Ask Lemmy

I used to believe that people, given the right information, would make a smart decision, and that humanity will eventually get things right.

Now I know we won’t and this has doomed millions of species including our own, and if we’re lucky in a million years we’ll be an oily radioactive smear in the fossil record and nothing of value will be lost.

I grew up in a very conservative household and genuinely believed everything I was taught due to not being exposed to other ideas. Over time, even when in high school, I started to notice that people hated things without understanding them. Ask someone to explain to you why communism is bad, for instance, and they probably can't because they know nothing about it.

Over time, I became exposed to more diverse people, educated people, people from different places. I went to school and got my masters degree. I have found that I am frankly fairly liberal by US standards.

A long time ago, I use to call myself “Libertarian.” Before you cringe too hard at this, this was long before MAGA, the Tea Party Republicans, all that. I just wanted weed to be legal (even though I don’t partake myself), no more foreign wars, and basically people to mind their own goddamned business most of the time and for the laws to be less convoluted but apply to everyone equally. Basic stuff for a younger mind. I don’t like busybodies and control-freakery.

My primary concern was in maximizing Freedom for the greatest number of people.

What changed my perspective, was learning and understanding the difference between Negative Liberty (freedom from) and Positive Liberty (freedom to).

And I then understood how a healthy Left and a healthy Right might in theory disagree when Positive Liberty and Negative Liberty are in conflict, even if they both actually really value Freedom (e.g., the freedom to own firearms responsibly vs. the freedom from fear of having one’s children murdered in middle school; Or, the freedom to drive anywhere on public, toll-free roads vs. the freedom from excessively high wheel taxes, or emissions standards that are burdensome on the working poor, or from imminent domain laws that take bits of your land to build roads on).

That understandjng had me, over time, shifting from Libertarian to Liberal. I became a normie Democrat.

Another shift has been happening lately, from Liberal to Progressive/Democratic Socialist, for largely the same reasons: my understanding of what Freedom (and by contrast, cooersion) means in practice is deepening (also, the rise of MAGA and the fecklessness and corruption of the Democratic Party has me a bit radicalized).

I still value Freedom, and I want it maximized for the greatest number of people as possible. I have changed my mind on what that means exactly and how we might get there.

I used to think suicide was such a horrible, selfish thing to do and didn't understand how people couldn't just see that it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but I get it now.

I used to be the type to want to consider a variety of opinions and play devil's advocate. The last decade has radicalized me into being much more staunchly progressive. Stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything.

It's an easy trap to fall into if you're a generally open minded person I think. I didn't want to follow the herd, and I didn't want to take things at face value. Those aren't bad ideals, but when living in a corrupt and dishonest world it basically means giving too much space to people who aren't worth it.

Well, just the usual, slightly less optimistic every year. I believed that world is fair even if it sometimes takes a while, that I'll be rich, that you can achieve anything if you try enough.

Over time I learned that the world isn't fair, that you can't be rich if you have a conscience and that you can only achieve what the ones with power over you will let you.

All of that of course has an exception: you might get lucky.

The most recent change was when I started watching two kinds of cases and what is the usual resolution / punishment. It's rape cases and who gets to keep the kids when people break up. Rapists usually walk away with very lax punishments with bullshit reasons and women almost always get the kids, even if the woman is straight up a psycho and the man is just a regular guy.

I wasn't under the impression that judges were somehow better than the average person, but this kinda showed me that they're actually much much worse than the average person.

I grew up in the South (USA) and had to go to church every weekend. So you can imagine the types of conservative ideas I grew up with. A lot has changed for me, if we're talking politics or religion, I don't fit in with the rest of my immediate family.

'Since I gave up hope, I feel a lot better' - Steve Taylor.

I've always leaned left on most issues, but with the exception of abortion, which I kinda flipped back and forth. Hear me out.

I was originally pro-choice, but then I later changed my mind and became anti-abortion because I genuinly just believe fetuses are alive.

But I was still left-leaning and I remember googling: "Democrats who are pro-life" and when the search results turn uo so few names, I was confused and felt kinda alone. I genuinely didn't understand why nobody held my beliefs.

But then the issue of SA comes up and I'm like that should be an exception becuase you should never have to give birth to something to should never existed had the crime not occured. I was searching throught the internet and found one reddit comment in I think r/ChangeMyView pointing out it doesn't make sense to think a fetus is alive and also believe in exceptions to abortion bans; as-in: "abortion is bad, but abortion okay if the fetus is result of SA", like... the position isn't consistent.

So after a while, changed my view again, I'm pro-choice now, I view fetus as potential persons, not a fully developed person. Unless there is a way to safely transfer it to an artificial womb, I believe abortion should be legal until they can be safely separated (aka: until birth). To clarify: I don't like abortions per se, it is sad that a potential living being is gone, but it's a necessary evil, because the alternative would be worse.

My pro-gun stance have not changed, I don't trust the government, now more than ever gestured broadly at the US Federal Government

But despite these views that contradicted the main US Democratic platform, I've always supported Democratic Candidates (particularly those in the Progressive wing), I've never voted for those right-wing extremists. I don't vote single issue. Because for each view I disagree with the Dems on, there are 100 republican policies I despise.

As a teen i was...something that i can only describe as a transphobic bavarian nationalist fascist.

Now i am dating a non binary person, half my friends are trans, many i meet always break the egg, i dont like political labels but you could describe me as socialist, fighting for a united federalised EU Republic, a strong democracy that can defend itself from inside and outside.

Soooo yeaaaah it was quite the 180° turn when i realised "...oh fuck...i like guys and girls..." and been only up hill from then ^^ Thanks covid lol