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lark

(22,994 posts)
5. My 9th grade Social Studies teacher, Jack S. Lewis, got me started down the path.
Sun Aug 26, 2018, 11:09 AM
Aug 2018

He taught us the difference between socialism, communism and democracy and showed us the good and bad of all of them. It truly opened my eyes. He played Joan Baez for us, the first time I had ever heard of any of this stuff, being raised in a fundamentalist Baptist home. He opened my eyes and changed my world. He introduced me to a whole new world that made so much sense to me. Within that year, I was marching against Vietnam, burned my bra, was part of the underground movement to help young women if they wanted abortions which were illegal in my state at the time, and was working with a bunch of others to form strategies to help our older friends avoid the war by getting rejected at the draft offices.

Things that made you a liberal [View all] MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 OP
Ironic, you're handle being what it is. Glamrock Aug 2018 #1
The Gospels were a huge influence MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #7
Hear, hear. Glamrock Aug 2018 #10
I hate LOL but I actually did laugh out loud at balancing their check books! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #15
I am a recovering Catholic also, I worship in a different denomination gopiscrap Aug 2018 #98
Catholic here also - the Catholic teachings on social justice rurallib Aug 2018 #13
Very similar to my family's history MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #17
I also say the 1982 NCCB Pastoal Letter on the Economy with the teaching of gopiscrap Aug 2018 #100
That was significant in our world as well MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #109
same here,Catholic school late 60s and early 70s DBoon Aug 2018 #136
What you are describing is the Jefferson Bible genxlib Aug 2018 #20
I only just heard of the Jefferson Bible. Probably here in DU MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #35
Some of the most honorable and decent people I have ever met... 3catwoman3 Aug 2018 #122
Yes my SIL grew up in that church. Very open minded and committed to social justice MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #124
Book suggestion from one recovering Catholic to another, Bro Glam Docreed2003 Aug 2018 #78
Thanks man Glamrock Aug 2018 #104
Sounds interesting. Thanks! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #126
It's a great book Docreed2003 Aug 2018 #128
I was nine years old... zanana1 Aug 2018 #2
A lesson well learned! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #8
good schools Angry Dragon Aug 2018 #3
Public schools? What state? MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #19
Single mother.... Tikki Aug 2018 #4
That will definitely do it MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #9
My 9th grade Social Studies teacher, Jack S. Lewis, got me started down the path. lark Aug 2018 #5
Great teacher! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #12
Excellent I had a teacher in high school who taught a class called gopiscrap Aug 2018 #102
Nixon jpak Aug 2018 #6
Oh Lordy yes! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #21
My family came from somewhat liberal New England stock, but we moved to a small southern town dameatball Aug 2018 #11
Moving north to south in those days was quite a shock MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #14
Thanks Mary. Mom is gone now but she always loved the Kennedys....:) Have a good day. dameatball Aug 2018 #25
Compassionate parents bottomofthehill Aug 2018 #16
Absolutely! The greatest liberal speech ever given MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #18
also: gopiscrap Aug 2018 #105
Soros is paying me. Ok now that the trolls have been fed. My life's experiences starting in mulsh Aug 2018 #22
That's a great story! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #36
My 5th grade social studies teacher CrispyQ Aug 2018 #23
That's a great quote from Karl Rove ... MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #45
My dad fought in WWII. onecaliberal Aug 2018 #24
My cousin and I were lamenting that very thing MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #37
: onecaliberal Aug 2018 #43
Same here,,, mitch96 Aug 2018 #62
Wow one thing to talk labor rights ... another thing to go toe to toe with management MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #71
That is a good question genxlib Aug 2018 #26
To value truth over acceptance ... true strength! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #38
Sarah Palin. GemDigger Aug 2018 #27
Sarah Palin actually sealed the deal for 4 of my McCain-leaning friends MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #39
I should clarify MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #40
Am glad you did. GemDigger Aug 2018 #47
Looking at issues and making an informed conclusion. yallerdawg Aug 2018 #28
Your avatar says it all! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #41
I think the seeds were planted during a car trip with my family The Velveteen Ocelot Aug 2018 #29
No wonder the South is different MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #50
I give a shit. (n/t) Iggo Aug 2018 #30
Yep. Only one way to vote once you give a shit MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #42
Straight up. Iggo Aug 2018 #58
My Christian precepts, coming of political age in 60s, parents' reverence for FDR. Sneederbunk Aug 2018 #31
these MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #68
Life elleng Aug 2018 #32
That'll do it MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #73
The way my family lived their lives and JFK. Fla Dem Aug 2018 #33
Good liberal heritage for sure MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #46
As with some of the above... N_E_1 for Tennis Aug 2018 #34
Funny how many ex-Catholics are Dems MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #48
Richard Nixon also made me a Democrat DBoon Aug 2018 #139
Its a great question. mysteryowl Aug 2018 #44
All things worth preserving MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #49
My birth and two wonderful parents. CentralMass Aug 2018 #51
Things to be glad of MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #76
The 60's, the Vietnam War, Kent State Cousin Dupree Aug 2018 #52
Those years were so divided. You had to take sides MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #75
Exactly! Cousin Dupree Aug 2018 #138
Took my first multiple choice in Government class benld74 Aug 2018 #53
You could see you were being manipulated. Good catch! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #135
Being female Freddie Aug 2018 #54
Salute! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #59
Being 2naSalit Aug 2018 #55
2naSalit your struggle would be insurmountable to me MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #66
It's been a struggle for well over half a century 2naSalit Aug 2018 #82
F**k. Just f**k I can't believe you have to deal with that either. MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #115
Becoming a union ironworker at 18 helped but, Hotler Aug 2018 #56
Cool experience as iron worker MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #63
My parents. We're related to one another! Liberalism is in my spirit, I guess. sprinkleeninow Aug 2018 #57
Empathy rules! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #60
For me tazkcmo Aug 2018 #61
Yep. They sure are an accumulation of haters. MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #64
Growing up in Dallas when schools were still not desegregated. It struck me as being so wrong. CTyankee Aug 2018 #65
Looking back, studying those great Supreme Court decisions from the 50's through the MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #67
Most of all my parents. llmart Aug 2018 #69
Interesting about your grandfather. Not too many people copped to being MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #70
Ha! llmart Aug 2018 #81
Great guy! I love him posthumously. But yeah liberal family MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #116
Mostly through absorbing my parents' values. cemaphonic Aug 2018 #72
Really interesting that Iran-Contra got you MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #74
Miss Rosenthal, saidsimplesimon Aug 2018 #77
Good job, ms. Rosenthal! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #88
Growing up in the Deep South klook Aug 2018 #79
I admire anyone who can see through adult hypocrisy as children MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #89
I'm the child of Hollywood liberals, anti-war activists, and Catholic Social Justice traditions. hunter Aug 2018 #80
Interesting family history! MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #90
When I was 5... cannabis_flower Aug 2018 #83
5 years old! Early enlightnment MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #91
Christianity - Love your neighbor as yourself. nt LAS14 Aug 2018 #84
Says it all MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #134
Mrs. Klimko, who showed us slides of lynchings in 7th grade. byronius Aug 2018 #85
Kudos to your teacher for showing horror of racism. MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #92
My father and solidified by Saint Reagan hibbing Aug 2018 #86
Peace to you as well. Great dad MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #93
RW asshats billh58 Aug 2018 #87
Yeah it does help that their ass-hattedness is so unattractive MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #95
RFK (specifically his assassination), Watergate, Reagan... lastlib Aug 2018 #94
I had a postcard of RFK "some men see things as they are" MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #96
That would be cool! lastlib Aug 2018 #119
Aww tears 😭 just thinking of your friend's letter. Bobby was my hero. MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #130
mine also! And still is. lastlib Aug 2018 #132
My mom's plight as a German refugee and her having her leg amputated as a result of that gopiscrap Aug 2018 #97
So sorry for what you've suffered. Glad you are with us MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #99
thank you, I just answered a thread of yours gopiscrap Aug 2018 #101
Thanks much - back at you MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #107
My father. no_hypocrisy Aug 2018 #103
You have to be psychologically strong to overcome parental authority MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #111
I grew up in the 60s Cairycat Aug 2018 #106
I remember Time or Look magazine with My Lai vicitms in the cover MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #113
also on October 27, 1988 gopiscrap Aug 2018 #108
Wow I had forgotten about those Buchanan brown shirts MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #112
Maggie Thatchet Doodley Aug 2018 #110
Yeah she hated poor people from the get-go MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #114
The Vietnam War. It drag on and on. People wanted to get out most Americans dead raccoon Aug 2018 #117
Went on forever. I was so grateful my brothers did not have to go MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #118
As a white male Christian, what made me a liberal was a childhood witnessing injustice Aristus Aug 2018 #120
Those experiences with dramatic historical pieces ... MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #133
Harper's Magazine brought me to the Democratic Party and progressivism. Grasswire2 Aug 2018 #121
Yes i remember thinking the evangelicals would all be like Jimmy Carter. MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #131
Being poor myself and having friends who were poor. hay rick Aug 2018 #123
Thanks Rick. Humbling to learn of your experiences MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #129
I was born a socialist. Vote Dem because we'll never have a true Socialist candidate bif Aug 2018 #125
I truly believe FDR is as close we will come. He must have been a political genius to MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #127
Truly. What a genius! bif Aug 2018 #140
Having a heart that no one is allowed MuseRider Aug 2018 #137
Strangely enough, ashling Aug 2018 #141
Quite a heritage MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #143
My mother, my upbringing, my education proglib217 Aug 2018 #142
I remember Barbara Jordan well. Kudos to your mother and Brooklyn MaryMagdaline Aug 2018 #144
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