Assignment 4 - Lauren Chatfield

Growing up, my mom was a democrat and my dad was a republican. My parents are both lawyers and politics have always been frequent in household discussions. I never understood what any of the things they talked about meant and how important they were. I lived in a very conservative northern suburb of Chicago for most of my youth so republican values were taught to me as being "right." While I would never argue that a political parties values are wrong, I did learn that I don't agree with what republicans stand for and I had to learn that on my own. I remember when Obama first ran for president against John McCain, my best friend at the time freaked out when I said my mom liked Obama - and we were in 2nd grade!!! It wasn't until I understood the nuances of each party and how they parties actually operate that I began to develop my own opinion, even though it was not what my dad believed at the time or what my friends agreed with.