Controversial Issues You've Changed Your Mind On

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was thinking about how my opinions on many things have changed over the years, sometimes drastically. Here are a few of my examples…

Abortion - I went from being against it except for under a few conditions, to against it under any situation except when the health of the mother was jeopardized, to against it except in the first few months, to being against any legislation preventing it.

Death Penalty - I went from being for it to against it and back to being for it again

Religion - I went from being an atheist to an agnostic to someone who believed in a higher power (but no organized religion) and back to being an atheist again.

Drug Prohibition - was happy with the status quo, went to believing alcohol and nicotine should be made illegal too, to believing ‘soft drugs’ should be legal, to believing all drugs should be legal.

Social program spending - went from believing that the government needed to support the poor and disadvantaged to believing that we needed to spend money on education but not support able-bodied people to believing that the government should spend no money on social programs, then believed that some social spending was a necessary evil, and went back to my ‘no social programs at all’ position.

Race - went from ‘everyone is equal’ to ‘some races are obviously superior to others’ to rejecting the concept of race but recognizing that some cultures are ‘better’ than others.

And not exactly an important issue, but I went from being certain that there were other intelligent races in the universe to having a strong suspicion that we are the only one.

2

I was once a Scientologist who believed the CoS was going to be the salvation of this planet and I now believe they’re one of the most malevolent forces in the Western World. Does that count?

3

Gun Control - Used to support it, then supported it in certain cases, now I’m against it.

Political Philosophy - Used to be conservative, then became liberal, then became libertarian, now I’m a liberal who leans libertarian.

Evolution - Used to believe in intelligent design, now I don’t.

Religion - Still trying to figure that one out.

Football - Used to be against the 2-point conversion in the pros, now I like it. OK, so it wasn’t controversial with a capital C, but still…

4

Used to be anti-war for all wars, but particularly “war” in Vietnam. Then in 80’s decided the Commies were really bad news & we should’ve kept fighting them (although given the lack of domestic US support and rotten South Vietnam regime, it would’ve been hard).

Otherwise, changed from supporting Democratic tax & spend gov’t solves all the problems policies to favoring more free market policies.

But this is just crazy talk:

Look around you: this one isn’t all that intelligent. :wink:

5

Death penalty: strongly for, to not-very-strongly against. You know, the kind of objection that’s more of a shrug then a shaking fist.

Religion: atheist to a kind of mystical Zen Agnostic Buddhism. (I’m not fully sure what that means either, but it feels right.)

Abortion: choice in all circumstances, to a deep-rooted discomfort with the idea. Still against the government being involved with it, however, so that’s probably not a very major shift–simply untroubled-to-troubled pro-choice.

Children: Crikey-they’re-irritating to they’re-just-people.

People: cynical misanthropy to cynical optimism. (They’re dance partners who step on each other’s toes, but they’re cute together in there.)

6

after reading “The Chamber” by John Grisham I am now against capital punishment.

7

Guns: Used to think they were bad, & thought they should all be outlawed, except for military use. I have since changed my mind. I have learned that most gun owners are responsible, law-abiding citizens. But there’s a handful of irresponsible idiots out there who make gun owners look bad. So it’s not the guns that are bad. What’s bad is just that small group of people who think that the Constitution not only guarantees them the right to own a gun, it grants them the right to act foolishly with said gun.

Religion: Lukewarm Christian to Pagan Polytheist.

Death Penalty: Anti to pro.

8

Ooh, can I play?
I pursued a “career”, if that’s the word for it, as a radical feminist theorist who happened to be male, before accepting that there are genuine logistical problems with “men being feminists”.

I moved from espousing a MacKinnon-Dworkinesque position on pornography to believing that, at worst, images of women can eroticize negative attitudes and feelings towards women under some circumstances for some viewers some of the time, and that most of it is harmless (and the biggest problem with porn is that most of it isn’t done very well).

I went from believing that mental illness flat out does not exist except as an excuse for incarcerating inconvenient people, to believing that the medical model of mental illness is a gross oversimplification, to believing that people with medically different brains do exist but that some of us like being this way, to believing that there is some truth to all three of these statements (and then some).

I’ve gone from defining myself as a person with my own individual religion to calling myself a gnostic, to finding an identity within Wicca, and back to stating that I have my own.

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Affirmative Action - Used to mildly support it…now I think its a misguided policy.

Death penalty - Used to support it, now I oppose it. I don’t see how it deterrs anyone who has a low opinion of life to begin with. And it is unevenly applied. But I do believe convicted murderers should be made to suffer for a very long time.

Drug legalization - I used to support it, now I oppose it, except for limited marijuana use.

Political Correctness - I was in favor of greater sensitivity, but I think it has gone too far for too long. Now I sort of enjoy political incorrectness.

Light beer - used to hate it, but now I have to watch my gut as I get older, so the lighter the better now.

10

The Soul: I used to be a hard materialist ie believes the person is the body and that’s it, buthaving studied it, I’m now convinced there’s a non-physical bit of a human.

School work: before: do the best you can in everything you can. After: do what you need to to make the next step. Hey, why stress?

But then other points I’ve held the same view about ever since I was old enough to form them: I still believe that the UK benefit system is kcuffed up and should be reduced dramatically.

Abortion: I used to think fine. Now I think lesser of two evils. I goddam hope I never swing to the other extreme.

Drugs: I’d take them, but I wouldn’t let my mates do it. I wouldn’t let anyone I care about do drugs. A while back, I’d probably have encouraged them. Before that, I’d have said ‘Drugs are bad. Don’t do drugs’ cos afterall that’s what the big guy said when he stood up and talked to us about drugs in school.

I guess its largely a case of taking out childhood beliefs and reforming them, or finding new evidence. But it’s more than that in my case - I’ve actually reformed my entire outlook on the purpose of life. Before: do your best. Now: have fun. Simple as.

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Positive discrimination. Used to be unreservedly for it, then switched to being largely against it, now wavering violently.

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Christian creationist inerrantist fundamentalist

to…

Flat-out atheist. Not even a gesture toward agnosticism. I simply do not believe any gods exist. I do not find the presented evidence compelling enough to even entertain a doubt about this.

And I can say the SDMB got me started on that road.

13

Religion: Extremely conservative, fundamentalist, no-women-in-authority, homosexuals-all-bad, Bible-all-literally-Truth, Christian to still Christian, but much more liberal. I was amused when I picked up Christianity Today, which I subscribed to through the whole transition, and discovered that the same materials I had condemned as “too liberal” I now found way too conservative.

Death penalty: Lukewarm pro to hesitant anti.

Food: Moving in the direction of vegetarianism (please don’t take that as a cue to start a long argument)

Work: From “My work IS my life” to “My life is my life, and my work pays for it.”

14

From a Republican to a Socialist

15

I flip-flop on gun control from week to week. I am seeking some sort of reasonable moderate position, but I don’t think one exists.

I went from being pro-death-penalty (but disgusted with the length and expense of the appeals process) to very much anti (because I’m disgusted with the haphazardness of the appeals process.) I’m beginning to suspect that our system of justice is the worst possible way to prevent and redress crime–except for all the others.

In various parts of my life, I’ve oscillated between very pro-military and weenie pacifist, and now am moderate-to-cautious on the whole issue.

16

Religion is the big one for me. I went from a practicing Catholic to a pretending Catholic to a lapsed Catholic to agnostic to liberal Christian. There’s a liberal Christian Unitarian Universalist Church in town that I’m going to start attending next week, and I even bought a Bible a month ago. Dating a practicing Christian really changed my perspective on the whole thing.

Abortion: Was pro-life when I was young, but now I can’t see how this issue is any of the government’s business. I would strongly discourage someone from having one though.

Death penalty: For, against, then for again. But it’s more complicated than that. I have no problems with specific executions of obviously guilty child molestors, murderers, etc. But I also realize the system as a whole is flawed. I would support a moratorium until racial bias can effectively be eliminated and DNA testing made standard for all cases.

Economic policy: I was a socialist in college but now I’m a pretty big fan of capitalism. I’m not Republican though: I hated Bush’s tax plan and my idea of “economic stimulus” is much more in line with the Democrats than the GOP. Cutting taxes is great… now how about cutting them for the people that a.) need it the most and b.) are actually likely to spend their extra money rather than hording it away.

Gun Control: I had previously supported a full-on ban of guns but I’ve realized that the Constitution does in fact guarantee an individual right to keep and bear arms. I’m still an avid supporter of strict screening of gun buyers and required training on how/when to use them. I kind of just shrug now when it comes to concealed weapon laws, but they should be banned in schools, churches and hospitals without a doubt. Those are clearly three places where the risk of physical/psychological/cultural damage clearly outweighs a right to arm one’s self.

Affirmative action: Used to have little problem with quotas, but now I only support AA programs that ensure broad-based recruitment efforts and applicant pools. After that, we’ll just have to give employers the benefit of the doubt.

The designated hitter rule (and if you don’t think this is controversial, you don’t know a single baseball fan): I thought it was a good idea, originally. But as I’ve come to appreciate a pitcher’s duel more and more compared to a home run derby, I’ve come to believe pitchers should hit like everyone else.

Issues I really can never see my mind changing on: Gay rights, separation of church and state, taxing the rich at a higher rate than the poor, a strong national defense, and health care as a right and not an earned privelege.

17

staunch pro-lifer to staunch pro-choicer

meat-eater to brief vegetarian to meat-eater

hardcore Republican (well, that was pre-voting age, so not sure it counts) to hardcore Democrat to almost Libertarian

anti involvement in Vietnam to a more global view of social responsibility

born and raised Baptist (even a missionary at one point) to agnostic

anti-gun control to anti-guns to Hm, I sure would feel safer with one around

fear of homosexuals to an embracing and even fascination of the lifestyle

anti-alcohol consumption of any kind to being a social and responsible drinker

being president of a high school “Future Homemakers of America” club for three years to becoming a radical feminist to realizing they’re not mutually exclusive

being an Elvis fan to being a Beatles fan to being both

embracing of “Question Authority” mentality to a realization that authority provides protection and leadership and questioning should come as a form of critical thinking, not as a form of rebellion and disrespect

Obsession with Individualism to the idea that individualism in excess is deadly to a society

war-rally attendant to a pacifist to a patriot with pacifist tendencies

18

I used to be for the death penalty. Now I am against it.

Another thing is when I was young and stupid about 10 years ago at the wise age of 10 (read with lots of sarcasm please) my brother tried and basically had me convinced that caucasions were superior to anyone else. A few years later I wised up and realized he was so unbelievably wrong I couldn’t forgive myself for believing what I did. I still feel bad about it whenever I look back and see how foolish I was.

19

So often I hear the criticism made on this board that “no-one ever changes their mind anyway so what’s the point of all these debates and discussions”. This thread demonstrates precisely what the point is. People’s viewpoints can and do change in light of their life experience and new information.

And Dopers rock so much. You wouldn’t find too many places where people would be so honest about the way their viewpoints have changed over the years. In most places, people would be too concerned with proving why their current viewpoint is the “right” one.

20

It’s a sign of how pathetically short I’ve lived so far in that I can say that this forum has been the first place that has caused me to seriously consider the way I view the world and the opinions that I hold of it.

Religion: I was once a rather devote Catholic, and now am at the point where I say that there either is no god(s) or if there is s/he won’t be getting any respect love from me any time soon.

Sexual Orientation: Because of my RC upbringing I viewed homosexuals of any kind to be unclean and evil and of the flock of people that would soon be burning in hell. That view has changed and I can see how bigoted of a bastard I was an my family still is. It’s incredibly hard to discuss gays with my mother as she will not in any way even think of considering them as people.

Abortion: My stance on abortion started strongly pro-life (oh how I wanted to say anti-murder or pro-humanity, but that’s just a name I use whilst trying to incite reaction at school and that has no place here on this board) and is still strongly pro-life, although I am questioning my stance of hardcore no abortion whatsoever under any circumstances to the point where there arecertain conditions where abortion is ok. Those occasions include rape, incest, and the mother’s life being threatened, but not some slut getting knocked up and then wanting to take the easy way out instead of dealing with the consequences of her actions and dealing with the pregnancy and giving up the child for adoption.

Politics: From calling myself a conservative to realising that my political views do not fit the mold cast by any politcal party.