My kids are all under 10. They don’t have political beliefs.
As for my parents and me…
My mother is basically apolitical.
My father is a fiscally and socially conservative Republican. I don’t necessarily think that his heart is in the wrong place – I just think that a few conditions led to this….
He went to Vietnam, saw some serious combat, was injured (grenade) and came home to a public he felt was calling him a “baby killer”. He tried to go to college part-time when he returned, but was suffering some severe PTSD and there was much anti-war activity on campus during that time. From what I gather, these formative years set up a strong us-vs-them mentality that has persisted. It also cemented his “college/education = liberal indoctrination” attitude.
When I was in my early twenties, I remember speaking candidly with my father about political events and things going on at the time. I was surprised that we agreed about so many things. We were talking about specific issues and concepts, however, that weren’t couched in spin and talking points. But I believe we are so far apart on these issues primarily because we are actually looking at them through different lenses. He doesn’t value education, so he is suspicious of people who look into an issue too closely.
Anyway, I’m a bleeding heart liberal, socialist, left-wing, feminist, environmentalist who came from a mother with no politics and a father with bad politics.