Ideology of US citizens

I believe that our idealogy as college students (ages 18-25 for the most part) is derived by the surroundings in which we were brought up. These surroundings include our social institutions, the idealogy of the people that were/are influential in our life, and the media representaion of what ought to be normal in our culture. An example of this would be our toys we played with while growning up. Gender specific advertisement campaigns were aired with audience targets in mind. It would be socially wrong as a child to play with toys that were designed for the opposite sex. Boys had Barbies, and girls played with Creepy Crawlers right? Wrong: we were drilled early in life on what what was acceptable and what was not. Although most of grew up in a time and place where individualism is praised, since birth we have been taught a correct way to do things and the rational in which we justify our decisions.

I believe that the majority of American ideology is consistent with that of the agenda of our dominant upperclass. Political figures, celebrities of all kinds, judges, and other professionals of different aspects of society define how the average family shapes their morals and lives everyday. Although a society's ideology is location specific, the deeper imbedded beliefs of US citizens are consistent. The idea of freedom and human rights are on the majority of our society's moral platter. It all comes down to how information is represented us and to those that we deem professionals. I also believe that many citizens of the US have taken on ideoligies consistent with that of an obnoxious talk show host because he/she is a conservative or liberal and has the "power" to reach massive audiences. This cocky/arrogant/egotistical ideology that some people take on poorly represent the ideas of the majority of US citizens. But since these people controlling our media find that useless conversation and too much information sells, it is always there to influence citizens that . Understanding that every piece of information recieved through our media outlets have been represented in a way that will sell(be interesting), the truth sometimes is only how the audience percieves it. Different "truths" spark discussions then arguements. Arguements leads to bigger problems eventually leading to policy/law changes. But being mindful and seeing the big picture can help the average citizen realize what is important in life. Ultimately, one would not trust a random stranger trying to give you advise on how to go about your life. So why would you completely and blindly trust the scripted words of someone with power in the media? You don't actually know the person with the power, it's just pushed at you in hopes you grab the hook. Take some advise from a 20 year old college kid with few responsibilities and tons of free time to think about our lovely planet and its occupants. Don't be an irresponsible optimistic when handing out your trust, be a mindful individual with respect for yourself. Find out your own way to do things and make decisions, inside of the law, that sits right with you. Sometimes it is hard to not think like everyone else and blindly agree with those that have more "power" than you. We are extremely blessed to have the things we have. Our freedom of choice, plenty of opportunities, and a democracy are taken for granted sometimes. In other words, be aware how your idealigy is being shaped so that you are not taken advantage of.