Have You Ever Changed Your Opinion?

I grew up in Omaha in a super conservative and very religious Catholic family. 12 years of Catholic school later, I knew that organized religion was full of s#!t. I don't know if there is a higher power, but that entity doesn't seem to make any difference in my life or the lives of others, so I don't think it matters much other than curiosity. I'm more of a humanist in that I believe humans overall will do more good for each other than bad. I respect others that have faith, but only if that faith shows itself in how they treat others.

Getting out of Nebraska and seeing the world dramatically changed my political views. I've gone from conservative, pro-Republican, anti-Democrat to progressive and anti-political parties. I've also gone from pro-capitalism to realizing that no economic idea that's simple enough to understand is going to be complex enough to handle what happens in the real world, so we need to constantly adapt our economic policies to the situation and moment, regardless of whether that's considered capitalism, socialism, or something else.

 
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I've changed my mind on certain politics. I've changed my mind on the republican party and people in general. I once believed that everyone could be a rational person and have genuine good faith discussions. I've now understood that there are many out there who never have had that intent in their lives. 

One thing that hasn't changed is my view on religion or my political ideology in general. I realized at a very young age I hated the idea of anyone telling me how to think. Thus disagreed with organized religion. I read the Bible myself. Interpreted it for myself and ended up getting a philosophy and religion minor in school. I believe a higher power exists. but as someone before stated. I believe our final judgement is based on how we lived our lives, not which of the many versions of the same god you worshipped. 

I had a high school social studies teacher boil down the difference between the two political parties thusly "if you believe that people are the most important thing, you're probably a democrat. If you believe money is the most important thing you are probably a republican." Of course that was back when both parties were relatively sane. I decided then that money didn't matter if the people don't benefit from it. However, in politics too, I refuse to be told how to think. I seek out the full story of anything I do, and realize that truth is likely somewhere in between what the two different sides are presenting. I tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. 

I think it's much harder to change a wrong ideology. Its part of what makes you who you are. Certain issues and subject areas are easier. I think the problem in our society now, is that 1) everyone is told how they should think all of the time. 2) Both parties have been able to link individual issues into ideology, ie support of the military or police as "Conservative." etc. When those issues become part of your ideology it makes it that much harder for a person to see the issue clearly and likely does take a major event to change your position on it.  

 
Born N Bled Red said:
I had a high school social studies teacher boil down the difference between the two political parties thusly "if you believe that people are the most important thing, you're probably a democrat. If you believe money is the most important thing you are probably a republican."
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I heard a slightly different take: if you rule because you want to be loved, you're a Democrat. If you rule because you want to be feared, your a Republican.

The same highly simplified analogy was sometimes applied to the United States and the USSR.

There are flaws in both approaches, but if you gotta pick one........

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
I heard a slightly different take: if you rule because you want to be loved, you're a Democrat. If you rule because you want to be feared, your a Republican.

The same highly simplified analogy was sometimes applied to the United States and the USSR.

There are flaws in both approaches, but if you gotta pick one........
Click to expand...
I would say the top 2 most beloved Presidents in my lifetime have been Reagan and Obama. (missed Kennedy by 3 years) So, one of each.

 
After spending years as a Fox News/Rush junkie.....hell yes I've changed my views on things.  

I've changed my views big time on healthcare.  That comes from being in charge of our company plan for years along with not drinking the Republican kool-aid 24/7.  

Over the years, I've become more middle-left on social issues. 

Where I have changed in a HUGE way is my opinions of politics.  I no longer tote the party line.  In fact, I despise it when people do and they lose a ton of respect from me from it.  Not everything Republican is good.  Not everything Democrat is bad.  No party has a monopoly on good ideas on how the world works.

So, I'm no longer a raaa raaa Republican.  Now I'm a, don't give me your party BS line, talk to me about issues and how you want to fix them.

 
Interesting topic.

If you have been on Huskerboard for the past 6 years, you have witness the change in me regarding politics.  I'm a lot like what @BigRedBuster said above - no more ra ra for any party.  I think I've circled some what back to my earlier years.  I was a fan of Robert Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey (for you young guys -  they don't go back as far as Washington or Jefferson.  I was 12 when Robert Kennedy was shot and I did my big college history paper on HHH).   While I am still a big fan of Reagan. I am not a fan of the GOP any longer.  The party has changed and left me as Reagan so famously said about the Dem party years ago.  Between the Bush family trying to convert the whole world to a democracy and failing and Trump coming in and taking over the party, I have little faith that the current GOP can get back on track.  I use to be a big Glenn Beck, Rush, Hannity, FoxNews addict and now I can't stand to listen to conservative talk radio because of the blinders they have on and the regurgitation of party talking points.  I am much more open to other view points on health care, taxes, and other domestic issues.  I now find NPR much more enlightening than conservative talk radio even though NPR has a more liberal bent. 

Foreign affairs I've gone from being a hawk to a dove - use war only as a necessary last resort to preserve our country.  No more nation building and supporting the Military Industrial Complex. 

Social issues:  Still 100% pro-life but I understand the other side of the argument better -  I wish there was a better middle ground to be found on that issue. 

Other social issues - I'm more open to the discussion - the other side does not equal 'evil' just different.  I view liberals as no different than conservatives in that they are both trying to make the country a better place - just have different paths they are taking to get there and different emphasis and priorities.  I think most issues we can find middle ground if we stopped yelling past each other.

Religion / Faith:  In my life I've gone from an atheist/agnostic to a believer in Jesus Christ and Christianity.  I don't know who HuskerX is but in general, I don't find the atheist argument convincing.  However, I have mellowed my 'fire and brimstone' take on faith from my earlier faith days. With the assistance of writers like Anglican & Oxford Theologian NT Wright (Books: Surprised by Hope, Simply Jesus, Simply Christianity, When the Revolution Began, When God Became King) and Brad Jersak (Book: Her Gates Will Never Be Shut-Hope, Hell, and the New Jerusalem), Brian Zahnd (Book: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God), Richard Rohr, and others similar,  I've come to see that the Gospel is much larger, more inclusive, and found God to be much more loving than what the Americanized Gospel presents.   I've also developed a healthy distrust of the American (maybe it is universal) mixing of religion and politics.  I use to accuse the 'liberal church' of it but now the conservative, evangelical church is swamped in Trumpism and that gives me grave concern.  Of course the conservative church was caught up in politics beginning wt the Moral Majority of the late 1970s but that was "my side" so it was OK :facepalm: .  So, I'm more persuaded, now, about religion and spirituality being a more private thing. It can be spoken in the public square but that risks that it gets 'spoiled' by charlatans (both religious and political, left and right)  who use religion for their own power grab.  I also look at 'unbelievers' as not being different but rather the same in that we are all on a journey.  Over the years, @knapplc & I have had some deep discussions on HB about faith issues and while we might disagree on some of the conclusions, I've learned that each person has their own path to walk and we still can be friends and respectful and sharpen and challenge each other in a positive way.  I consider all of you friends, esp Knapp, even if we have a different view on faith issues. I've decided not to go deep into 'who is right and who is wrong' on these kinds of discussions.  God (who may not exist in the eyes of some of you) doesn't need me to defend him, and I'm not going to risk a relationship by arguing needlessly over points we might disagree on.  Open friendly discussion is ok but hostility on any topic accomplishes nothing.

 
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Nice bump.

I may or may not have an old post in here under an old name that isn't all that much of a secret, couldn't say!

But I've gone through a very wide gamut of changes, most of them in the same window of time I've been on HB. Went from mainline to charismatic to neo-reformed calvinist to universalist all just within Christianity, left Christianity entirely but got more into Jesus than ever before, went from being apolitical to hard left regressive lib and back to apolitical, have flopped tune on most any hot button topic, etc. 

 
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