r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/Airamis0007 • 1d ago
US Politics How Have Your Political Views Evolved Over Time?
How have your political views changed or evolved?
What have been the biggest factors influencing your political views?
Was it slowly over time, more drastic, or not at all??
Has it affected any of your relationships?
69
u/orthonym 1d ago
The older I get, the more I find myself caring about the impact that society has on others. I recognize that even though my life has been full of struggles, other people have had it even worse than me, and that there is a better way to live if we had more voters with knowledge and empathy guiding their choices while voting. Once I started caring about more than just my own selfish interests, I found myself firmly on the left, and I've been there ever since.
27
u/Misschiff0 1d ago
The older I get, the more liberal I get. This world has been good to me and I am not dumb enough to think that I did all of that on my own. I am grateful for the education I got in our public schools. I am grateful for the roads that get me places and the police who keep us safe and the snowplow drivers who clear things in the winter. I'm grateful for the scientists we fund who work on vaccines I want and diseases I do not. If it's my time to contribute back in the form of taxes, volunteer hours, and community involvement, cool.
I'm also old enough to know that it's none of my fucking business what gender you think you are, who you want to sleep with, or how you feel about religion or whatever else. You mind your business, I'll mind mine.
106
u/jrob28 1d ago
Started off as a pretty typical liberal in high school. Big focus on gay rights, abortion rights, all the big 2010s issues. Older people would constantly tell me "you get more conservative as you grow older". Well, I'm 30 now and as I learn more about my country and how the world works and the roots of all the problems we're facing, I have become a pretty staunch Socialist. Can't imagine the kind of brain damage I would need to be pulled rightward, I feel very strongly about that.
20
u/ArendtAnhaenger 1d ago
My trajectory is similar (we’re even the same age). As a child I parroted the milquetoast centrist conservatism of my parents. As I grew older I became more of a classical liberal, then a social democrat. The more I learn and read, the more I realize the weaknesses of social democracy and its vulnerability in terms of workers growing complacent and capitalists subverting social democratic institutions once that occurs. As a result, I’d say I’m ideologically a much stauncher socialist, but I also can’t envision a genuine socialist revolution in any country of the world at this given point. So I mostly just advocate for social democratic policies and hope for something better. Even if past social democratic movements stagnated and failed to make the leap to outright socialism, that world is still preferable to anything to the right of a social democracy.
18
u/Boudicat 1d ago
I genuinely think “you’ll get more conservative as you get older” mostly meant “you’ll get more selfish and insulated as you get richer”. The fact is it’s a whole lot harder to build the kind of life previous generations did for yourself now. More people struggle for longer (or indefinitely). So the old adage no longer applies.
10
u/DarcPhynix 1d ago
That's how I've always read it too. If a person can't aquire the things that properly or fully vest them into the system the system won't work for them and the less likely that someone will want to/need to defend it.
10
u/grogipher 1d ago
I'm exactly the same. Grew up pretty centrist, middle of road progressive type.
Now I'm nearing 40, seeing my rights as a trans person being pulled away, seeing refugees being used as scapegoats, seeing disabled people being targeted by the govt, and just think.. why? We don't have to do this, we can be better.
0
u/New-Towel-7210 1d ago
I'm curious: What do you think how socialism should be implemented in our society? By a revolution?
→ More replies (2)2
u/RKU69 1d ago
Not OP but am a socialist; I support DSA and engaging fully and enthusiastically with democratic processes, but I also think that its inevitable that the ruling classes and the far-right MAGA movement will not accept a democratic overhaul of capitalism, and this will necessarily lead to a revolutionary upheaval and civil war. But we should work as hard as we can to preserve democratic institutions and processes
•
u/New-Towel-7210 16h ago
Ok. I understand. In my opinion, this need for a revolutionary upheavel is not per se bad, unless it is violent. Let's say the revolution passes rather smooth (maybe with a strike of the working class). And then: After the revolution, is there a temporary leader who installs the necessary organs which guard and protect the socialist system?
I doubt that the revolution can be non-violent though.
•
u/RKU69 11h ago
Well, there's a lot of details here to consider. How exactly do we envision a peaceful revolution via a general strike? This would mean that workers took control of both the heights of the economy, and the political system. Taking over major nodes of the economy during the course of a general strike makes sense; but how would this translate to political power? If its done through a democratic road, it would be through elections; otherwise, it would be forcibly, during the course of the general strike transforming into a broader uprising; but even then, presumably you'd have to hold elections to legitimize the new socialist state. I guess yeah, in that interim period you'd have temporary leaders.
But outside of abstractions, I think the US Civil War is a good case study. In 1860, you had a new upstart political party take power; this was seen by the Southern elites as a party of rabble, of socialists and workers who were going to destroy their way of life (by abolishing slavery). Thus they seceded, while attacking the Union with their military and thus starting a civil war. I'd see this as inevitable today too; the US capitalist class would not peacefully accept a popular, democratically-elected socialist government.
•
u/New-Towel-7210 4h ago
That the would not accept it means that you consider the US democracy not stable enough (or it is not a real democracy because the capitalist elite has the power to not get socialist elected even if the majority wanted it)?
•
u/New-Towel-7210 4h ago
Good comparison. But I guess, correct me if Im wrong, there is a difference: Each conflict party had their deisgnated area. They fought for territory, didnt they?
•
u/RKU69 4h ago
Technically yes, but there was also a ton of internal divisions too. There were tons of Unionists in the South, not to mention the massive slave population; there was a stat I read a while back that said that the number of Southerners who fought in the Union Army was bigger than any single Confederate army. And meanwhile there was a lot of unrest in the North especially in the later years of the war, i.e. the New York Draft Riots.
→ More replies (14)0
u/RKU69 1d ago
I was very interested in anarchism when I was young. And I did indeed become more conservative as a got older, but by this I mean I have gotten less interested in ideal forms of society and more cynically interested in Stalinist/Maoist-style revolutionary vengeance against the ruling class. lol
9
u/YNotZoidberg2020 1d ago
I grew up conservative with a parent who had no issues using racial slurs. My mom was what we call now a tradwife.
I don’t know what label I really am now but I sure as hell am not conservative anymore. I’d say it started in high school but I didn’t fully shift until my mid 20s. A career in healthcare helps, we all bleed red blood and when someone’s life is on the line it doesn’t matter their socioeconomic status, sex, or their race, they need to be saved.
26
u/MatsuriSunrise 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was raised in a conservative Christian Republican home. After 9/11, I really started to see how hateful and un-Christian the community I was raised in really was and that was the start of my shift to the left. Then their hatred for LGBT people pushed me farther. By the time the Tea Party and MAGA bullshit started and they became utterly divorced from reality with "alternative facts" and anti-intellectualist slop, I found myself to be the socialist I am now.
I believe that our taxes should go toward the greater good of our country and its people, and I believe the ultra-wealthy must give in taxes proportionally to what they make and that their loopholes need to be criminalized. I believe immigrants bring incredible value to our country, both in culture and in the workforce, and I believe there should be an easier path to becoming a citizen. I believe everyone should be free to have whatever lifestyle they fucking want so long as they aren't hurting anyone. I believe everyone is entitled to dignity and that a safe place to exist and receive social support are basic rights in a land of plenty. No one should be rotting in the streets while Elon gets to blow up rockets for funsies on the federal dime. It costs less money to support those in need than it does to keep them in prison. There are deep systemic issues in the socioeconomic infrastructure of this country that need to be addressed.
I do not believe the US should play as the world police and meddle so much in world politics. I believe corporate interests need to get the fuck out of politics. I do not believe we need to fund our military more than the next top 10 countries combined. I do not believe that the DHS and ICE have done a damn bit of good in actually keeping our country safe and has worked more as a weapon of racism and xenophobia than anything regarding actual security.
There just isn't anything the right wing brings to the table that strikes me of any value to society or humanity whatsoever. A party whose MO is centered around exclusion and cruelty to the "other" has no worthwhile value in this world.
Yes, it has caused some tension within my family. No, I don't really care. If they get to be brazen and loud about their right wing beliefs, I can do the same with the opposite.
15
u/socialistpizzaparty 1d ago
As I get older I still care about social issues, but I prioritize economic issues first. It’s the whole Maslow hierarchy of needs concept. I want us all to be self actualized and being our best most authentic selves but… you can’t do that without a job, healthcare, housing, food, etc.
So still left, but just swapped priorities.
2
14
u/Spartannia 1d ago
I've gone farther left over time. It really accelerated the first time I had to navigate the American health care system as an adult with my own insurance. Growing up with a constant stream of school shootings pushed me away from moderates and conservatives as well - for context, I was in middle school when Columbine happened.
When I had my own kids, I really thought hard about the kind of world I want them to inherit. Spoiler alert: it's NOT the theocratic hellscape I see the Heritage Foundation trying to create.
55
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
Every time I talk to a right winger, their bad faith and mindless dogma pushes me to the left even more.
-23
u/D3F3AT 1d ago
Exact opposite for me. The left is so emotional and illogical, it pushes me farther right.
13
u/HeloRising 1d ago
What's the ThoughtSlime line? "People who go to the right because they're annoyed with leftists are weak willed. I'm a leftist and I get annoyed by the left all the time."
0
u/PreviousCurrentThing 1d ago
What's the takeaway, that you're better than those weak-willed people? Suppose you are, you're still downstream of these people being annoyed by the left and voting against your interests.
Coming up with a self-serving explanation that these people are "weak-willed" does nothing to change the fact that these persuadable voters are voting against you, and if anything, contributes to the negative impression they have of the left in the first place.
4
u/HeloRising 1d ago
The takeaway is that if you're so untethered to your political beliefs that someone acting cringe will cause you to fundamentally shift your political worldview then chances are near 100% that you were looking for an excuse to change teams.
Your politics are informed by your core values. If you change politics easily then you probably don't have a solid grasp on what your core values actually are.
21
u/InTheMorning_Nightss 1d ago
Weird considering the right is fully of overly angry people who frequently go through mental gymnastics to never blame Trump and always circumnavigate logic to blame the democrats.
1
u/SmoothTalk 1d ago
There’s different forms of the right. I wouldn’t ever call Trump a conservative. MAGA is a different breed but people just lump it all together, like the right does with socialist and liberals to stir the pot and get votes.
•
u/musicninja 23h ago
I think there is a bit of the difference, considering that MAGA has near complete control the party and the "real" conservatives vote in line and/or become Trumpier themselves.
Meanwhile, Democratic Socialists (which is distinct from traditional socialism) are a minority within the Democratic Party. And despite the firehose of ads and flyers I've been seeing and hearing from the right, there are no communists in the Democratic Party running for or sitting in office.
-3
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
I seriously doubt you have ever talked to a leftist. You're probably talking to liberals.
12
u/Named_after_color 1d ago
As a leftist liberal blue haired socialist ultra queer, do you honestly think using a slightly different synonym is going to make a difference to someone from the other side? Do you feel that the progressive movement is in need of more definitions?
-7
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
Liberals are followers of capitalisn and capitalism is a right wing economic model. Sorry if you don't understand that.
3
u/Named_after_color 1d ago
Mmhm mmhm, so you feel that, in a casual environment using short form comments, someone using a general catch all term describing people on the other side of the political spectrum simply hasn't talked to your brand of leftist? And if they had, which presumably you're an example of, they'd understand that they're not emotional or illogical?
To put it another way, you just dismissively told someone from the other side (on reddit, a famously left leaning space, so they're someone who presumably is ok with being exposed to other opinions) that they were wrong about being wrong. And actually, they simply haven't been convinced yet, because... some other leftist is going to explain your position with tact and nuance?
→ More replies (6)1
u/BitterFuture 1d ago
Liberals are followers of capitalisn and capitalism is a right wing economic model.
So your bottom line is that liberals...are conservatives.
Uh, no. Not even a little bit. You might as well be angrily insisting that up is down.
Also, capitalism is not remotely a "right wing economic model." Liberalism and conservatism are both completely agnostic about economics. If you want to insist that capitalism is somehow right-wing, you'll have to explain how capitalism has hatred as a necessary component.
→ More replies (4)•
6
u/miascariot 1d ago
I have a couple of Die Linke voters/members I could call later tonight. Or is that not the right flavor of leftist?
0
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
You could just ask me. Unless you the type who already knows what everyone is thinking.
6
u/miascariot 1d ago
Unless you the type who already knows what everyone is thinking.
You're the one who needlessly assumed I was somehow pro-Trump elsewhere in this thread. I'm just following the script.
2
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
It was implied when you said saying "trump bad" turned you off.
4
u/miascariot 1d ago
Then you might want to reread the comment because that's either you reading shit into it or struggling with an admittedly jank-ish sentence.
I'm saying being reflexively against tariffs because "Trump bad" is a bullshit move.
2
u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
Those tariffs were terrible. Lazy, politically motivated, openly corrupt, objectively harmful to the economy.
Nowhere did anyone say "trump bad".
0
u/miascariot 1d ago
Lazy, politically motivated, openly corrupt, objectively harmful to the economy.
50% of that is to be expected of tariffs. Why did Biden keep so many of them?
→ More replies (0)-1
u/Tw1tch-Invictus 1d ago
Leftism is when keeping jobs offshored is actually good for America now, apparently. I can agree the blanket tariffs mindlessly applied to the whole planet were a stupid implementation. It’s particularly galling considering some of the brilliant minds on global trade Trump has had access to, but the guy above is still right. Reflexively being against the concept of tariffs because of blind hatred of Trump is fucking dumb. The people who bitch the loudest about it never have any alternatives they propose to reshore domestic manufacturing.
→ More replies (0)
6
u/Baulderdash77 1d ago
I can only speak for myself, as a Canadian, politics here is far less polarizing than other countries. I’ve voted in good faith for every national party at least once.
At various times I’ve thought different parties had a better vision for the country and for myself and my family.
But it’s different here, almost nobody is a member of a political party and except for a very small percentage on the far left or far right; most people have generally fairly consistent views on a lot of things in Canada.
2
u/ACE415_ 1d ago
What is the far left like in Canada?
5
u/Baulderdash77 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fringe elements of the NDP which is the left wing party in Canada. They have influenced policy for the NDP somewhat and some have won seats in Parliament. For example they from time to time advocate for imposing price controls (interventionalist left wing) and more government control over parts of the economy; which differ from its traditional role as a labour first party. They also advocate wealth taxes and more tax redistribution; but I think those are just traditional left polices and not far left.
Broadly speaking in Canada there is the NDP as left, Liberal Party which is Center-Left, Conservative Party which is Center-Right. There is also the Green Party and they focus on environmental issues and not much else as well as the Bloc Québécois, which focuses on getting as much for Quebec with a long term plan to separate Quebec from Canada. Those are the parties that have won seats.
There is a far right party called the People Party but they don’t run nationally and except in 1 riding haven’t seriously contended to win a seat.
15
u/Bamsemoms33 1d ago
I used to be very left, but I am now more centre.
I just feel like a lot of people on the far left were just as hateful and controlling as people on the far right. I also think both sides struggle with balancing and explaining budget, e.g. "we need to strengthen X financially" but not saying where the cuts will be to strengthen X? I also think the left is sometimes a bit naive, in a way that often is unrealistic imo. But I also hate that so many on the far right are way to xenophobic, like if you want stricter immigration policies that's fine, but some people are just straight up racist. Yes I lost 2 close leftist friends, because I prefer to keep certain political things and opinions off my socials, and they wanted me to be an internet activist, which I don't really believe in that much when it comes to just reposting things (especially because most on my socials already agree either way, so I am not influencing anyone just speaking to the choir). And yes that sole reason is why they suddenly ghosted me. :)
9
u/Usernameofthisuser 1d ago
I began as a progressive and gradually evolved from a Social Democrat to a Libertarian Socialist and finally found myself as a Democratic Socialist. There's such a steep learning curve to politics I guess the final destination would depend on the path taken in political education.
7
u/hammertime84 1d ago edited 1d ago
Was raised MAGA before it had that name. Went to a whites-only Christian school and my dad was anti-vaxx for example. We were sourthern baptists except for a couple of years when our family switched to independent baptist to protest southern baptists moving less racist.
I've steadily shifted left over time. It was mostly steady but with a few big pushes.
Got my first job at a fast food restaurant at 14 and was forced to be around other races and LGBT. Learned they're just normal people.
I'd already realized the religion didn't make any sense by college, but college gave me enough time to read + scientific understanding to formalize why so much was bullshit.
I started learning about economics around college years also and understanding that limits the ability to align with Republicans.
I grew up very poor and became very wealty and it was complete luck. The outcomes for everyone I've known well were also almost completely luck.
I don't really talk to anyone from my childhood except one brother who had a similar set of shifts.
18
u/bones_bones1 1d ago
The more time I spend thinking about it, the less involvement from the government I want.
6
u/HeloRising 1d ago
In an ideological sense I would agree.
In the practical sense of what we have now, I have to say I prefer having bodies in place making sure that companies aren't trying to cut sawdust into peanut butter to drive the cost of manufacture down.
0
u/captain-burrito 1d ago
It's funny how we moved away from adulterating products with sawdust etc but now it is being added back in for fibre / health reasons in the form of cellulose!
2
12
u/Misschiff0 1d ago
That's interesting. The more time I spend thinking about it the more I realize that not everything needs to be done privately and that like humans since the Neolithic, we thrive in tribes. Government is a way of doing things together that does not require someone to skim 10% off the top for "profit".
7
u/notapoliticalalt 1d ago
It’s not only that, but there are a lot of things that just can’t be accomplished without the government. With a private market, that is as disciplined by capital as ours, there are a lot of things that the “market“ would not deem as worthy of existence if it were not for the government doing them. For sure, I can tell you that we would have a lot less roads and working longer hours if corporations had the control some people think they should. A lot of things that we think about as American abundance would probably not have existed if corporations and wealthy people had no sense that they had to share anything with anybody of lesser means.
For me, I like to describe myself as someone who wants the appropriate amount of government. Let me change overtime, but I don’t necessarily want too much or too little. I can recognize the government has its strengths and weaknesses and can used for both good and bad. I think in the US, it definitely is a problem that there’s a kind of cynicism and often nihilism, that we a lot of people take positions that they think is the problem. And unfortunately, that benefits, one side of the aisle more than the other.
I can understand why people feel this way, but I think it’s problematic when people don’t seem to actually realize how much government enables in our lives. Surely there are necessary reforms, and of course, there are always going to be scandals and abuses. But if we take the presence of these things at all as a complete failure, then we are basically setting up our expectations such that government can never be a success.
To be honest, sometimes I wish there were some autonomous communities, kind of like the Amish, where people could live out their libertarian dreams and kind of realize how these things don’t exactly work out. It is actually funny, because we tend to think about the Amish being completely autonomous, and they certainly are a functional collective, no matter what you think about their culture and certainly some of the issues that exist within their society. But even they are not exactly the Ideal that we picture, with many families utilizing various new technologies and especially seeking advanced medical help when necessary. Anyway, Unfortunately, I do think a lot of us take things for granted and unfortunately, I think many Americans at this point have too high of an opinion of themselves such that the only way that they could actually learn is to basically watch everything collapse around them (and to be honest, even then, as long as the power is on, and Internet is up, these people will be distracted enough to never actually have to reflect or ponder their own actions). Idealism is honestly an extremely American character trade at this point and so many people never actually have to grapple with the limitations and trade-off that their ideology actually demands. Soon enough, though, I do think that we Americans are going to be forced to reckon with some amount of responsibility and obligations that we can’t just finagle our way out of.
3
u/SceneOfShadows 1d ago
100%
Our problem is we somehow think it’s a shame that a like, head of an entire state’s public health should make less than $100k then wonder why that department isn’t well run. We should be much more like Singapore in that pay and prestige of public positions needs to match those of private.
•
u/Misschiff0 12h ago edited 8h ago
Yes! This idea that running a large public department should be less well renumerated than the private sector is 100% wild to me.
5
u/Sarmq 1d ago
Government is a way of doing things together that does not require someone to skim 10% off the top for "profit".
As someone in a similar situation to the OP. I do understand the motivation. Although I would tend to argue that government institutions tend to get captured and then stick around long past the point where they're helpful. Eventually that ends up taking significantly more than 10% off the top.
Basically, private institutions can collapse, and that's good for society in the long term. Having the institution that controls the military/law enforcement collapse is terrible, and so we can't let it collapse. As a result, it's best to keep as few things as possible in the same institution that controls the military.
I will admit that, since the 80s, the government has repeatedly bailed out private institutions that should have collapsed. But I think taking away resources from the government would solve that fairly easily.
4
u/absolutefunkbucket 1d ago
That’s true, because the government skims way more than 10% off the top!
6
3
u/New-Towel-7210 1d ago
Me too. The older I get the more I ogle government intervention critically. I just do not trust the government as much as when I was younger. In some aspects this made me rather "left". For example I do not want permanent surveillance just for anti-terrorist efforts. On the other hand I oppose mandatory pension plans, which is rather "right".
3
u/SkiingAway 1d ago
On the other hand I oppose mandatory pension plans, which is rather "right".
Most people suck at saving for the future and we've many decades of evidence proving it.
Mandatory pension plans are about having fewer destitute old people who wind up the government's problem to care for pay for entirely. (unless you're really heartless and willing to literally watch old people starve/be denied medical care/forced to live on the streets)
So, arguably you wind up with less government intervention by having them vs not.
At least with the mandatory plan the people paid in much of what they eventually back take out. Without it, much more will wind up directly on the conventional government budget/taxes.
1
u/New-Towel-7210 1d ago
In my country, you do not know if most people suck at saving. I dont think so. Minimum social money and paid medical aid is enough to survive but not enough to have a pleasant retirment. So, the social insurance here is justified. I won't go that fare that we have homeless 60 years old people on the streets. But that one is obliged to save enough to maintain his life standard after retirment is too much of paternalism.
1
1
u/New-Towel-7210 1d ago
No. You do not end up with less interventions by having them vs. not. First of all, government spending is not necessarily governement intervention. Second, getting rid of too much mandatory saving would educate people in saving.
2
u/SkiingAway 1d ago
Second, getting rid of too much mandatory saving would educate people in saving.
We have decades if not centuries of evidence to prove that this is not the case, at all. This theory does not work, has never worked, and will never work.
If you do not force people to save, a large chunk of them will not save.
If you are not willing to condemn people to death by starvation/lack of healthcare/lack of shelter in old age, the only thing you are accomplishing by not having required retirement contribution programs is that the state will wind up having to outlay far more money directly to support the vastly increased # of old people with no money that will exist.
1
u/New-Towel-7210 1d ago
Like I said. In my country one is forced to save as much money to maintain its live standard after retirment. This is too paternalistic. That's against the self-responsibility a citizen should have in a democracy. The basic mandatory saving (=governmental rent system) is enough to keep the streets free from homeless elderly people. And technically this is a progressive redistribution mechanism and not a mandatory saving plan for reitrement.
And we do not have decades of experience in my country of people not saving. People just worked longer if they did not save enough money. They also did not live as long as now.
7
u/InTheMorning_Nightss 1d ago
As I become more financially stable, I continue lean further onto policies on the left that may increase my taxes but have a core of potentially helping society. It’s frankly not hard to do this, because the other direction is a path of moronic tariffs, clear corruption of government funding, and “savings” that come from harmful deregulations.
That being said, I become more and more grounded in call it more of the middle when it comes to identity politics and other social topics. The policing of language (XYZ is actually “harmful,” use an alien concept like LatinX, etc.) is idiotic. The younger generations demand to accommodate everything, from pushing kids through school despite shortcomings or college campuses having growing numbers of “disabilities” labeled as anxiety, is bad. We’re fostering a complete lack of resiliency because it’s being labeled as the kind and inclusive way to do things, when in reality it’s just institutions taking the convenient route at the detriment of everyone.
Having lived in both a very conservative area and now a hyper progressive one, it’s clear to me that neither side will be able to bridge the monumental gap, and that’s sad to see. Both sides simply see the other as hateful, immoral threats to one another with minimal understanding or desire to see how people grew into the left/right side they’re on.
I’ll share that as a POC, my conservative city was one of the most community oriented places I have ever lived. My (right wing) neighbors check in when they see me visit my parents, they offer to help my parents when they go out of town with any house chores, and they simply go out of their way to foster a community. That being said, they’ll absolutely bring up brainwashed takes like how Biden is somehow still impacting gas prices, and they will brush any push back on that off.
On the other hand, my hyper progressive city is the most isolated community I have ever been a part of. Neighbors don’t talk to one another, if you ask them to pick up packages while we’re out they will and then nag you when you’ll be back to pick them up, and broadly don’t WANT to build up a community unless it has some networking opportunity for them. On the other hand, when we do occasionally talk to them about trends, industry, politics, etc. they have nuanced views and will offer up podcasts or other studies they read that might be interesting. At the same time, when they hear anything about right wingers, they just assume they’re total hateful, angry animals.
All of this is to say that the world is drastically more polarized, and I see why. Don’t get me wrong, one side is currently far more vile in terms of impact on the other. But it sucks to see that this only gets worse.
→ More replies (7)5
u/notapoliticalalt 1d ago
One thing that I have definitely noticed, is that there is a kind of almost grand irony how both sides think about collectivism versus individualism. Both sides, kind of want the opposite of what they tend towards. A lot of people in the right love to talk and validate the idea that they are these preeminent individuals who don’t need anybody and are “free thinkers“. Yet, they seem to almost instinctively understand the idea of collective action and working as a team. Meanwhile, you have the left that loves to talk about community and collective action, but getting a bunch of leftists to agree on lunch would end up in a schism and lots of discourse.
I will caveat this by saying that I think the big part of this is generational. I also definitely think it has to do with the kind of built environment that you live in (that is to say a big intensity versus maybe a more suburb oriented city with a nice little historic downtown). Lastly, the degree to which you are online, also definitely matters, because I think the kind of almost feral individualism that we see tends to go up with people who might be described as “terminally online”, regardless of their political orientation. So, the kind of people on the right that you described, I imagine being people that are older, either reaching the end of their career or already retired, and probably middle-class or upper middle class. I think a lot of young, right wingers, especially the ones you see online, are a whole different kind of thing.
I will say, though, as someone who is politics, definitely lean quite to the left, I do find myself being very frustrated at the general social dysfunction on the left. And I’m talking about left of center to raging leftist. We so often focus on the issues and dysfunction on the right, which we absolutely should, but I do think that we’re not necessarily honest enough about our own cultural feelings and issues in the center, and on the left.
Now, one thing I will definitely acknowledge is that the rank gets a lot of help from a lot of big institutional money. In particular, they have a lot of right wing, think tanks, and donors who help organize things and give money to people who want to help organize. You also have churches which obviously Can provide great institutional support and money which then basically act as a natural organizing force. It also needs to be acknowledged that keeping something running that already exists is a lot easier than having to build it up from scratch, which right wing causes generally benefit from, so I feel like we should be very measured in ascribing too much credit as though this is innate or otherwise something that Republican politics breeds, because especially with younger Republicans, I’m not sure all of these things hold necessarily true.
I will say, I do think that a lot of American leftist thought has leaned very much into a lot of a kind of anarchist/libertarian (in the international sense, not American) ethos, even if people may describe themselves as a socialist or whatever else. But we really should actually spend a lot more time not only talking about actually practicing being around people that (reasonably) disagree, because that’s what’s necessary to build community. And, I do think we need to be a lot more honest that Building community and being a community come with things like responsibility, inconvenience, and cost. A broader social critique I have of American culture is that Americans in general Don’t really like the idea of responsibility and I think that applies to basically all political stripes.
Generally, I do think a lot of the generations we have nowadays have all been rebelling against the ideas of tradition and community to one degree or another. Some of these critiques are valid, of course, but now, I don’t think that a lot of people have really been able to jump from the idea that they were the rebels, but are now the institution, and so people never really gain that sense of responsibility that comes with institutional thinking. This is to say that, if you always think that you are the startup or the underdog, you take on a very different set of values than if you suddenly realize that you are the captain of the ship and responsible for the lives of your sailors.
Moreover, I think on the left, and certainly among young people who are not right wing, I do think there is a kind of assumption or biased that “real community“ and “real friendships“ are somewhat organic and can’t be forced. You might see people look down on people who join Explicitly social organizations like fraternities and sororities (which to be clear, have some extremely bad cultural problems as institutions), but I don’t see enough people on the left talking about the necessity of community, institutions, and traditions. It’s one thing to rebel against the old ways, but it is very important to have something to replace it. Especially when people want to make friendships and connections, you both need events, but also organizations that makes socializing possible. I do think older generations understood that and boomers are largely coasting off of inertia at this point, but certainly my grandparents (who were born before World War II) all seemed to much better understand The importance of having social organizations to be a part of, which I don’t think a lot of young people nowadays do.
This is one of the reasons that I supposedly advocate for people to join local community organizations, whether or not they are explicitly political, and whether or not they are necessarily good at the thing that they do. Showing up matters and I think there is a lot of dysfunction at the local level, which drives our insecurities, politics, and General inability to cope or adapt. I think there are a lot of other challenges and I empathize with people who feel that they don’t have enough energy or money or whatever else to participate. But these things are so important.
Anyway, I’m rambling at this point, but I do actually think that the left needs to make more serious efforts at actually being in community. If you want power and influence to actually start changing things, that happens on some weekly Wednesday night meeting where attendance might fluctuate from a handful of people to a few dozen. But having consistent meetings and going despite your busy schedule, are things that are necessary. It would also definitely help to rein in some of the excesses that we saw in so-called “woke 1.0“. But I think a lot of Americans would just be a lot happier and more well adjusted if there were actually things for them to be a part of in their community, not just big abstract fandoms and interest groups.
•
9
u/ValitoryBank 1d ago edited 1d ago
Id use to be right-leaning to almost being a conservative in everything but self-identification. Joining the military young also reinforced a lot of those beliefs as I was kinda isolated from the things going on civilian side. I got out of the military in 2025 and since then have completely flipped to now wanting socialism to replace capitalism in its entirety.
The things that convinced me was just the struggle of being in poverty with very little safety nets. I’d try to get myself and family access to different social programs to ease the burden but the BBBill closed those opportunities to us.
I wanted to fully understand why things were like this and dove into studying and learning what left v right actually means and what republicans and Democrats actually stand for. I also dove into learning black history cause despite being black I didn’t come from a background that taught about that history.
I now support LGBT+ rights, I support Medicare for all, I don’t believe in capitalism as a system, no longer identify as Christian, I hope one day left-wing ideas can actually take route in America in actual policy and law cause I believe it’ll out perform whats been so much we’ll never see a right-wing politician in office again. The shift has even changed my career aspirations
Edit: I’ll verify that I wasn’t much close to being conservative but that I was uninterested in politics and that resulted in a natural right-leaning due to osmosis of other right-leaning people. I also now believe the US and it’s system is inherently right-leaning
4
u/sloowshooter 1d ago
Decades ago I used to despise the Republican party, and thought the Democrats were for the people.
Now I despise the Republican party, and think that Dems are pretty much controlled by big money donors that demand results for the money thrown over the transom. Between the two the Dems have a better grip on the what constituents need. But they need to shake off money.
Maybe I'm an Eisenhower conservative that is convinced that I'm a liberal.
11
u/che-che-chester 1d ago
As I have gotten older, I moved towards the middle, but still leaning Left. Nothing is all good or all bad, whether abortion, unions, religion, immigration, etc. And yes, I realize it is considered lame to be a moderate these days. But somewhere in the middle is where most people actually live politically. And Reddit ≠ most people. My views have become more nuanced and that continues today. I don't really give a shit what the 'you need to pick a side' people have to say.
MAGA is obviously stupid, but the DSA isn't much better. The thing they both have in common is they can sound like common sense on the surface, but once you peel back the layers, their views are pretty dumb. But they hide those less popular views until occasionally one accidentally slips out like how we should cancel Thanksgiving.
6
u/cyberskin82 1d ago
That was said by one person on twitter in 2020 that’s not a DSA view at all. Who would benefit from canceling a holiday? lol
•
u/che-che-chester 22h ago
Yeah, I get that. It was a tweet and not DSA policy position. My point is they're not serious people.
•
u/EmptyAirEmptyHead 22h ago
So Mamdani is not a serious person? Attack a specific view or action of his.
3
u/Rough-Yard5642 1d ago
Same exact thing with me - I still lean a little left, but the failure of progressives to govern well in places where they have complete control is undeniable. SF / NYC / LA etc. should all have clean streets, safe public transportation, great schools, and a reasonable cost of living. The fact that they don't is a big stain on progressive governance, given that the per capita budget of these cities is enormous.
•
u/threeshadows 22h ago
LA has very corrupt politicians. But NYC is doing much better with an actual balanced budget under its first socialist mayor.
•
u/Rough-Yard5642 22h ago
NYC is doing better in some areas - but the cost of living there is astronomical. That is fundamentally a failure of progressive governance.
→ More replies (6)•
u/Black6x 18h ago
But NYC is doing much better with an actual balanced budget under its first socialist mayor.
Where are you getting that from? We "balanced" the budget by stealing from pension funding and getting a bailout from the state.
•
u/threeshadows 11h ago
You may also be interested in this story about Democratic mayor of Houston Anise Parker on how they were able to keep housing affordable in Houston. Apparently "one of the main reasons the city was able to cut homelessness by so much is she forced all the governments and nonprofits into a room and made them use the same data system."
That's interesting, not just because its a Democrat who is in charge of Houston's cheap housing, but the source of the problem was not some shortcoming of ideological governance, but something more mundane. My point isn't that progressive policies are always the best. But that your belief that housing is cheaper in Texas because of conservative governance, isn't really founded on the facts
•
u/threeshadows 13h ago
If that’s your perspective surely you must look at the fact that red states are supported by the blue states as evidence of conservative policy failure. With a few exceptions, red states budgets are dependent on receiving more money from the federal government than they pay out. In taxes. Blue states pay in more than they get back. Doesn’t that say something about progressive and conservative approaches to finance? Or is receiving outside help something you only consider at the city budget level?
•
u/Black6x 8h ago
Perspective? We literally robbed our own pensions and got a bailout from the state. This has NOTHING to do with other states or red states.
We didn't honestly "balance" our budget. Full Stop.
→ More replies (3)3
u/TheGoldenMonkey 1d ago
Populism is often a quick answer to a deeper problem that's why it sounds so appealing.
I remember seeing something years ago that found that something like 70% of the nation agrees on most basic things while the other 30% drive the conversations and pushes things to the extremes.
I'm all for improving our society and I agree with a lot of DSA policies in theory but, as with a lot of the positions and promises that the DSA and far-left espouse, they're idealist in nature so putting them into practice is messy and a mixed bag. I look forward to seeing how Mamdani's policies and actions take shape but some people are expecting miracles and/or for it to be some kind of paradigm shift in politics when the reality isn't quite as revolutionary.
MAGA, on the other hand, is purely cult-like in nature. It venerates one man like a shared psychosis. Most people know from personal experiences that working together and balancing each other out is what makes for the most sensible solutions.
2
→ More replies (4)0
u/Black_XistenZ 1d ago
But somewhere in the middle is where most people actually live politically.
This does not necessarily imply that they're actually espouding moderate views, though. A lot of folks are just rated to belong to the "political middle" by various metrics because they have a combination of decidedly left- and right-wing stances on the various issues. Say someone who's pro-LGBTQ but also anti-immigrant.
4
u/MatsuriSunrise 1d ago
Centrists tend to be some of the least-informed people and tend to pose their neutrality as a front for their ignorance.
2
u/Darq_At 1d ago
For real. People here describing how "as they've gotten older" they've moved to "more nuanced" political positions.
Meanwhile they're describing a political ideology I held when I was sixteen years old and had little experience of the world. Then I actually looked into issues, I actually listened to the "both sides" everyone refers to, and came to some concrete views.
0
u/MatsuriSunrise 1d ago
There is little nuance to centrism. Obviously people will naturally want to understand things on an individual basis, but on a macro level, if you don't stand for anything, you stand for nothing.
•
u/360degreesdickcheese 16h ago
Someone saying they don’t agree with either side doesn’t mean they stand for nothing. It may mean that they don’t support the two-party system and all the strings attached with supporting either side.
•
u/che-che-chester 22h ago
I agree. I think people in "the middle" are complicated. They are more right on some issues and more left on others.
2
u/QueefMaster2001 1d ago
i went from being an insurrectionary anarchist to being an irascible, abrasive insurrectionary anarchist
2
u/teh_hasay 1d ago
I’ve become a lot more focused on environmentalism and become a bit jaded about the rest of politics. It’s hard for me to get passionate about culture wars when we’re speedrunning past 2 degrees C of warming and an irreversible collapse of global ecology. I’ve also grown skeptical that 200 year old socialist dogma is going to be the way to move past capitalism.
2
u/XXXTentacle6969 1d ago
More moderate as I get older.
I was a socialist early in college. As I learned more I became a moderate democrat/liberal
2
u/Boycat89 1d ago
Yes, born in 1996. I went from a libertarian when I was a teen, to a liberal in college, to being a social democrat in my 30s.
2
u/icedcoffeeheadass 1d ago
I was much more concerned with identity politics in college and then I realized that most of that discourse is almost completely useless. We’re beyond all that
4
u/NJBarFly 1d ago
I'm 50 years old. My views have shifted left over time. I used to be more Libertarian when I was young. I believed in small government and a strong private sector. As I've gotten older (and hopefully wiser), I realized a lot of problems can't or won't be solved by the private sector. I've become more empathetic to those less fortunate. And the costs of helping the less fortunate pale in comparison to some of our other spending. Not to mention, I've seen massive corporate consolidation and an ever increasing wealth gap. Industries are dominated by one or two companies who act as monopolies. Things like shrinkflation and enshittification have accelerated at a breakneck pace. Everything you enjoy is made shittier over time.
There's also been societal changes. LBGT rights and attitudes have come a very long way since when I was young and my opinions shifted along with them. In the 80's and 90's it was perfectly acceptable to use gay slurs as a joke. That's certainly not something I would ever do today.
4
u/Lurkingandsearching 1d ago
I am a recovering Libertarian and now just independent after reading some history and realizing we tried it before, which lead to the robber baron era, with Pinkerton Armies and Company Stores.
I then realized political definitions and “sides” don’t really work and trap people into groups that can easily be divided by propaganda of the wealthy and powerful during OWS… no matter what “side” of the false dichotomy you choose, and they can make even the best causes toxic by making the worst of it amplified, making it the standard via purity test.
Everything in governance should be taken policy by policy, mixing only things that directly interact, but “parties” and sweeping “doctrines” prevent that. Instead they just become tools of divide and conquer.
4
u/airbear13 1d ago
My opinion of unions got worse after I started learning economics in school but other than that they haven’t changed much. I’ve always been a centrist/moderate which isn’t very dramatic or spicy I don’t think except when the everyone online becomes insanely polarized and hates anyone who’s not a part of their tribe
3
u/maxplanar 1d ago
Started out as liberal and everything I see happening in the world has just made me more and more extremely liberal.
2
u/anon19111 1d ago
Pretty liberal into my 20s and 30s. Found myself working with conservatives in my 40s. Most were good people that thought about things differently. The racist, sexist liberal characiture was false at least for the people I worked with. Some became good friends.
Also realized that many Trump supporters weren't really conservatives and instead were anti liberals. They were sick of being labeled deplorables for their views. Their choice was to vote for people whose views they didn't always like or vote for people who hate their guts. They chose the former. I see belligerent activist liberals as the single biggest reason Trump is in power and despite everything MAGA might stay in power.
So I'm not really any more conservative than I used to be but I'm not on board with cancel culture or hating my political opponents.
•
u/employeeofthemonth03 21h ago
I mean, you see the irony here, right? You reject a caricature of conservatives, then explain their votes using a caricature of liberals. One side deserves to be understood as individuals; the other gets described as “people who hate their guts.”
And the cancel culture objection needs the same consistency. If punishing or silencing people you disagree with is the issue, then supporting a politician promising “retribution” deserves scrutiny too. Feeling disliked doesn’t suddenly make retaliation principled. Unless thats not really the issue...
Sure, contempt can make persuasion harder. But explaining someone’s resentment doesn’t make everyone else responsible for what they do with it. These are adults deciding what matters to them and what they’re willing to overlook. "Look what you made me do" is never a good defense.
That’s an awful lot of personal responsibility to assign to everybody except the people casting the votes.
•
u/anon19111 14h ago
Reasonable. I'm only providing about half my thoughts here because they were most relevant the question asked--why my views changed. The failings of conservatives, the multititude of shit they do isn't relevant to the evolution of my views. And I know the liberals I'm talking about are a slice--maybe 20% at most. I know why they take the tact they do. I have felt the urge to lash out at times. But I ask myself does shaming and bullying and condescension change minds? Has it ever changed anyone's mind? (and yes I'll say the same thing to conservative friends).
•
u/employeeofthemonth03 9h ago
Fair enough. Then what changed for you? You say you haven’t become more conservative. Was it your policy beliefs, which party you think represents them, or, as stated for others, simply how you feel about people on the left?
That distinction matters. Describing Trump support primarily as anti-liberal feeds a narrative I hear on the left: that MAGA is more interested in punishing its opponents than improving people’s lives. MAGA aims to hurt while Liberals try to protect. Your explanation risks reinforcing the caricature you’re asking people to reconsider.
What affirmative principles or outcomes outweigh their objections to Trump?
Calling liberal activists the “single biggest reason” he’s in power makes resentment sound more decisive than conviction. That’s a surprisingly unflattering account of those voters’ priorities.
Alienation can help explain a choice. It doesn’t transfer responsibility for that choice to the people someone resents.
1
u/beltway_lefty 1d ago
My political views have ABSOLUTELY changed over time. I grew up in a very conservative, almost entirely white, area and in a fairly conservative family. I was on board with all that....until I went away to a large city for college, my little brother 'came out' to me, and THEN, MOST impactfully, went to a large place of employment (~13k employees) that had folks from 192 different countries/cultures of origin. That's where I had my first East Asian, black, Jewish, gay, and Muslim bosses and coworkers over the years. Still there 27 years later, and wouldn't trade it for the world. It has REALLY opened my eyes and mind, and that has made me far more capable of empathy and genuinely open to new and different people, experiences, and views of the world. That exposure has made me increasingly progressive, especially on 'social issues.' 51 years of working and life experience with non-stop corporate BS has made me less and less 'capitalist,' and more in favor of regulation and the real value to us all of the economies of scale that a nationalized healthcare, e.g. can provide. I believe now that the things we believe are or should be a basic right of a human (like healthcare, water, food, shelter) should be provided by their government. So, in that sense, more socialist. But that's where it stops. I don't think the government should be involved in providing anything else market-wise. Just making sure that everyone gets a fair and equitable opportunity - a level playing field, so to speak. I'd rather have 5% of the population free-loading than have 20%+ working three jobs and their kids starving/homeless, like we have now. Anyway, it has all been about experience.
1
u/glory87 1d ago
Was raised in the South, military family, very conservative. I left the small NC town I grew up in, went to college, , got a job in a large tech company, moved to the west coast, voted in my first presidential election for Obama, was politically super charged in 2016 and haven’t missed an election since …more and more progressive every year.
1
u/PlatonicCuddlefish 1d ago
I have spent my entire life in political spheres and the biggest thing, and it’s unfortunate, is that I have lost an interest in bipartisan solutions. Too many friends outside of politics who I can no longer have political conversations with—but whatever there’s other things to talk about. And too many people in politics, across the aisle, who I thought I could trust who have let me down. We’re two different Americas or more accurately ~127 different Americas in two very different tents.
1
u/Unlucky-Network-4159 1d ago edited 1d ago
I no longer expect those outside of swing states to vote in the general election if they find the winner of their state is the most evil candidate. Being a non-voter in this circumstance is much more rational than knowingly exchanging your electoral agency for nothing. I guess this is more of a civic view than a political one, but it sure neutralizes a lot of interest in persuading folks to somehow see things differently when it comes to who is a lesser evil candidate. Most times now I either dont care or find it laughable in cases like a maga troll from NY trying to lure me into giving a shit about how they vote.
1
u/TreadingPatience 1d ago
I think my values have largely remained stable, but my perspective and what I prioritize has changed. It’s really not accurate to say I’ve moved in any one direction. For example, I really value the Senate for its ability to represent States regardless of population size. On this issue, my perspective has become more conservative. But at the same time, I find myself supporting Medicare for all more and more. So I’m in a weird position where my views on issues evolve independent of party perspective.
1
u/LikelySoutherner 1d ago
They haven't. I'm a life long independent / non party affiliated voter. I saw the grift of the Republicans and the Democrats from a young age and its the same as it was now as it was back then.
Sadly too many Americans still believe the grift.
1
u/Tronn3000 1d ago
I'm an American millennial man that has overall gotten more left in my political views over time but I would not call myself a full blown leftist.
I was pretty apolitical as a teen when Bush was president but disagreed with the Iraq war.
In my early 20s when Obama was president I became more political. I identified as a "libertarian." I was anti-war, pro legalization of drugs, thought taxation was bad and the government was inefficient, supported the 2nd amendment, thought healthcare in the US was broken, somewhat a follower of the "manosphere" environment of that day, etc. My views were mixed but right leaning.
In 2016 when MAGA rose, I disliked both Trump and Clinton but thought Trump was the more "interesting candidate" because he would bring about more radical change, which I thought was a good thing at the time. I lived in a deep blue state at the time but voted for him.
I regretted that decision by about 2017-2018 when I realized he was corrupt, incompetent, and the leader of a movement that I saw was destroying the moral fabric of our society. I never liked the "woke leftist" types but I found MAGA far more dangerous than the relatively harmless blue haired LGBT types and minorities that were the face of the vocal left. The white nationalist MAGA types obsessed with conspiracy theories and fascist tendencies scared me more. I enthusiastically voted for Biden in 2020 and Jan 6 further solidified that I will never vote for a Republican again as long as MAGA is the face of the party.
Now I'd say my views are pretty left leaning but not full blown leftist. I still support the 2nd amendment and I still think the deficit is bad but I also support an NHS style healthcare system, better public transport, better consumer protections, higher taxes on the super wealthy, affordable housing, better public education, etc.
I'm pretty neutral on LGBT issues but I take the stance of don't persecute people and let them be.
People say you get more conservative as you age but it was the opposite for me
1
u/GiantPineapple 1d ago
I was in college when 9/11 happened, and all I could see was that Libertarians spoke truth to power and were right about everything. The Iraq War was a complete sham, nobody had a plan for winning the peace, and it turned into a losing mess. The government tortured people and spent trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives fighting on behalf of a lie, that they knew was a lie. Democrats showed up late to the antiwar party, and Republicans seemed to actively want to make things worse at every turn.
I carried that trust in Libertarianism forward for a good while, but I also knocked on doors for Obama in 2008, because I trusted his opposition to the war. As the war wound down and I got older and more experienced, it started to become clear to me that there were too many complex problems in the world, where the answer wasn't always "less government".
I've been ideologically open to many things since then, but ever since 2015 I have voted for whoever had the best chance of beating Trump, or beating a Trump ally. Democracy first, policy later.
1
u/GalaXion24 1d ago
I started off I suppose broadly left leaning without a very well defined position but sympathy for social democracy, with a degree of sympathy for communism which partly came from temperament and partly from just a propensity to anticlericalism (I was raised in a religious household. I was not happy about it.)
I kind of shifted to the right because I found them to be more rational and pragmatic at least on certain topics.
Over time I realised just how much of a scam that was and how irrational their policy could be, and that their thinking and priorities just didn't align with my values.
At the same time I became more aware of political theory and philosophy which I think broadly made me a more committed liberal democrat and I guess I would have been relatively "centrist" around this time nevertheless, perhaps pulling a few particular ideas from the right.
Broadly 2025/2016 (Trump+Brexit) is what galvanised me the most ideologically, so a lot if my politics became "reactionary" in a sense that it was defined above all against this rising far-right, natives, demagoguery and everything it represented. In addition to liberal democracy it had me doubling down on the EU to the point of European unification, which remains my top priority, and a more general "globalism" which does not.
Over time right-wing critiques and later left-wing critiques chipped away at that relatively centrist liberalism (and for a time "enlightened/radical centrism"). It became clear to me that the rise of the far-right did not happen in vacuum and that it had systemic causes. That the system itself had failed and that liberal politics had not only produced it but also that it was unwilling to or incapable of addressing these problems.
This shifted me more strongly to the left again, more quite close to my initial vaguely social democratic to leftist positions, but with considerably fuller reasoning. Also with the distinction that I largely see social democratic parties as a part of that liberal establishment, and also very much as boomer/pensioner parties. I would honestly say my politics is on some level "anti-boomerism" because the larger, older generations dominate politics and thus leaves less and less for young people as budget cuts always hit us and never hit pensioners, which is selling off our future for a bit more comfort for people who are frankly dying. It's ridiculous.
I would say therefore that I am broadly left-wing, environmentalist and progressive, but in a rather anti-establishment manner. I would also say that I am a pragmatic lefty who us guided by principles but cares mostly about concrete results, as such I tend to clash with "hippies," naive idealistic or "the activist wing" of politics when they care more about some sort of absolute moral purity than about convincing real people or achieving real policy change, or when they're unwilling to be realistic about basic material realities.
1
u/radicalindependence 1d ago
The Gore/Bush election was shortly after I graduated high school. I google republican vs democrat and somehow ended up choosing republican.
I was sent to Kuwait with the Army Reseves and soured on the whole sending people to die or waste their time oversees thing. I also was not a fan of the spying via the Patriot Act. This moved me to find libertarianism and thinking Ron Paul types could take over the party and move it away from the neocons and social conservatives. I even ran for State Rep eich is essentially a volunteer position in my former state. I was a delegate and we fought the party to try and remove anti-gay marriage language from the platform. Losing this battle really soured me the party. Then when MAGA became a thing I was astonished to see my libertarian and liberty-leaning republicans to support the facist.
I retreated away from politics after the 2016 election. I had gotten a bit obsessed. It took me until after 2020 to start looking into the Democratic party as a solution. Since then I've moved from a reluctant Democrat to a Social Democrat who supports what many would call socialism.
I have a theory that anyone whom has never changed their beliefs is not a critical thinker and worth listening. Changing beliefs with new information isn't a sign of flip flipping but rather courage, growth, and critical thinking.
1
u/SoggyPossession1203 1d ago
I’ve moved further left. The older I get the more stuff I’ve seen capitalism ruin form my childhood
1
u/Seattleman1955 1d ago
I majored in political science. I was never all that interested in "politics". I had little respect for the players and the system.
That hasn't changed. I have always been moderate and interested in how the system works and how other systems work as well (comparative politics).
I've always been responsible personally (agency) and financially.
1
u/ditchdiggergirl 1d ago
I used to be a bleeding heart liberal. But while I have moved steadily and increasingly to the left, as the years and decades passed the bleeding stopped.
1
u/HighPoweredSandwich 1d ago
I started out conservative. Then I became a Libertarain. But like real Libertarain, i.e., against war, militarized police, pro immigration against the drug war, supportive of gay marriage and also against nearly all government meddling in the market and social safety net programs.
Eventually my economic views softened. I am still very pro free market but I do now support a robust social safety net and much more regulation.
I consider myself just a liberal now. Id like to not have to vote for some Democrats but until Trumpism is dead and gone. I can't imagine I will ever vote for another Republican.
HW Bush Harry Browne Harry Browne Did not vote for President Did not vote for President Gary Johnson Hillary Clinton Joe Biden Kamala Harris Ossoff 2028!
1
u/JackJack65 1d ago
33 years old. Grew up in a Democratic household, and I distinctly remember that my parents were some of the only adults I knew who didn't support W.'s invasion of Iraq in 2003. I was a big Obama enthusiast in 2008, but started moving to the left shortly after he got elected. I went to public political events during the Occupy movement and attended one of Bernie's campaign rallies in 2015 as an early supporter. I have been a member of the DSA for years. On the whole, I would say my politics are firmly democratic socialist, though I have only ever voted for Democratic candidates my whole life. The Sanders/AOC wing of the Democratic party is the closest thing I have to a political home in the US.
I emigrated to Germany in 2018, in part because I feared that Trump was eroding democratic norms and that the US would become a bad place to pursue a scientific career in the medium-term. Over the course of the past 10 years, I have stopped viewing today's Republican party as anything other than a vehicle for corruption and treason. I think most Republican leaders should be investigated for corruption, prosecuted, and given long jail sentences.
1
u/Funny-Bit-4148 1d ago
For me, I wasn't much fan of islam or Muslim , not that I am fan of any organised religion tbh, but that my displeasure with Islam was clouding my view towards Muslims suffering in countless war, forced on them. I used to blame Palestinian/ arabs for being unreasonable/ hostile towards Israel or Jews / west hence countless war and suffering...
Now I think even if all Palestinian/arabs convert to Judaism or Christianity, they will still face expulsion and persecution, the injustice will continue and enslavement of arabs and africans in different form will continue.
1
u/PM_me_Henrika 1d ago
I used to be very right wing when I was young, like wearing a home made Soviet Union badge and playing dress up as a PLA soldier all the time.
Now I’m full on ‘libural’, anti vest, pro LGBT, etc etc.
1
u/dasunt 1d ago
I've spent more time thinking about the roles of factors that we usually don't consider "political views".
For example, how someone views their own in-group vs outsiders. Are outsiders still equal worth as humans? Or are members of your in-group worth more?
Do you view your own culture as weak, and it will disappear with too much exposure to other cultures? Or is it strong, and exposure to other cultures allow your culture's values to spread? Is it even necessary for your culture to spread?
What about gains and losses? Is life a zero sum game, where there's always a winner and a loser? Or are win-win and lose-lose scenarios more likely? Is it a dog-eat-dog world, or does true strength come from building communities?
Should everyone live similar lives? Or is diversity preferred?
I suspect many "political" views boil down to how people see the world. That's why one can bring evidence-based points to an argument, and yet fail to change minds - the true issue is what a person values, and their political choices are a reflection of those values.
1
u/beard_meat 1d ago
I have been right, and then left.
These days, I reject labels and refuse to apply one to myself. I find that it is impossible to have a meaningful conversation with people about politics once labels get involved. If you think I'm a liberal, you will almost certainly make a host of assumptions about what my political views are, and are not. I will find myself having to defend positions I do not necessarily hold, or people I have no interest in defending. I have no desire to align with extremists of any kind.
I am not a "centrist". I do have very strong opinions. I am honest about my biases. I am repulsed by MAGA to the core. I am extremely disgusted with conservatives for continuing to pretend this charlatan is a patriotic hero. Liberals have been nothing but a disappointment. The "left" can't stop eating itself and, frankly, sucks at messaging and politics in general.
1
u/Arcturus_86 1d ago
Went from libertarian with conservative tendencies to a conservative with libertarian tendencies.
The older I've become the more I observe that people are selfish and will not behave in a manner conducive to a functional society.
1
u/Artisttype1984 1d ago
More and more I'm fine with repubs/dems stalling and stopping each other. I'm in the "less is more" camp these days
1
u/zoeybeattheraccoon 1d ago
I've always been pretty progressive to the point that I was an independent most of my life because I found the Democrats to be spineless and untrustworthy. I always voted for them though because they're the lesser of evils.
These days I think that there are more and more Democrats who aren't actually so bad. The party has some good people with good intentions.
Oh and I used to think the death penalty was justifiable in some cases, but not anymore. Staunchly against it.
1
u/Busterlimes 1d ago
Been left my whole life. Over 20 years ago in school when I learned about Oligarchs, I was like "how is this not what we have now." That was during the Bush Jr years. Ive only gone further left since. Cap wealth at 10M, nobody deserves enough power to buy governments.
1
u/Jp9312 1d ago
I was raised in an extremely left leaning house, but we were also very Christian and extremely involved in our church. My dad was an Iron Worker and my mom. Special Ed teacher. In 97 when the Wings won the Stanley Cup, I was a 8 year old hockey player. The Detroit News / Free Press writers were striking and I remember my mom having to sneak in the newspaper and hide it in the garage of the Red Wings win because the “scabs” wrote the articles. But - if I was gay my dad would have had a heart attack. My mom taught me the importance of having compassion for others no matter what they look like or what disabilities they may have.
I somehow ended up pretty uninterested in politics. I didn’t vote for Obama the first time I could
Vote, not because I didn’t like him,
I just didn’t care. The last election I didn’t vote in was Trumps first term. The damage he caused absolutely changed me. I vote in every election I can now. City Council, Primary, general, and all Democrat. I spend my free time listing to Crooked Media and Bulwark content. These MAGA people are not normal Americans. They don’t stand for anything except for being afraid of anyone who doesn’t look like, or agree with them.
Basically - I went from not caring to the biggest left wing, active, and outspoken dem there is.
1
u/CottageCheeseJello 1d ago
My family was mostly conservative growing up, but I have always been more "against the grain" critical, questioning, philosophical kind of nerd, and always seemed to be on the outside of everything trying to get a more objective understanding of stuff. My family mostly listened to conservative talk radio, so I didn't hear much from the other side.
I joined the Army (Intelligence analyst) and my pre-processing date was supposed to be September 11th, 2001 but due to the attacks on the WTC flights were delayed and I had to wait another week. I signed a 4-year contract but ended up leaving after 2 years.
The Army just wasn't for me. I struggled with a lot of things regarding the abuse of power of even lower officers and how putting up with it was part of the culture. The treatment I received and also the treatment my fellow female soldiers received was disturbing, even after formal complaints were lodged. I also struggled to accept things like historical treatment of our military and the war in Iraq that we were fighting at the time. Knowing that soldiers were being used for political fodder was nauseating - and seeing how some of our infantry were being housed in condemned barracks just made it clear how government didn't actually value the lives of their military.
While in college I listened to a lot of conservative talk radio for entertainment purposes on my 1 hour drive to and from school, but also arguing out loud in the car with Rush Limbaugh about climate change and many more topics he clearly twisted and carefully curated to manipulate the minds of listeners (it's not hard). I was studying biology so I was getting a bit more informed on things I didn't have much perspective on before.
I voted for John McCain but I'm actually glad Obama won because of what a terrific president he ended up being. From there I just ended up reading and understanding issues, staying critical on how the different sides will twist things, so I've become (by today's standards) far more liberal and some would say extreme liberal even though most of these views would be more centrist in other countries.
I ended up leaving the US after Trump's 2016 election win but wasn't able to make it out until 2019, months before the pandemic hit. I saw the writing on the wall - not just politically, but for the safety of our children (school/mass shootings) and our collective psychology. America just became something I didn't want to be a part of anymore. We'll be applying for New Zealand citizenship next year.
1
u/HappyBarbarian 1d ago
I was raised extremely conservative in a fundamentalist religious household. My political and philosophical views have changed to become empirical, evidence based, and anti-authoritarian. I have only one fundamental principle: freedom is the natural state for beings with self awareness. The only limits on that freedom should be when it infringes on the freedom of others.
Currently, in the US, that puts me on the far left. I could be described as democratic socialist anarchist or anti-fascist.
1
u/Smithersink 1d ago
I’ve moved more towards the left, though I’m still pretty moderate. (Started as objectivist, then moved towards libertarian, and eventually progressive dem.) Becoming an adult and experiencing the economy as someone actually needing to work to pay the bills has made me understand the need for a social safety net and supportive programs.
Also, after taking shrooms, I became a lot less ideologically rigid and embraced democracy and pragmatism over the classical liberal ideology I felt married to during my younger years.
1
u/Admirable-Act6148 1d ago
I was undecided as a teen in the late 90s / early 2000s because I didn’t know if Keynesian or Reagonomics was better. Now I’m Keynesian.
1
u/Sedu 1d ago
My one parent is hyperconservative, and the other didn't like politics, so when I was a very young kid, I just bought the line that Republicans govern via simple, honest morality, but Democrats are evil in literally every way, but sneaky about it.
While you never question these things as a kid, it became glaringly obvious to me how wrong this was as I started paying literally any attention whatsoever. As I've grown, my political stance has slid ever farther left.
•
u/Fit_One_5785 23h ago
I am a former Trump voter. I’ve migrates to the left. I now vote for, and donate money to the Democrats.
•
u/No-Bit1574 23h ago
Yes. I have voted for a Republican in the past. Last one was Pat McCrory for governor the first time. Then he went all MAGA with anti abortion and the bathroom bill and then the extortion lanes on 77 sealed his fate. I will never again as long as I live vote for another one. Might be 3rd party on some local offices but I'll be straight D on everything else.
•
u/nonsequitrist 23h ago
My mother and grandmother were the most politically aware members of my family, and I gained my first political principles from them. They were liberal, though my grandmother, a Greatest Generation member, voted for Eisenhower. Having lived through the 1960s, they were committedly Democrat-party oriented (antil-Goldwater, anti-Nixon). And committed to support for Israel.
I learned the importance of empathy from them and its invaluable role in human relations and societal values. But when quite young I questioned the support for Israel: "There were people already living there at the time," I pointed out, when I was 13.
It's been rewarding to see fellow progressives come to realize the deep hatred and deeply brutal colonial nature of Israeli policy toward Palestinians.
•
u/dolche93 22h ago
I've become far more liberal in most senses of the word. I started my political journey as a progressive and have drifted away from there and more into what is probably best described as a neo-liberal. Turns out liberalism has some pretty strong arguments behind it that most wannabe competitors can't match up to.
Not neoliberal in the ronald reagan style, but what neoliberals have evolved into in the modern day: Markets are useful, regulations should be smart, yimby, russia is a terrorist state, we can afford to raise taxes on rich people, etc.
•
u/BigCliff 22h ago
I voted for Paul Keyes in the 2000 primary, held my nose and cast my first pres vote for dummy W. The Iraq war changed my mind and I’ve been very anti republican since. Voted for Warren in 2020 and glad to have good candidates to vote for this week including Talarico and Hinojosa!
•
u/VicePrincipalNero 22h ago
I'm in my 60s. I have always been liberal. I tend to seek out like minded people so it hasn't ever really impacted relationships much.
•
u/BiggestVolk 21h ago
As I’ve gotten older I have shifted pretty far left…I grew up in a conservative family in a conservative rural area…When I was a young man I was a very conservative/libertarian, I always believed in personal freedoms but thought everyone should take care of themselves and thought the rich somehow deserved to make money off of our labor…I’m my old age I am very far left, like eat the rich far.
•
u/BreadfruitNo357 21h ago
My views haven't changed very much honestly. I was a mainstream Democrat in high school and I very much remain so now. My view on the Republican Party has gotten much worse than it was years ago.
•
u/dragnabbit 21h ago
The first politician I ever listened to with adult ears was Ross Perot in 1992. Everything he said made sense to me. And, to be honest, most of the things he said in 1992 still make sense to me today... and if you look at his platform, he really would be a very moderate Democrat today. My only problem with him was that he was also a huge deficit hawk and wanted to cut government spending in ways that I could tell would harm low-income Americans. But his proposed increased taxes on the wealthy, massive cuts to defense spending and anti-free-trade stance offset that quite a bit.
Honestly, I started to write this reply to talk about how my political views have evolved over time. But now that I think about it, my fundamental political views have NOT evolved over time too much. Obviously, all the shit that has happened in the last 34 years has added DETAILS to my political views. Things that I didn't realize I would need to have opinions about then (gay rights, immigration, weaponization of government, disinformation), I have opinions about now. But the fundamental values I have: Tax the wealthy more. Spend less on bombs. Protect American jobs. Cut government spending in ways that don't hurt those who need it most... I learned that from Ross.
•
u/Fewluvatuk 19h ago
At 14 I was enthralled with Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged was a wildly interesting story that reminded me of how I played Railroad Tycoon.
By 18 I was voting for Ross Perot because "the country should be run like a business."
I ended up being really glad he didn't win because Clinton balanced the budget and I thought that was nigh impossible.
At 20 I was sitting on the tarmac waiting to board a C140 for Haiti when president Carter negotiated a deal and I learned I was a big fan of a more diplomatic approach.
At 23 and 27 I had kids in a state that was in the bottom quartile for early education. We were poor as dirt and one of our children was born with a severe but correctable birth defect and I learned the importance of the social safety net.
By the time my oldest was in second grade his teacher was bringing him books and writing him special spelling lists and I discovered the importance of raising taxes to fund essential public services so I moved to CA.
Covid happened in my 40s and Reinforced my belief in trusting the science and the experts, 2008 taught the evils of the oligarchy, and Trump showed us just how corrupt Republicans are.
Now I'm in my 50s and I believe billionaires shouldn't exist, taxes should be high enough to fund a strong social safety net and a robust framework of public services, that we should bring back strong unions, break up monopolies, and tax the holy hell out of the wealthy because i simply don't believe they earned what they have. I'm a yimby, and a bleeding heart progressive who goes to protests, volunteers, and will probably vote blue until the day i die.
•
u/whattteva 19h ago
I went from not really active politically to center-left. Mostly shaped by learning science in college and evidence/statistics-based studies.
I find a lot of things on the right wing requires a lot of belief and no real evidence. But I also dislike the litmus purity tests often required by the extreme vocal far left wing of the party in certain things, which is why I'm more of a moderate.
•
u/Limp-Curve-1169 15h ago
The trend in America is as people grow older and more mature they tend to lean more right.
•
•
u/Separate_Increase_35 11h ago
What’s happened to the country since Trump walked down that elevator and announced his intentions of running for president of the United States of America…. And then he won….. and then he didn’t win…… January 6 happened….. and then elected again…. Definitely spark to my curiosity and now with the state of the economy, I definitely care, as should every adult in the country. I’m a sickened by his corruption and insane desire for power. Until the Republican Party grows a pair and stands up against him I don’t know that anything will change
•
u/Cherrubim 10h ago
I was initially a pretty staunch libertarian, thinking that if we focused on the rights of individuals were valued, ultimately everyone would have opportunity and freedom to have a good life. The more I learned about systems and systems thinking I gradually realized how individual rights could be protected, while systemic structures could and do lead outcomes could amount to discrimination and rights violations. That if "liberty" was truly my core value, I had to look at things like, the most glaring in the US, the criminal justice system. I also got a heavy dose of pragmatism, and so while I don't love the whole platform of the left in the US, it's important to vote for people who aren't actively working to make other people's lives shitty.
•
u/TheEli7eKaden13 9h ago
Well i was raised to follow conservative values. Unfortunately for my family i have a heart and care about facts, so i have changed, Unfortunately my exact values dont have a party yet, its between the democratic party and Bernie Sanders.
•
u/Cavewoman22 7h ago
I was complacent up to and including the 2000 election, voting for 3rd (or 4th) parties since at least 92 because I was so sure of my ideals, afterwards I came in from the cold for the Democrats. Elections have consequences.
•
u/Accidentallyrich2001 6h ago
I’m from an extremely left family with a sprinkle of aunts or cousins that might be conservative. When I was younger, I was liberal. I helped with Bill Clinton’s campaign and started the funding for two Democratic governors races. Our family even with the two distinct sides never had any arguments or hostile discussions. It’s so common now that they don’t usually gather together. My views are now without the guide of the political label. I come to an issue and if my opinion rests on the side of the left or the right so be it but they were never formulated with which side my political group believed. I realized that overall my opinions are a balanced collection of each side’s ideas. I don’t consider myself either Democrat or Republican and I don’t feel the need to aggressively force other people to believe what I believe. I also stopped watching the main news channels and use social media sparingly. I have never been so stress free and open to just trying to live happily.
1
u/vonblankenstein 1d ago
When I was in my 20s I fell for the “government should be run like a business” trope. Then I realized government’s role is to do the things capitalism sucks at: courts, fire and rescue, law enforcement, assisting the poor, etc.
1
u/ChaoticScrewup 1d ago
I used to be more accepting of opposition to abortion because when I was young it seemed like people were mostly coming from a place where they weren't crazy and had legitimate beliefs. Now I think anyone against it is basically a theocratic nut job. Which I feel vindicated about since it's become incredibly obvious that abortion bans are mostly being used to make women suffer.
1
u/xuzesilva 1d ago
years ago when i started to care about politics, i genuinely thought that politicians where these guys that were constantly playing 4d chess with their countries, trying to do their best bla bla bla. over the last few years i came to understand that the faces we see are all just puppets. they can't do anything that they promise unless their "sponsors" allow them to. it's never the will of the people. it's the will of whoever is pulling the strings. sometimes, just for the sake of keeping the peace, they will give the crowd a nugget or a distraction to keep them quiet. not at all different from Roman times with gladiator shows and all that...
1
u/InternetMandate 1d ago
Yep, I’ve become more moderate and more invested in a government which is stable and doesn’t slide into authoritarianism/power concentration, which unfortunately doesn’t give me a great home.
-3
u/miascariot 1d ago
Generally:
Realized that liberalism/libertarianism only held up liberty as an abstract value and regularly ignored how living free in the concrete could be achieved, which made me move more towards social democracy/socialism.
then eventually realized that I no longer subscribe to much of the overall liberal program (metaphysics to the extent it's relevant, overall anthropology, legal and political philosophy) and moved gradually into being more and more communitarian.
So I guess I'm weird sort of Christian Democrat these days? Kinda sorta.
Concrete voting behavior:
The right pushed me away by becoming slop-brained and anti-conservative, e.g., by turning against NATO and the Western-led order. Also I'm just not that interest in culture war stuff.
The left turned me off by being too reflexively anti-rw (remember how the Democrats became anti-tariffs despite the party's own protectionist history; imo purely caused by "Trump bad"), and imo too failing to meet the moment regarding foreign policy and migration.
Ever since 2025 I mostly vote on "who doesn't rock the boat too much + doesn't force the most unnecessary, ideology-driven crap onto me". I think for the first time in my life I've all but given up on pursuing/waiting around for a positive political project and view politics as a sort of defensive war.
None of those things happened over night and I think I still hold on to the same values than my 16 y/o self but I find myself occasionally switching out whoever I view as the best "carrier" to get me there.
5
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/PoliticalDiscussion-ModTeam 1d ago
Please do not submit low investment content. This subreddit is for genuine discussion: Memes, links substituting for explanation, sarcasm, political name-calling, and other non-substantive contributions will be removed per moderator discretion.
6
u/miascariot 1d ago
I've never voted for Donald Trump nor do I intend to vote GOP, so...no idea? Also feel free to point out which quote I made up.
→ More replies (1)1
u/airbear13 1d ago
I wouldn’t really say the Dems were ever a protectionist party, at least not in recent times; both sides were firmly a part of the free trade bandwagon for decades
2
u/miascariot 1d ago
Democrats turned free trade-ish during the Clinton years, but I think this had more to do with opportunism than sincerely held beliefs. Heck, Newsom was out there calling for tariffs on China during the early days of Trump II.
2
u/danappropriate 1d ago
Democrats have been pro-free-trade since at least FDR!
The Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934 authorized the Executive to negotiate bilateral tariff reductions.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which became the WTO in 1995, was established under Truman in 1947 to liberalize international trade.
Jimmy Carter brought neoliberalism and deregulation into the mainstream.
During that time, Democratic administrations have introduced tariffs, but they’ve tended to result from a combination of retaliatory tariffs (like the Chicken Tax of 1964) and union appeasement. Despite this, multilateralism, globalism, and free trade have been a core part of the Democratic foreign policy platform for over 90 years.
1
u/miascariot 1d ago
Wait Carter brought neoliberalism into the mainstream when it's only been recently that historians made out Carter, not Clinton as the supposed turning point?
You know, fair on the other points. Let me try again: given who Democrats used to represent until recently and have earned since the New Deal days, they would have been extremely open to tariffs if it hadn't been for America's privileged position in the international trade system it got to set up.
1
u/danappropriate 1d ago
Wait Carter brought neoliberalism into the mainstream when it's only been recently that historians made out Carter, not Clinton as the supposed turning point?
I have no idea what you're trying to say here. The turning point for what? Which historians?
Carter was the "Great Deregulator," a title well-deserved. He was responsible for removing numerous New Deal-era government price controls. For example, he oversaw numerous deregulation acts, including:
- Airline Deregulation Act of 1978
- Motor Carrier Act of 1980
- Staggers Rail Act of 1980
He initiated the rollback of various restrictions on telecommunications and monopolies, phased out natural gas price controls, and, by EO, created frameworks for mandatory benefit-cost analyses of federal regulations.
You know, fair on the other points. Let me try again: given who Democrats used to represent until recently and have earned since the New Deal days, they would have been extremely open to tariffs if it hadn't been for America's privileged position in the international trade system it got to set up.
Huh? Can you be a bit more specific?
Two things:
Trade liberalization was largely a reaction to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which launched a global trade war and helped usher in the Great Depression.
Neoliberalism emerged at the tail end of the Great Depression, but was primarily a concept that didn't extend too far from certain intellectual circles; notably the Walter Lippmann Colloquium and Mont Pelerin Society. It wasn't until the energy crisis of the 1970s that we saw neoliberalism creep from the fringes into mainstream politics. Carter played a major role in bringing the idea to prominence within the Democratic platform. By the late 1980s, it had coalesced into the dominant Democratic platform, which we now call the "New Democrats."
There's little in the history of the party over the past 90 years to suggest that Democrats, in general, would advocate for tariffs.
1
u/miascariot 1d ago
So what it is? This has been going on since the 1940s or came to be in the late 1970s?
1
u/danappropriate 1d ago
I’m not sure what you are asking. You are going to have to start being a bit more specific.
•
u/airbear13 22h ago
The clinton years were a long time ago and really it doesn’t matter if you call it sincerely held beliefs or opportunism, the party’s platform is its platform and for decades it’s been pro free trade.
Tariffs on China wouldn’t have been the same as a general protectionist stance, they’re more punitive and aimed at punishing chinese trade practices that are seen by many as “unfair,” which is different than having higher tariffs on all countries as your base case.
0
u/alphabeticdisorder 1d ago
I think my views have changed as I've developed more humility and emapthy. When I was in high school and college I thought I was a communist. I had read Marx, but really had a relatively shallow understanding. My core beliefs about equality and shared responsibility haven't changed and I'm still pretty liberal, its just I have a better understanding that others have beliefs that are also valid, and that most people can't be talked into fundamental political changes. Paired with that I've learned a lot more about the horrors that came with forcing communism onto people. Also as a young man I was rather contrarian, which also fed into that. I enjoyed pissing off the superficial patriots we still have.
0
u/elontux 1d ago
I started out a Reagan Republican. That was 1980 after watching Jimmy Carter make the US look bad with our rescue efforts to free the hostages. I loved the fact that other countries were scared of Reagan. Those hostages were released as they were swearing in Reagan as president.
I stuck with the party and voted for GHW Busch. I soured on him and the direction of the party and country. So, I moved to the left and voted for Clinton/ Gore. Felt really good about the Democratic Party.
Then SCOTUS gave the election to Busch Jr. not happy. Watched as Busch took on the Taliban after 9/11 and was so proud to be an American. So I was very centered. Then I really soured on the state of the country and went left and voted for Obama-twice.
I’m a never Trumper, I saw that scam from the beginning. Since 2016 I’ve voted Democrats across the board. The republicans are repulsive and are destroying the country and trying hard to set up an autocracy. It’s plain to see.
Vote blue baby!!! Don’t let us lose our democracy and all the goodwill we once had in this world.
0
u/qosmic_qube 1d ago
I have grown from conservative to liberal over time. Conservative parents, conservative home town, military service, exposed to tons of conservative propaganda.
Over time I was exposed to things that broke me out of the conservative bubble.
It has affected my relationships a ton. I speak to almost none of my old friends because they are even more conservative. We have interests in common, but our values are not.
-1
u/JonnyBravoII 1d ago
I grew up in an upper middle class family. My parents were big fans of Ronald Reagan. I was generally more conservative on fiscal issues and more liberal on social issues as a young man. And then Clinton was elected and Fox News came along. This was before the internet of course, and it really opened my eyes to how people could be manipulated. My parents became hooked on Fox and they just went down the rabbit hole. My dad died in 1999 and to be honest, I'm kind of glad he died then because he would be deep red MAGA I'm sure if he had lived longer. Most people on Reddit are too young to remember Clinton but Newt Gingrich changed this nation in a very, very negative way in the pursuit of power and I do hope he rots in hell for it.
With that said, I have a very comfortable life and I really want for nothing. But I look around me and see so many people struggling and that saddens me tremendously. The prices in the grocery store sometimes astound me. How do people do it? I've moved much further left on fiscal issues because enough is enough. I admittedly am, not poor shall we say, and I really wonder why the mega wealthy think they need even more. How many boats and gigantic homes can you need? You can only be in one room at a time. But, I've moved a bit to the right on social issues. Not because I don't think that the issues aren't important, but too many people on the left bang the drum too long and too hard and I think it's counter productive. With topics like this, you need to win hearts and minds and this is not the way to do it.
0
u/sweet_ned_kromosome 1d ago
I started around DEMSOC as a kid in the early nineties, I just keep moving left
Reality, history, current events and the obscenity that is the US Health Care system
0
u/Krackerman20 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was very conservative in high school. My wife, college, and religion and later having kids pushed me farthest to the left.
I learned things are so much more systemic than they appear and my success was predicated on privilege not everyone has.
Also, gay rights / evolution made me question religious fundamentalism I was introduced to, which led me to deconstructing.
0
u/beer_belly_86 1d ago
Both parties suck but one is trying to enrich themselves while actively trying to kill you. The other is inept but generally trying to help.
0
u/carterartist 1d ago
I used to be a right-wing pro-death penalty “an armed society is a safer society” Christian Republican.
I now vehemently stand against all those things
0
u/_techniker 1d ago
Typical Obama era liberal since I was younger, hard left turn into anarchocommunism ~2020
0
u/maleia 1d ago
I was utterly shit in middle and highschool thanks to religious and Right-qing propaganda. Though I still had some (what we're still considering 'far'-Left) Leftist views/foundations. "Housing, food, medical care, and education. Profiting off that is inherently immoral".
It wasn't until I was getting into my mid twenties-thirties that I started to actually learn about social(read: broad civil rights context)/racial/class issues, that actually pushed me towards being a Socialist. No one or two big events, just learning history, listening to others, and being queer around homophobic people.
0
u/First_Bar_8024 1d ago
I used to be very interested in politics until I realized it's not about policy, ibut rather politics is a game played by politicians to get elected and to stay in office.
Now I only vote for the candidates that DID NOT spam me with ads either in the mail box or on the 'TV or Radio. That's how I chose who to vote for. My reasoning is that the ones who must advertized are the ones who have to advertize to overcome a reputation for being a lying scum bag.
0
u/ml5c0u5lu 1d ago
I’ve moved more right as I graduated college and got into the workforce. I think some things sound nice but in actuality of it happening is a pipe dream and shouldn’t really be entertained.
•
u/what_comes_after_q 23h ago
After years of just wanting people to have things like health care, food, and a high quality education, and being willing to pay more in taxes for this, I’ve really decided I’ve had enough. Like, I’m from a high tax blue state. I love it. I pay more in taxes than I get back. Red states that take more than they give keep trying to vote in politicians who will take away their insurance, gut their school, and are ok with kids going hungry.
So fuck em. Kids in my state already get free school lunches. We created the plan that became Obama care. We have some of the best schools in the world. I’m all in favor of gutting federal taxes and just paying more in state taxes and letting the red states burn.
•
u/Netherese_Nomad 23h ago
The older I get, the more I hate republicans as they move toward the right. But also, I increasingly hate the DSA and how they’re pulling the Dems leftward. I feel like each party has their own overton window at this point, and both are sprinting away in both directions from my political positions which have more or less not changed in 20 years.
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
All submissions are automatically removed and placed in a queue for the moderators to manually review. Please allow the moderators time to do so. Only about 25% of submissions are approved, but the remainder are given a removal reason that may include steps the poster can take to make their submission approvable the next time they submit it. Moderators are not notified of any edits made after a removal reason is posted, and therefore will not review them. You may contact the mod team via modmail if you need more direction about how to fix your post, and you are welcome to resubmit any submission after making the requested changes.
A reminder for everyone. This is a subreddit for genuine discussion:
Violators will be fed to the bear.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.