Are you more Liberal/Conservative than when you were younger

[Tatterdemalion]

Here's a rather interesting question I picked up on another forum. The results were, well, interesting, and it occured to me to try it here:

Are you currently more or less liberal/conservative than you were when you were younger? They say that, as a general rule, people are supposed to become more conservative when they get older.

Obviously as a sixth-form (Brit speak for high school) student I'm not really qualified to answer that question, but I thought it'd be interesting to get your stories.

Oh and remember, this is about you personally. I couldn't care less about evil-pinko-commie-liberal brainwashing or conservative propaganda in the education system. That's another topic for another thread, I'm just asking about your experiences.

[Natorgator]

I personally are a lot more liberal than I used to be, but I used to be REALLY conservative. I guess college has a way of making you look at things from more than one viewpoint...

[AdmiralKanos]

I am more liberal than I was when I was younger. It's easy to be heartless when you haven't seen how it affects people.

[Stravo]

Defintely more conservative then when I was younger. I have seen past alot of the bullshit they spoon fed us in College that had absolutely nothing to do with the real life I was living.

I remember vividly my father accsuing me of being a communist at a family gathering because of my more liberal views. (Heck my dad is sometimes right of Hitler) I still consider myself open minded and I get pretty sick of some of the turgid bullshit people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh spread on their shows.

Frankly most people are not extremists in RL. They tend to be far more middle of the road about things. But there is a tendecy to be more conservative as you get older, particularly in fiscal issues. When I was in College and barely making minimum wage I was all for taxes for services, and yeah tax those rich bastards. Now that I make significantly more money and I see the effect that tazes have (being taxed at the maximum rate will do that to you) I'm all for tax relief and tax cuts and you know what? When you have more money you do tend to spend it, or at the very least pay your bills so I am a firm believer in this conservative agenda item.

[Darth Wong]

I think it depends on where you went to school. A liberal-arts major is probably going to get more conservative as he gets older, because it's IMPOSSIBLE for the typical liberal-arts major to get any more liberal

Conversely, my engineering class was HEAVILY conservative, since we were the only students on campus who had decent jobs (co-op engineering; all students had to do mandatory 4-month work terms at jobs related to their field of study between school terms or they would fail). So a graduate of my class is probably going to get more liberal as he gets older, because he really can't get any more conservative.

Of course, there's also the distinction between social liberalism and fiscal liberalism, since it's possible to be a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, which is what I regard myself to be today.

[Sea Skimmer]

There was a time when I quite liberal. That has changed.

[Iceberg]

I think I've pretty much stayed in place. Social liberal, fiscal-military conservative (for the most part; however, I dislike tax cuts because they require tax hikes down the road to pay for them).

[Joe]

I've become infinitely more conservative on economic issues as I've grown older (and I was pretty conservative to begin with). I've always been pretty socially conservative, but nowadays I consider myself to be quite socially liberal.

[Stravo]

There was a time when I quite liberal. That has changed.

Were you mugged?

[TrailerParkJawa]

Ive become more conservative as Ive gotten older and joined the real work force. As a teen I was all for sticking it to the rich man. It never occured to me till I got older than people I thought were rich, were solidly middle-class.

After working in the environemental industry for a few years, I see lots of waste and duplication that does nothing to protect the environment. So I have become leary of bureaucracies.

Ive become much more fiscally conservative. Buying home is a sure way for that to happen.

Im more liberal in some ways though. I used to froth at the mouth about killing commies and supporting govts that helped us against the USSR. Now I see a dictatorship to be no different than commies. Both are anti-american.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Actually I'm more cynical then when I was younger.

I now only vote on issues, and generally have not seen a canidate on the national scene that I could support (Hint: I voted for Mc Cain)

[RedImperator]

Once upon a time, I was the worst of both worlds: social conservative, economic liberal. I've basically flipped since then.

[Saurencaerthai]

Hrm....I think that over time, I have become more liberal, and growing up in a very liberal community, I'm not surprised. As well, I think that I have also become more structured in what I belive. As I grow, I gain new knowledge and thus, can choose my stances on various topics with a better understanding of the implications. Because of this, I might support a side which I personally think is right, even if it doesn't match the majority liberal opinion. The decision to invade Iraq is an example of this. (Although it was rather amusing to go around talking to people in school and then have them be totally shocked to find out that I was pro-war!)

[Steve]

I think it depends on where you went to school. A liberal-arts major is probably going to get more conservative as he gets older, because it's IMPOSSIBLE for the typical liberal-arts major to get any more liberal

Conversely, my engineering class was HEAVILY conservative, since we were the only students on campus who had decent jobs (co-op engineering; all students had to do mandatory 4-month work terms at jobs related to their field of study between school terms or they would fail). So a graduate of my class is probably going to get more liberal as he gets older, because he really can't get any more conservative.

Of course, there's also the distinction between social liberalism and fiscal liberalism, since it's possible to be a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, which is what I regard myself to be today.

Can we say "libertarian"?

I don't really count, as I'm only a few months from 21 anyway.

[Enforcer Talen]

Hrm....I think that over time, I have become more liberal, and growing up in a very liberal community, I'm not surprised. As well, I think that I have also become more structured in what I belive. As I grow, I gain new knowledge and thus, can choose my stances on various topics with a better understanding of the implications. Because of this, I might support a side which I personally think is right, even if it doesn't match the majority liberal opinion. The decision to invade Iraq is an example of this. (Although it was rather amusing to go around talking to people in school and then have them be totally shocked to find out that I was pro-war!)

really? I got my hand shook and was otherwise congratsed.

and, Im gotten more liberal. sauren is good at persuading.

[phongn]

When I was younger I was generally socially liberal, fiscally liberal. Since then, I've become fiscally conservative and even more socially liberal.

[Hamel]

Can we say "libertarian"?

I don't really count, as I'm only a few months from 21 anyway.

It seems that he isn't too comfortable with leaving everything at the mercy of the "free market", so I doubt he's a libertarian.

I only started caring about real politics in 2000, but I had mostly liberal beliefs all my life.

Frankly most people are not extremists in RL. They tend to be far more middle of the road about things. But there is a tendecy to be more conservative as you get older, particularly in fiscal issues. When I was in College and barely making minimum wage I was all for taxes for services, and yeah tax those rich bastards. Now that I make significantly more money and I see the effect that tazes have (being taxed at the maximum rate will do that to you) I'm all for tax relief and tax cuts and you know what? When you have more money you do tend to spend it, or at the very least pay your bills so I am a firm believer in this conservative agenda item.

I hear that bit about people getting conservative after they get older and pay taxes quite a bit, but my dad is completely different

I'd say my dad worked alot harder than the average joe. He volunteered for 'nam but was denied because of his bad eye and blood-sugar problems. Before I was born, he was a roofer that slaved in the hot sun, 30 stories above the streets of Dayton, Ohio. After he became a programmer, he worked over 70 hours a week on average for over 20 years and there were many times when he spent months away from family because he needed to work in Canada. He would often get calls at 2 in the morning and always went in to work when asked. At one point he made over 80k/year. Smoking, stress from working all the time and lack of excersize due to his programming jobs almost killed him 3 years ago.

My dad has been screwed by people left and right over the years and recently when he moved out into the country (kinda referring to the mugged guy going conservative stuff). Despite his experiences he's only become more liberal. Dad always believed that people came first in society, not amoral corporations. He had no issues with taxes even when he earned over 80k/year. A liberal christian he is, but with views almost exactly mirroring a secular humanist's.

I hope I turn out like my daddy

[Glocksman]

Definitely more liberal.

Back when I was in (1981-1985) high school, I thought I knew all of the answers and was entirely unsympathetic to anything that smacked of the welfare state, liberal social policies, or of a Jimmy Carter style foreign policy and I thought that government just needed to get out of the way. I put in hundreds of hours doing volunteer work to help re-elect Reagan during the summer of 1984.

How have I become more liberal?

Then: I despised homosexuals and thought it should be illegal.
Now: It's not my choice, but it's none of my business what goes on between 2 or more consenting adults.

Then: I thought that the drug laws were too lenient.
Now: The drug laws need to be repealed or loosened because we're doing more damage to the bill of rights with the WoD than we are with the War on Terrorism.

Then: I backed Israel without question.
Now: I lean towards the Palestinans somewhat.

Then: I hated unions because I thought they existed only to protect the incompetent.
Now: Not only am I a union member, I'm an ex-steward and I was on the previous bargaining committee.

Then: I thought that big business was hamstrung by red tape.
Now: I see that a lot of the red tape and regulations were needed.

Then: I totally opposed any sort of national healthcare coverage.
Now: We need to do something, but I don't know exactly what.

Then: I opposed gun control in any form.
Now: Well, some things haven't changed.

[Drooling Iguana]

Well, when I was young I was a die-hard Libservative. Now I'm leaning more towards Conibralism.

Seriously, though, I've probably become more liberal. My dad was fairly conservative (by Canadian standards. He'd probably be considered moderate in the U.S.) and when I was young I patterned a lot of my views after his. Since I've gotten out in the world and started to form more of my own opinions I've drifted increasingly to the left. While I was once a moderate when it comes to social issues and a conservative economically, I'm now more of a social liberal and economic moderate.

It was actually fairly suprising when I visited my family a few months ago and found out that my father was as much against the war in Iraq as I was. It was the first time in a long time that we'd agreed on anything.

[Illuminatus Primus]

since it's possible to be a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, which is what I regard myself to be today.

The ideal slant.

[TrailerParkJawa]

Life experience does much to mold one's perceptions and views.


I used to bag on Unions, until I saw lots of people get laid off with no notice, no severence. A union wont protect you from a failing busines, but usually you will get severance.

I used to bad on national health care too, until Ive had to deal with poor quality private car, and completely loosing all benefits when out of job.

[Knife]

Meh, when you are younger you tend to mimick your parents ideology. When you grow up and become your own person, you ease yourself into your own ideology. So very liberal people tend to be more conservitive when they get older and vice versa. I was die hard conservitive when I was younger, in fact I was a registered Republican. Now I am a independent who is fiscally conservitive and wished the far right would get fucked.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Here's a rather interesting question I picked up on another forum. The results were, well, interesting, and it occured to me to try it here:

Are you currently more or less liberal/conservative than you were when you were younger? They say that, as a general rule, people are supposed to become more conservative when they get older.

Obviously as a sixth-form (Brit speak for high school) student I'm not really qualified to answer that question, but I thought it'd be interesting to get your stories.

Oh and remember, this is about you personally. I couldn't care less about evil-pinko-commie-liberal brainwashing or conservative propaganda in the education system. That's another topic for another thread, I'm just asking about your experiences.

I'm slightly less conservative than I was five or ten years ago.

[Crayz9000]

Here? I used to be very conservative, but now I'm more centrist--very slightly liberal and somewhat libertarian.

[Gandalf]

I've been very liberal my whole life, but recently I've noticed I'm egtting more and more conservative. I'm kind of worried about that, at my rate I'll be ultra right by the time I'm 30.