Personal Reflection

Religion has greatly influenced my values and beliefs.  I used to be a devout Catholic, however, somewhere along the road there was a disconnect.  I realized that I had been conditioned to believe certain things and frankly, they weren't my own opinions.  Since then I've became more accepting of people and their beliefs.  My family has generally been the same way.  I was raised to believe things that they believed.  I also realized that some of those beliefs were not my own.  While I am in opposition to my family on some aspects like social issues, on other aspects I agree with them like on economic issues.  I would say being female has definitely influenced my values and beliefs.  I am for equal rights and equal pay for equal work despite gender.  I don't really think region has influenced my values because I have moved around a lot and although I've lived in North Carolina I don't think its had a profound affect on my political beliefs and values.  In addition, I don't really think my race has taken a  toll on my beliefs.  in everything we read it said Mexican Americans tend to vote Democrat and I don't necessarily fall in that category.
The three U.S. beliefs I will compare and contrast with my own are liberty, equality, and individualism,  As a whole American citizens believe in having many rights as long as they don't infringe on others.  I agree with this belief.  The reason why is probably because I've learned to be open-minded and accepting of others opinions and views.  The second believe that Americans hold is that everyone should have equal opportunities but not necessarily equal results.  I also agree with this value.  The reason I believe this is because I was always told that hard work can get you anywhere in life.  This is why its important for everyone to have an equal opportunity.  The final general belief of the American people is that the individuals rights are valued above the states and individual responsibility are strongly encouraged.  This is the same as my personal belief.  I think it is important for the people to have rights that are above the states in order for the states not to have too much power.  In addition I have always been told if I wanted something I had to take the initiative and make it happen.  No one else is going to do it for you, which is why individual responsibility should be encouraged.