Posted 16 July 2007 - 02:10 PM
FWIW:
From what I can tell, there is a mixture of liberals and conservatives here in Folsom. I don't think we have anyone that is far, far to the right ( like you might see in Orange County) or far, far to the left ( like you might see in Berkeley). I came here expecting more Conservatism and have encountered mostly moderates that lean left or lean right. I think, with the influx of people from the Bay Area, we have more leaning left than we used to, but I've only been here for a year.
As for asking the original question, I don't think it's as loaded as you're all suggesting. I lived in a very conservative community for a long time. Being a left-leaning moderate in that environment was difficult because many people, while friendly, just didn't share my views and values. And there were a fair amount of bigots and liberal-bashers there. It did get tiresome, especially when I took great pains in my classroom to make sure that everyone's perspectives were honored and respected by all students whether they aligned with my own or not.
Once in a while, I'd encounter a liberal student in class. It was uncomfortable for me when the liberal student would express a personal view, such as atheism, in the context of medieval European theocracy (a 7th grade standard in social science), and a conservative student would disregard the academic argument in favor of a moral one in which the liberal child was subjected to the conservative student's moral judgements (i.e. all atheists go to hell and whatnot). Likewise, I could not abide someone with a liberal agenda imposing it on conservative students ( i.e. religious people are sheep following a figment of their imagination called "God"). I am religious, myself, and can appreciate the values associated with the conservative perspective, but I also think everyone should be free to make up his or her own mind without the snap judgements of others.
I don't have a problem with students engaging in rational debate, but when the majority intimidates the minority, the flow of ideas and the continuum of thoughts can just clog. It's very sad. I think Bella's concerns are reasonable, and it's a valid question to pose. It would be just as reasonable for a mom moving to Davis or Madison or Berkeley asking what she might encounter living in those liberal areas if she is conservative and concerned about the contradictory messages her children might experience in the majority view.
Pari.
Pari
