibernation until the Bush v. Gore decision. I have not rested since. I was actually not a registered Democrat until 2004, although I voted for Democrats in every national election. After I worked on the Dean campaign, I vowed never to vote for a Republican again and, despite having ups and downs with the Dem. party hacks, have remained an activist and elected member of my town committee ever since.

[Grand Taurean]

29. My grandparents were depression era immigrants

Still better here than over there though.

I consider myself an independent who votes with the Democratic party.
I am very much so opposed to the Republican party since Reagan's time.

[Raine]

30. My parents were moderate republicans

when I was old enough to vote I was also a registered republican. When Raygun took over and began shoving out the moderates that did it, not just for me but my whole family. We all became Democrats at that time and never regretted it.