Why are college students(18-22 yrs old) so liberal?

I have come back to college to finish my education. I consider myself to be a moderate that leans a little to the right but no one could ever call me a die-hard conservative or a toter of the Republican party line. Since coming back to college I have gotten a good laugh, every now and then, when over hearing a young college student spouting idealistic liberal thoughts for the world to hear. This happened so much that I thought to myself, "why are young college students so liberal?". It is a fact that college students are more likely to be liberal than the overall population. So, that would make one wonder, "why are people liberal in college and then get more conservative when they get out into the "real world"?". It did not take me but a few seconds to come to a conclusion.
Data from Cal Berkeley
Data from UCLA
College Faculties: A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds
Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues



As the writers of South Park pointed out(Episode 902, Die Hippie, Die), college students are so liberal because they get on campus, take a freshman psychology class, a freshman humanities class, and all of the sudden they are experts on the world and how the world should be. As a person who has been in the "real world", I can not help but be amused by this phase that young students around me are going through. See, most of them are fresh from mom and dad's house. Most of them have never had to work for a living, and I do mean work for a living, not a part time job while in high school. They have not yet earned a $6000.00 paycheck that is only $4000.00 after the government is done taking their part in order to fund those idealistic programs that so many liberals want. They have never worked 60-80 hours in a week only to see other citizens of this country get paid for doing nothing or get paid for the simple act of having another child.

It is a fact that the general population is less liberal than college students so it is obvious that the realities of the real world, the realities of supporting a family, the realities of making a mortgage payment, and the realities of making ends meet everyday have the effect of toning down the idealistic but naive ideas of young college students.

And, yes, I know, I know, every young liberal college student is going to rail against this post and say it is not true, probably call me some bad names, but get back to me when you are 32 years old...tell me then if I was right or wrong. Obviously not everyone completely abandons their liberal views after college but a large number do.

By the way...if you ever want a dose of reality...spending about 30 minutes in the emergency room or the free clinics down at your local county hospital will turn a die-hard liberal into a conservative! Watch as these people openly advise each other how to get more aid from the government without working. Watch as a perfectly healthy looking woman brags about how she gets disability payments. Watch as they talk about food stamps, welfare, free rent, and so on and so on. What you will be seeing is how giving too much aid to a human being takes away their self-respect and their work ethic. Government aid does not help people. It cripples them. The tragedy of the government run Indian reservations taught us that lesson.

(Even if you hate my post...you have to admit that the South Park clip is funny!)