Professor Jack Block
UC Berkeley Psychology Department
Room 3210, Tolman Hall #1650
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1650
Dear Professor Block,
I read about your study today, in which you observed that adults who are conservatives often were rigid and fearful as preschoolers and liberals were resilient and self reliant. I immediately wondered, though, about the preschoolers’ parents in your study, and whether it is more common for children to adopt their parents’ political leanings or to rebel against them. I can't help but think of a couple of my grade school playmates who seemed like clones of their Republican parents. In my experience this seems more common than the rebellion, and when rebellion does happen it seems to be most frequently against conservative parents. But I am merely an armchair psychologist and therefore can throw around these gross generalizations.
When I was pregnant and reading about child development, I formed a few theories about the sorts of traumas warmongers such as President Bush must have experienced as infants to make them turn out as they have. Has anyone looked into whether we are in Iraq because Bush was not breast-fed?
My child is not yet in preschool and I am grappling with the inevitable next dilemma: what can I do now do reduce the odds that she grows up to be Republican? Any ideas?
Thanks for your time and for your contributions to our understanding of the mysterious human mind.
Truly,
Liz Mann
Berkeley class of 1997
