For most of my life I grew up in a small private Lutheran school in the conservative suburbs of Houston, Texas. This is a place full of one dimensional thinking, the acceptance of only heterosexual relationships, and of course a belief that beyond Jesus the only person worth worshiping is George W. Bush. When I made my decision to attend a liberal arts school here in New York, almost every person I knew thought I had gone crazy. They were disgusted to find out that their student council president and homecoming queen, both titles of high stature, was going to open herself up to the liberalistic points of views of the north. In the book This Book is Not Required, by Inge Bell and Bernard McGrane, the authors address the idea that "society teaches us about societal norms and codes" (Bell & McGrane, 1999: 2), as does Patricia and Peter Adler in the introduction of their book, Sociological Odyssey when they state that "we tend to act normatively, following rules of behavior that operate under the surface of society" (Adler & Adler, 2001: 4). The above authors have allowed me to absorb the different social norms in Texas and New York, especially on the topics of politics, homosexuality, and abortion, and form an objective opinion.
             One of the first differences I noticed while driving around New York was the lack of Bush and Cheney bumper stickers on the rears of the cars. In Texas, at least every other car driving down the highway is adorned with a little red, white, and blue sticker supporting the republican party. People are conditioned by society to support the republican party. One of the biggest reasons for this is because of the strong religious influence in the south. I remember, while in my senior year of high school, every teacher at my religious private school stressing how important it was to vote. Not because it was a right given to us which allowed us a little freedom of speech, or because it w...