What/who influenced you to care about the world around you?

Mine was 311, mainly when the Transistor album came out. the lyrics to that album really woke my mind up. it sent me on a journey into caring about the world, the state of things, the state of humanity, the planet, enlightenment, making a change, etc. From there it spiraled on into who I am now. it was strange how it happened - the album led me into reading some prophecy - some science, then getting into spirituality and politics. it was an 'outward' or 'upward' spiral for me. extremely positive influence in my life and i am forever grateful.

so what inspired you to care?

She told me all about Republicans but encouraged me to read and think for myself.

I have always been surrounded by fabulous democrats! Even when I was growing up in the deepest of red states, Utah! Aren't moms great?

for anyone! She's the best!

He made me think about how I was wasting my life being wasted 24/7.

I may not always see eye-to-eye with my parents, but I will always respect their kindness and generosity.

my grandfather on my mother's side, for his interest in science and science fiction. and my grandmother on my father's side - althought she was Republican, she did have some ideals that i think sunk into my head and i can feel her inlfluence on me now. althought she would (might) disagree with my views if she were alive, she'd be proud that i CARE.

But, now that I look back at it, I was kind of leading up to that point. with involvement in the Free Tibet movement, Pearl Jam, etc...

The whole transition has been very strange...hard to explain.

The book "Geography of Nowhere" by James Howard Kunstler (www.kunstler.com). It was required reading in one of my college courses and it describes the world that we live in so well. It discuss the manmade cartoon environment and our dependence on the automobile and how that lifestyle is not sustainable.

He's kind & passionate. I may get frustrated with him sometimes but I really admire him and he keeps my head on straight! :)

I worked in some real poor places in this county and that woke up a big part of me (remember the farm depression? I was in rural America at the time), add in having a kid and the awareness that its just dumb luck as to weather or not you get a good education and a chance to succeed, and the worry about the world we will leave him including the idea that I did not have a child to raise him to go off and fight a war for oil and ego.

My paternal grandfather

they were always interested in politics and politics ways always a topic of conversation in our home.

in first grade

especially dogs and cats. To this day, to hear of anyone intentionally being cruel to one of these furry 'gifts,' to mankind is just more than I can bear. While I naturally feel this way about children, it always seemed that our need to protect them went without saying and compassion for animals is sadly NOT a given.

My 2 sisters are both quite a bit older than me, so by age 8 I knew and understood what "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming" was all about.

In my teens I was studying theater in NYC. You can't walk the streets of NYC without being affected, unless you have no soul.

I got pregnant at 17, dropped out of school, went on welfare, and moved from my mom's suburban house into the projects. That's an experience that'll open your eyes, lemme tell ya!

Raised a kid alone, so for the next 18 years I became enlightened in public education issues (including special ed), job discrimination, sexism, and worked multiple jobs with no affordable health care.

Went to college when my son graduated. Majored in Peace and Justice Studies under Prof. Luyster at UConn. I will be forever in his debt for steering me toward my current career path.

my mother
Peter Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger
Sunday school

He's always questioned things about life. He used to be exasperate me when he was little but I could answer his questions with cute little parental antedotes. The problems was that as he got older he started asking real questions about life and spirituality. And instead of parroting what I was always taught, I started questioning things myself. He's 19 now and I've learned more from him than you can imagine.

cute :)

active, esp. my brother. At age 14 I knew more about the world's problems than most of my peers.

I noticed that when i traveled that there are places where i could choke on the very air that i breathe.
And near the woods it was a rare breathe of fresh air.
After i came back from a camping trip, i had trouble getting used to the crappy air again.
And having a plastic nightstand with paint chemicals kept me up at night, worrying about my air supply, course after i figured out it was my nightstand i got a new one.
Then i learned on what most assholes do to the planet by dumping waste and so on.

So thats how i Began to care about the enviroment that way (was that the question?)

Both my parents grew up poor in the Depression, my father was the worst hit (his dad died when he was 11, leaving his mom, 31, and 6 other kids - they were quite poor even before his death) and they taught me both the value of sharing, as well as hard work.

I became ill and disabled in my mid-20's, and went through the rigamarol of not being diagnosed properly (being a young woman, obviously it was all in my head :eyes: geez, when did depression involve balance problems and extreme pain?) and having to sell my most prized possessions, and go on welfare, then disability.

I've been housebound on and off for the past 11 years, and by disengaging from the rat race, it allows you to view life from a very different perspective indeed.

Struggling along with so little money, and no way of making any, plus facing some discrimination against those with invisible disabilites, has opened my eyes up a lot. So has the internet, where information, literally, is at your fingertips.

No one in my family is political or very progressive for that matter.

The first political thing I did was go see John Anderson in 1980 when he was running as an independant, and his talk was very inspiring.

Then I was pretty much drunk and drugged out of my skull for the next 10 years.

Since then I've become concerned about others and the world around me.

RL

Enough said.

while in college. I had left home with a very conservative view of the world, having lived through Watergate and seeing it though a republican lense. At college I learned to question my values, to think beyond my comfort zone. Now I question authority at every turn.

with magic marker on my bath towel and got in trouble from my parents.

I think it was just picking up on the vibes more than a person.

Eh. Figured I should care about something.