Since one of the biggest things in anthropology is protected the interviewees indentitiy, the name I will be using is Ben Sullivan.
While conducting this interview I have come to the conclusion of a lot of things, the main thing being that although Ben has gone through a lot in the past 50 years, he has worked very hard to be where he is now. Ben grew up in Roseburg Oregon, where he lived with his mom and four older sisters. He switched between his dads house and his moms, up until the age of 14 when he lived full time with his mom. He explained how his father was a very hard worker, and although he struggled with alcoholism, he was the hardest working men he knew. He said that everything he believes in know, was because of his dad, and that he wouldn’t be the same man if it wasn’t for him. Ben described what it was like to grow up in a house full of girls, and as he explained, it wasn’t always a fun time. They lived on a farm with plenty of land, and although he got in a lot of trouble as a kid, he worked very hard in the fields doing hay and any other work that needed to be done on their farm and any neighbors.
Ben struggled with anger issues all his life, but that never stopped him from dominating on the football field, basketball court, wrestling mat, soccer field, and about any other sport you can thing of. He was a very talented athlete, and at the end of his high school career he got multiple college offers for football scholarships. He even got some offers by scouts that promised him a spot in the NFL draft after college. Although it seemed like he had everything figured out with his football career, it all changed when he decided to turn to drugs and alcohol. Ben explained how he started smoking cigarettes at a very young age, and was drinking by the time he hit high school. Ben didn’t go into much detail, but explained how he decided he wanted to leave Orgeon, so at the age of 19, He left everything, including the college scholarships, and moved to Olympia Washington for a brand new start.
While in Washington he lived with a friend for a few years until he met a girl that he would later call his wife. Ben explained how even though he struggled with alcoholism and drugs, he still worked everyday as a mechanic and when he was making enough money, he bought a house for him and his girlfriend to live in together. After 3 years they got married, and after another 3 years they were expecting their first child, a little baby boy. At this moment was the time that he decided that the drugs needed to stop. So from that point forward, he has been clean. He explained how the pregnancy changed his life, and without his wife and kids, he wouldn’t be the same man he is now. In this time his role model, and over all mentor all his life passed away. His father passed away from a heart attack when he was 37. After that happened, it was a pretty rough time for him. All of his life he looked up to his father, and when he passed he promised him that he would live his life for him. After two kids, and 30 years of working as a mechanic, he is now living happily with his wife of 23 years, his 19 year old son, and 17 year old daughter. Even after all these years, he said that he still thinks of his father every day, and there isn’t a waking moment that he isn’t on his mind.
Now on to the political stance. I didn’t get too deep into this part of the interview because I wanted to focus on his life and where he grew up, so I would be able to focus of why he would believe what he does better. I did ask about the most popular political debates right now, such as gun rights, abortion, and overall thoughts on Donald Trump. For all of these answers he was pretty straightforward on what he believes. For gun laws, he very strongly believes that we have the right to bare arms. He explains how the second amendment states that since we have the right to bare arms, that shoulnd’t he taken away from the citizens. Abortion was a different story. Ben explained how he doesn’t have any religious beliefs, so he is personally pro-choice, although he believes that late term abortions should be illegal, other than for medical reasons. As for thoughts on Donald Trump, he was pretty vague. Ben feels that although Trump is controversial and has done some harm, over all he thinks that he has done some good things for our country, but also believes that after this term, he needs to leave office.
After this interview these are a few more questions I was to ask; How do you believe your childhood affects your political views? Is there any point in time that changed your moral thinking? Who has been your favorite president and why? What do you like about their presidency?
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