age and change?

[yesdachi]

Though once I was a hippy freak who liked Jerry Garcia and Bob Marley.

Only once?

[ICantSpellDawg]

when i was younger, throughout school - i fought every type of authority that i could. Parents, Church, teachers, government. i would kick and scream and fight for the sake of fighting. i was also described as an extremely paranoid child and young adult by psychiatrists.

In the past few years, i have become less hardened agaisnt things that i disagree with and changed some opinions, but i have also carried ideas from my youth with me. I have become more pro-government, less venomously anti-religious and more confused. I view people as misguided with no real purpose - so my paranoia has subsided considerably. My illusions of a well-orchestrated anything, much less conspiracy have slowly vanished, replaced by more realistic interpretations of events. Vilification of others has lessened, but Vilification of bad deeds has increased.

All in all - i am not sure of the direction, but i am sure that i have changed considerably from when i was a kid. I am more of a leader now, more confident in myself and less abrasive against authority - while being even more steadfast and altruistic in my sacrifices

less of a spineless lightweight id guess, but i pick my fights carefully

[JimBob]

As I've gotten older I've gotten more and more liberal. I started as a fullblown, the military knows better than us militarist. And have become a whacko post-left anarcho-communist. In between I was a moderate weak kneed middle of the roader and then a 'progresive' ('progresive' is a big lie, pretty fake).

@Aenlic: AK Press is a wonderful place no? Bookchin is a pretty cool dude.

[Aenlic]

@Aenlic: AK Press is a wonderful place no? Bookchin is a pretty cool dude.

Indeed it is, and I suspect that AK UK employs a number of the fine people responsible for creating and maintaining one of my favorite internet FAQ sites: Anarchist FAQ, although the site itself is hosted on Infoshop, which is another fine organization.

[Goofball]

In my teens I really cared nothing for politics, I was too busy trying to collect as many (metaphorical, of course) female scalps as I could, just about to the exclusion of all other activities, with the exceptions of baseball and football.

In my twenties I was a staunch conservative (both with respect to social issues and economic issues). This I attribute mainly to three factors:
1) I was still quite a shallow individual who really didn't care too much about the problems of anybody not in my immediate family.
2) I had not gone to university yet, and my training in disciplined critical thinking was at that point very minimal.
3) I just didn't have enough life experience under my belt yet to really start to get a good understanding of the world I lived in.

Now in my thirties, I still subscribe to economic conservatism, but with respect to social issues I have become quite liberal. I attribute this to a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
1) I have now married and started a family, which seems to have given me a much-improved ability to empathize with others.
2) I have now completed university (and then some) and am a much better critical thinker than I used to be
3) I am experienced enough now to know that blind faith in any politician is simple stupidity, as they are just as weak and fallable as the rest of us. Therefore, I want government to play as little of a role in my life as possible.

As for the future, who knows? I know than given the evolution of my views over the first 35 years of my life, it would be silly for me to assume that I won't continue to change or modify my beliefs as I continue to gain life experience.

I think anybody who has decided they have evolved all they need to and sets their views in stone needs to do a little more thinking. Otherwise, there will be a lot in life they will miss out on.

[Aenlic]

I do not sit on my porch and stagnate! I sit on my porch wearing a wife-beater, yellow and green plaid shorts, black knee-high socks with garters, and sandals while sipping iced tea and yelling, "Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!"

[bmolsson]

When I was young, all those old farts only interferred with my life and kept all the resources I needed away from me.
Now when I am old, all those young irresponsible, immoral hippies only spend their times to cheat me of my hard earned money and live in sin and never make a good days job.......
So I don't change, by the bloody society does.....

[ah_dut]

I think I've changed considerably. Let's just say my views are by no means fully developed and people WILL change whatever you think (even if only a little)

Most people start off life with a belief in some type of deity which will make everything alright, I did.

Now, I am less sure. While I think there is something beyond the curtain (so to speak,) I am not sure what it is anymore.

I guess I have always been pretty whacked up inside and relatively partisan at that. As such, I guess my view mirror goofball's in many ways. I don't like spending money (parental legacy that may well last a lifetime.) but really, people suffering generally doesn't do any good.

So I'm an economic conservative and social liberal. But not all that much either side so I'd say I'm vaugely moderate

[Paul Peru]

I was told about Jesus etc. when I was a kid, and believed most of what was presented as truths from authorities such as teachers until I was a teenager.

Then, until I was 18, I was some kind of agnostic.
After that I started reading and thinking a great deal.

My pacifism has grown stronger lately.

I like kids better. And babies, luckily, as I've got one coming.

Whereas women are concerned, I've always been quite...fond of women, but lately I find that I'm much more opposed to all kinds of treating women as objects.

My view on whether Norway should join the EU has changed twice, but that has been because of external changes, not my maturity.

Other than that it's much the same, I think.

me, 33