Interesting subject.
Growing up in a communist country (in Europe), I didn't have a choice but to go to a government school (no existence of private schools), which translates to many years of listening (no dialog possible) to socialistic doctrine whose supporters didn't accept any opposite views and deliberately violated and broke the slightest form of human individualism.
I developed love towards arts and literature in elementary school, and pretty much didn't understand and wasn't paying attention to continuous indoctrinations. But in high school and university I started to pay attention and became quite rebellious and independent. Also, things in society started to change - the war broke out (yep!), after which came, so called, democracy. While some professors weren't as stiff as those in elementary and high school, and not only loved students who knew how to think, but also immensely supported two-way communication, others remained dedicated to their old way of teaching where individualism and different opinions weren't welcomed.
Although changes in society somewhat shaped my political and philosphical views and formed my independence, I mostly drew my knowledge from books and rare people whose opinions I respected. I became an opposite result of what commie goverment wanted to achieve - an individual who thinks.