From Conservapedia

Environmental vs. cognitive Origin

The idea that the circumstances one grows up in has more of an impact on their political outlook is not surprising. It's not easy to step outside one's upbringing and begin to think independently of it, let alone in contrast to it. The one key factor that was omitted is that there is often a strong social pressure to conform to the norms of one's upbringing, so taking a stand on what you believe intellectually to be right can often mean giving up the support of friends and family who disagree. Someone deciding to embrace a faith different from their parents would likely face harsh disapproval, for instance, even when the change is toward the conservative.

Sometimes these norms are purely political - Sarah Palin railed against socialism and the redistribution of wealth by government, but each year the Alaska Permanent Fund sends checks for thousands of dollars to each citizen regardless of age or their ability/desire to work. The state then solicits Federal funds for infrastructure and other improvements, in effect having the government take tax money from residents of other states and redistributing it to Alaska even as a surplus of local funds is given to people who've done nothing to earn it. This is the epitome of the kind of state-run socialist redistribution of wealth that she campaigned against, but because this was the social and political norm of the culture she grew up in, she was able to reconcile it with her conservative outlook.

I think this is the start of an interesting article, but as with the Palin example above the disconnect between one's environmental upbringing/context and their cognitive reasoning can be strong. --DinsdaleP 10:54, 12 December 2008 (EST)

Excellent analysis. I'm glad you keep coming back! :-) --Ed Poor Talk 11:05, 12 December 2008 (EST)

Sourced quote vs opening statement

I can't access the source here, so maybe there's something else there that changes this, but... how does the quote lead to the statement that liberal reasoning is irrational and biased? I could understand if you said political reasoning in general is irrational and biased, but nothing in the quote favors a specific view. Mikek 14:36, 12 December 2008 (EST)