Did anyone else start out liberal/conservative and then change over later in life?

Politics & Elections
1

I don’t know if this is the right forum for this, but I used to be very far left, even communist, but over the past couple years I have become quite conservative.

Honestly, I am disgusted with a lot of the beliefs of the Left and finding the Christian faith has a lot to do with my change in attitude.

A lot of the reasons I was a liberal in the past had to do with my own selfishness and indulgence. I told myself I supported communism because I wanted everyone to no longer have needs, and that is partially true, but at least equally big a reason was because I wanted to live in a society where I could have a comfortable life without working very hard. I was in denial of the fact that communist countries historically have been at best, okay places to live (like Cuba), and at worst horrible and repressive, and that capitalism is the main reason why poverty has declined over the past two centuries.

Same with my stances on things like drugs and porn. While I don’t support the drug war or banning porn entirely, I do think those industries are un-Godly and (with some exceptions, like medical cannabis) cause harm to society. Although I wouldn’t have thought so in my early 20s, I now think it’s wrong to do things like go to strip clubs and show up to work high. I realize my cigarette smoking is wrong too, because of the damage it does to my health and the irritation it causes others (although I try my best not to smoke near non-smokers), but I am planning to quit soon.

I think leftists and libertarians, and secular humanists in general are worshipers of self - they see the ultimate goal in life as being maximization of pleasure. That’s what I find disturbing spiritually about the New Age movement that’s replacing Christianity in this country - it’s basically telling people they can be like God, and that they have no master other than themselves. I find this a dangerous mindset because of what I personally believe in.

I also think a lot of left wing issues, like climate change (which I do think is real and a serious problem) and universal healthcare are in part trojan horses to get people comfortable with completely unrestricted abortion. While I believe abortion can be justified in some relatively uncommon situations, many liberals would like it legal up to and including the ninth month of pregnancy, on demand. I find that disgusting.

I don’t like the doom and glooming the left does about the environment, saying that the human species is going to die out unless we deindustrialize. The environment is not in good shape but that’s vastly exaggerating how bad things are.

I don’t like how the left teaches that a person’s virtue is inversely proportional to their privilege, when God says we are all equally tainted by sin. Racism against whites is still racism, and sexism against men is still sexism, full stop.

There are some things about the Right I still don’t like. I don’t like their endless boner for war and the military industrial complex, I don’t like most of their ideas about criminal justice, and I don’t like how many conservatives are racist and sexist. If the GOP embraced minorities it would easily win pretty much every election in this country.

I’d be curious to hear if anyone else started out left and became right like me, or started out right and became left.

2

Isn’t there an old maxim around, to the effect that if you’re not liberal when you’re young and conservative when you’re middle aged, then there’s something wrong with you?

(Anybody know of an origin or any cites for this?)

3

Okay, here: The Quote Investigator traces a wide array of variations on this theme, many of them seemingly of French origin. Google finds plenty of other cites. Some variation is often attributed to Churchill. Other attributions claim Benjamin Disraeli and even John Adams.

If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain

So take heart, rosecoloredboy, you’ve got plenty of company!

4

I’ve become more liberal as I’ve gotten older. And I think a lot of it has to do with realizing that there probably isn’t a God, and that a good portion of society deludes itself by pretending that there is. I don’t need an invisible entity watching and judging everything I do; I’m capable of being nice and respectful without Him.

There wasn’t a single defining moment that made me change my mindset. As I got older and matured (which I have done, if not as much as others), I realized that a big part of my life was no one else’s business unless I invited them into my circle and they accepted. From there, it was easy to discover that the majority of what others do is none of my business.

You want to abort your fetus? Go ahead.

You want to marry someone of the same gender? Why should I care?

Want to be an exotic dancer? You’ll probably make more money doing that than I do in a specialized industry. My hat’s metaphorically off to you.

I’d almost consider myself a libertarian, if libertarianism was an ideology that would actually work in real life application.

5

OP, you should familiarize yourself with concept of “attacking the strawman,” which is a logical fallacy. I have a feeling that you are about to – with considerable justification – receive an overwhelming chorus of accusations that you are engaging in that very thing.

To put it mildly, liberals do not, by and large, believe what you accuse them of believing.

And to answer your question, I personally have gone from a more-or-less moderate to full-blown left-wing liberal. I have worked in both medicine and education and have seen first-hand what conservative policies do to my fellow countrymen.

6

I was conservative when young because my parents were conservative. I guess I just figured they knew what was best. I changed over my early 20s as I became exposed to more and more people who weren’t getting the help they needed, or not getting it until it was too late. I swing left except in fashion where its right-wing all the way.

7

I plead guilty to this as well.

We are talking about 3-piece suits, full Windsors, and merino wool cardigans on the weekends, right? Not MAGA hats, black suns, and “88” t-shirts I hope.

Or am I being totally wooshed?

8

For me it’s not that I need an “invisible man” to guide me, but rather I came to the conclusion that God probably is real, due to what I consider personal revelations from God (then again, I am bipolar I, so maybe it’s a delusion. Who knows?) This was after years of denying God quite blatantly at times and never really questioning whether I should return to the flock; it came quite suddenly.

I’m still not entirely comfortable being a Christian. I think God is in many ways tough and harsh, however my faith is that He loves us and knows what’s best for us. I was an atheist/New Ager for 13 years and honestly in some ways I find the idea of no afterlife or reincarnation more comforting than the possibility of eternity or damnation. Even if it’s in a perfect existence, the idea of existing forever is scary, even though I don’t want to die anytime soon. And I have no idea whether or not God will consider me worthy of Paradise, although I do believe He protects me and blesses me.

I have no judgment towards women who have had abortions, exotic dancers or LGBT people. I think churches should be able to choose whether they want to marry gay couples or not, and it should remain federally legal (the libertarian in me, plus I want my gay friends to be happy). Ultimately matters like that are between a person and God, and I don’t think they are any more sinful than I am.

I’m not sure if I will vote GOP in 2020 or not. I don’t like the xenophobia of the party, and I do think we need an adequate social safety net, but I don’t want socialism or a candidate that is hostile towards Christian values either.

9

It’s been my observation that Christian values seem to be more hostile than non-Christian values.

10

No caps, yes.

11

Hillary Rodham Clinton is a well-known example: She supported Barry Goldwater, but later moved a little to the left. There are other famous examples, though none pops into my head just now.

I personally was a Marxist at age 12, drifted to the right as a young adult apathetic about politics, but moved back toward the left as I became better informed in middle age.

Before arguing against “leftists and libertarians, and secular humanists in general” you might do well to understand their thinking! You seem to lump them with “communists.”

In particular, don’t your simplified summaries of liberal thought:
ultimate goal in life as being maximization of pleasure
and
human species is going to die out unless we deindustrialize
contradict each other?

“The human species is going to die out unless we deindustrialize.” “A person’s virtue is inversely proportional to their privilege.” “Climate change … and universal healthcare are in part trojan horses to get people comfortable with completely unrestricted abortion.” Bold assertions! Maybe I should renounce my membership in the Moderate Democrats Party. Uhhh … can I get cites for these assertions first? :slight_smile:

12

I’ve been liberal for my entire life pretty much. However given that the left has changed a lot more than I did, I don’t exactly identify as liberal anymore primarily because of the extreme end of identity politics. I’m more of a Bill Maher/Sam Harris type of liberal at the moment.

13

I am a liberal but have never wanted communism. People on my left will say I’m a centrist neoliberal shill, people on my right will say I’m a socialist.

A stronger social security blanket, universal healthcare, better investments in schools and public infrastructure, regulations to ensure the wealthy aren’t getting away with ripping off the middle class. Once upon a time republican presidents like Dwight Eisenhower and even Richard Nixon (he created the EPA, put forward a UHC plan) vouched for this.

Once upon a time the right wing didn’t see anything and everything proposed by a left wing lawmaker or academic in cynicism as if everything by the left is bad. The democratic party’s frontrunner is going around talking about working with the republicans and saying without co-operation this country is dead. When is the last time a republican spoke about being president for all folks and not just to their base? It’s as if it’s perfectly fine for the right wing to lurch further to the right but if the left wing goes an iota to the left … “THAT’S COMMUNISM!”.

14

I’ve gotten slightly more liberal as I’ve aged, since up until Gulf War II was more of a war hawk. On some other topics I haven’t gotten more liberal but rather more radical, since the problems have gotten worse, such as the deficit and global warming, but the end game has always been the same.

15

Sixty-six and I’ve gotten more liberal with each passing year. If we don’t stop it, rapacious capitalism is going to enslave us all.

16

I’ve generally become more liberal, though I was never actually conservative, just moderate as a younger man. I’ve become more liberal over time as it’s become increasingly clear to me that society and culture are set up to support and benefit the wealthy and powerful, usually to the suffering of the least powerful and least wealthy among us. As an example: America isn’t a racist country because it was set up by a bunch of white people who hate non-white people; it’s still a racist country because it was set up by wealthy and powerful white people (the Founding Fathers are just a small part of what I’m talking about) who, by and large, realized that racism was a useful tool to pit poor white people against poor black people (and other minorities) to prevent them from joining together and opposing the interests of the wealthy and powerful, and the remnants of these cultural and societal institutions and practices are still very influential.

17

I was left of center, but have become much more liberal over the years.

18

You were a communist? Wow! I’ve been a liberal, to some degree, all my life, and I and almost all of the liberals I knew hated communism. It’s a failed system that has nothing to do with liberalism.

I’m a liberal because I think our society is failing the least among us. It’s actually working great for me and my family, and I’ve had a pretty easy life. I went to a private school and didn’t even have to work that hard, and then I got a scholarship to college and worked a bit harder, but still had plenty of free time for partying and stuff. Then I went into the military and learned how to actually work hard… and it was a very challenging time. But I got through it and did well, and left the military and got a very high quality civilian job supporting the military. Now I have a great job that doesn’t require more than 40 hours per week of my time, pretty low stress, good pay and great benefits… all because I was born into an upper middle class family and didn’t make any huge mistakes. Lots of little mistakes – drinking, drugs, inappropriate behavior, etc. – but those mistakes are very easily absorbed by an upper middle class white person in America. No one cared, and I got through it. If I wasn’t white, or was poor, or was a girl, I probably wouldn’t have had a much rougher time of it, and wouldn’t be in nearly as good a position as I am now. In fact, I know lots of people who made far fewer mistakes then me but ended up in worse circumstances because they weren’t given second and third chances like I was.

That wasn’t fair. Everyone should have the same chances I had to succeed. Millions of Americans (and even more around the world) do not, because our society is so tilted towards folks like me and away from so many others.

19

I was libertarian for a hot minute in my teens, then I developed empathy for my fellow human beings. Coupled with the Republican party’s shunning of truth and science, I have been running leftward ever since.

20

Was radical left by the time I was fifteen (worked for the McGovern campaign though I couldn’t vote yet). My parents were Liberals (still are) with a capital L. I became a Catholic Christian in my thirties. My politics didn’t change at all. Now I’m in my sixties. Still Christian, still radical left. Not a communist. Don’t know if any one is a communist anymore.

And if you ask me how I can be a Christian and still believe in a woman’s right to choose, people’s right to marry whoever they are in love with? It’s because I didn’t give up my ability to observe, think critically, and opt for compassion over bigotry when I got baptized.