Have You Ever Changed Your Opinion?

Guy Chamberlin

Guy Chamberlin

Well-known member
Do you recall a person, an article, a book or just the passage of time changing your opinion on a social/political topic?

Has it ever happened on HuskerBoard?

Some of you say your ideological leanings have shifted over the years. Can you trace it to a singular event, the influence of others, and/or your personal circumstances? 

If everyone agrees to participate, maybe we can solve world peace. 

 
Many times actually.  But typically attitude problems by the person trying to "educate" me make me very hesitant to listen to them.  I'm guilty of that myself.

The most recent one I can recall was AOC comparing the unguided Jan 6th tour to war.  She absolutely didn't do that and it was actually pretty alarming to see the people who initially made the claim triple down that she had when the video and transcript were clear as day.

That's what makes me even more hesitant to listen to certain people.  The blatant disregard of reality in favor of partisanship.

 
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I’ve gone from Christian to a “none” in the past 5-6 years.  That’s a pretty big change.

I made this change because of life events and the world around me.  I credit the former pastor of my parents.  He had a social media post about needing to claim Jesus as king for a seat in Heaven.  I asked him straight up, so does that mean a loving Buddhist with a good heart will miss out.  He responded, “unfortunately, yes”.

I decided that day that if there is a Heaven, and the God is that big of a jerk, I’m happier skipping out on those treasures.

Plus just taking the time to think logically about the faith and the blindness it requires.  Most Evangelicals didn’t help either.

 
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I got more politically progressive when I had kids. It's the opposite for some, but I really started paying attention to the world we were making them inherit, and realized how corrupt it had been all along. I had bought into a lot of myths most of my life. Things got real pretty quick. 

There was one guy I met on one of the early AOL boards who kept talking about how deeply religious and conservative the country was, and how there was going to be a backlash. It was the Clinton years and I thought he was being over-dramatic --- social progress was slow but irreversible I thought.  He was right. I was wrong. Pretty sure I'm not the only one surprised by America 2021. 

I've had HuskerBoard posters correct me on some of my favorite liberal talking points by directing me to credible sources. This ruined some of my best arguments, but I'm grateful for it. I never repeat misinformation and correct it wherever I can.  It tempers but rarely changes my opinions on the larger issue. These posters were right and I was wrong. They could have been a$$h@!es about it, but I mostly remember them contradicting my claim and proving it. Touche. 

The New Yorker, The Atlantic, NPR, and other sources folks might deem biased have also changed my mind about folks like The Clintons, Barack Obama, and Jesse Jackson, and issues like oil pipelines, GMOs, and media mishandling of major news stories, with in-depth reporting that runs counter to the liberal party line. When someone who shares my basic ideology isn't afraid to uncover inconvenient facts, it definitely changes my opinion. Still, there's a good chance I already had a gut feeling. 

 
I’ve changed my mind on previous support for the Iraq war and how I feel about Bush.  We should have never gone into Iraq.

I’ve changed my mind on trade.  I no longer believe in true free trade after studying the long terms effects of NAFTA. I am in the free and fair trade camp. 

I am actively listening to those who want to fundamentally change our healthcare system.  I’m not in that camp, but would listen to ideas on how that gets accomplished, who pays for it and how.  What’s happens to all the lost jobs from our current version of health care, etc…I could possibly be swayed if a viable plan was put forth.

I grew up in small town KS thinking I couldn’t  wait to get to a bigger city.  Now I constantly think about going back once kids are out of school.  

 
There's nothing wrong with changing your opinion on something, or admitting you're wrong. It should be something we take pride in. It's something I've really tried to work on, personally, over the last few years.

I've had my opinion changed multiple times by members of this board. Posting in the politics forum can be exhausting after awhile, but I still set aside time to go through it. I typically seek out posts from people on here that I usually disagree with (like @knapplc and @Guy Chamberlin). Posts confirming my current position on a subject aren't what I'm looking to read.

 
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Guy Chamberlin said:
Do you recall a person, an article, a book or just the passage of time changing your opinion on a social/political topic?

Has it ever happened on HuskerBoard?

Some of you say your ideological leanings have shifted over the years. Can you trace it to a singular event, the influence of others, and/or your personal circumstances? 

If everyone agrees to participate, maybe we can solve world peace. 
Click to expand...


Husker_x contributed to my change from staunch Christian to my non religiousness today. 

I allowed myself to believe that my beliefs could be wrong and examined what he was saying reasonably, and changed my mind.

 
My political and ideological leanings have definitely shifted, rather significantly in some cases. I would attribute the change to 3 basic reasons. What has transpired in the world over the last 20ish years, reading and interacting with others on HB and, to a lesser extent, changing/adjusting my news consumption habits. I now basically get all my news (or leads thereto) from Huskerboard and avoid televised news when possible.

I used to think Republican/Conservative was the only way. I’m still fairly fiscally conservative but have really shifted left on social issues. I attribute this change mostly to what the R party has become but a lot of it is due to actually listening to some posters hereabouts. I’ve accepted that trickle down economics don’t work, greed in most cases is bad and power corrupts. I voted straight R tickets most of my life until Obama’s 2nd term. I voted Independent in that election and the following one that Trump won and I actually voted Dem this last time. Not because I liked or even agreed with Joe or the dems but simply because he wasn’t Trump. I’ve also seen what Trump and current republicans have become and I want no part of it. The pandemic has helped sort the chaff as well.

Also my religion stance has changed quite a bit. I still believe there is a God/Creator but I really have my doubts if he resembles anything portrayed by organized religion or my Catholic/Christian roots. Free will or not, there is just way too much bad sh#t allowed to happen for me to view God as the loving father figure who is intimately involved in our lives or to think he gives a sh#t about what happens to us. I’m still trying to get it figured out. I do attribute this change primarily to discussions on HB. If I had to name one person that got me re-examining it would probably be @knapplc but there are quite a few others as well.

I still think GW did the best he could given the circumstances but Iraq was a massive mistake. Obama was not the trainwreck I anticipated and actually think he did a good job. Hate(d) Trump after initially thinking he couldn’t eff things up too bad. Not too impressed with Joe so far and I can’t stand Harris. I basically hate all politicians.

And the US Postal Service sucks balls. Get off my lawn.

 
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I used to think Barry Switzer was evil incarnate, smoking a cig on the sidelines and stealing all the hopes of a little kid.  Love the guy now.  

 
knapplc said:
Husker_x contributed to my change from staunch Christian to my non religiousness today. 

I allowed myself to believe that my beliefs could be wrong and examined what he was saying reasonably, and changed my mind.
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Husker x has made probably made more people atheist/agnostic than BigRedN has brought to Jesus. Husker x was always polite, made his points in a respectful manner and never made me feel bad for my beliefs. His logic made me start to question things and here I am today. 

 
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My circle of friends have always given me crap about being the most "liberal conservative" they know. I have always tried to keep an open mind, and consider myself open to new ideas or views, and have often changed my mind about specific topics politically. I have described here previously my US Presidential votes since I turned 18...I think they are about dead even for Rs and Ds. 

Regarding religion have have definitely changed my stance over the years since my Missouri Synod Lutheran upbringing. I am mostly non-practicing now, but still believe in a higher power. Not necessarily "THE" God, but "A" God, or force.  The single most influential factor in my switch to my current view was years ago, when an Evangelical co-worker, who is very righteous/pious in public (you know the type), and I had a long discussion. He tried to convince me that everyone else in the World, that wasn't Christian, would burn in hell unless they converted. I tried to use the logical approach that Hindus or Buddhists or Muslims had much the same belief system as we do...just not the same God.  He said "then they are damned."  

I would be interested in reading some of what Husker x posted "back in the day". Evidently it was before I began my foray into the P&R forums. 

 
I'm embarrassed to admit I was a grown man and supposedly keen on human rights in 2004 when the big push for gay marriage started and I was of the opinion that maybe gays could be afforded all legal protections of a partnership, but stop short of calling it "marriage" since that seemed to upset so many people.  Seemed like a reasonable compromise to me.

Can't remember who said it, but they put it in really simple terms:  "that's not your call."   Hit me like a ton of bricks. Who the f#&% was I or anyone else to suggest a "compromise" on something that was absolutely none of my business?

As for religion: I guess I've always created God in my own image and we get along pretty well. He totally understands why I remain agnostic and typically rolls His eyes at my thoughts & prayers. 

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

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

 
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