Doulos' comment in another thread reminded me of something I've been considering posting on and off for the last year or so.  Some of us have been part of this discussion forum for a long, long time.  I know my first posts here were well over 10 years ago, and I know at least Katisara and Heath were here before me.  Since we haven't been chatting as much the last couple years, I've often wondered if any one has changed their views on some of the things we discussed several years back.  Some things I wonder:

- Does Heath still think anthropogenic climate change is a hoax?

- Has Katisara's views on gun control changed at all?

- Does anyone still believe that republicans are fiscally conservative when they're in power?

- Is sciencemile still a gamer-gater?

- has anyone changed religion or political leanings?

- Does Heath still think gay marriage should be illegal?

How 'bout the rest of you?  Anything you're wondering about who/hasn't changed their views about something?  Anyone had any relevations/satori/etc., the last few years?

Wish there was a way to see past history easily so I could see the dumbass stuff I said.

It's hard to see subtle changes in my own views on things, without (as Doulos said) finding collections of my old posts and reading through them. So only a few things stand out to me, because I remember when I changed my mind on them.

- I no longer believe the Confederate Flag is a neutral symbol of southern pride, but that it's instead a pro-slavery symbol.

- I no longer accept the Democratic Party as a better choice than the Republican Party. This isn't to say I like the Republican Party. After the failure of Obama to be any different than Bush and the DNC picking more of the same with Clinton (instead of the radically different, dynamic alternate candidate), I don't want to vote for them anymore. So I changed allegiance and 'threw my vote away' for a third party.

- A closer reading of the parts of Genesis about Abraham leads me to believe it's more corrupted than I used to believe, and it's unlikely we can trust its accounts of where Abraham was and when.

I've definitely been floating further from Christianity. Initially I expected there would be some sort of... discord or malaise from declining faith. In practice, it just means more time to get stuff done on Sunday, and a little guilt when I visit my parents. I've considered going back to church just to cut some time out for quiet reflection (and Pope Francis has been a positive influence, seeing the Church shift more towards caring from the poor and away from legislating morality for the world). But my chores list is still so long, it's not really something I can consider.

My views on gun control have gotten more nebulous. I don't know that state-by-state legislation can be effective, because of how easy transporting guns is. I do still believe in empowering people, including through firearms, and I continue to believe handguns aren't a very effective way of doing it. The school shootings lately have been tragic. I also recognize statistically they're negligible. My children have a greater chance of being struck by lightning. This isn't to say that black rifles shouldn't be legislated. Just that... there's a lot of emotion, and not a lot of facts, and some solid research and peer review of the topic would be good. Depending on that, I'd be more likely to shift my views.

Good stuff, all.  I agree it'd be nice to have a search function to go back and see what we'd said 10 years back...though shutter to think what we'd find! ;)

As for me, I don't feel like my views have changed too much (though I would guess they have more than I realize), but I have become more wary of some of the views being expressed by some of the political left.  I don't feel like it's so much that I've changed my views, so much as that what's considered "liberal" has changed somewhat, and there's more demands of idealogical purity than I'm happy with.

hakootoo - your comment about not thinking the democrats are any better than republicans was interesting to me, as I felt similarly back in 2000, and didn't bother voting.  But after a few years of Bush, I realized there was much more difference than I had thought.  After a year and a half of trump, do you still feel like there's no real difference?

Doulos - The thought above actually reminded me that I think you had argued for not voting (perhaps just for yourself...can't recall if you actually tried to convince others to not vote) at some point.  Do you still feel the same way about that?

Katisara - How much of your "floating further from Christianity" would you say is due to changing beliefs/views and how much is due to the long list of chores?

On the subject of not voting I have shifted from not voting, to casting a vote as a symbolic action.  I voted in my first election in many years, during the last provincial election.

I'm not certain I will vote again down the road and will probably take in on a case by case basis. I feel so incredibly disheartened by all things political (on both sides) that it feels like a wasted effort.

I do want to mention that I am desperately trying to live out the phrase 'Be kind, if not right.' I have struggled far too much (and boy do I ever still struggle with it) with needing to be right, and have had to take a step back and realize I can be a pretty big jerk because of it. I'm trying to shift from 'that guy sure has a lot to say and is pretty opinionated', to 'I enjoy spending time with that guy. good person'.

Life's too short to try and win all the arguments.

I still really suck at this though - it's tough trying to change a core piece of who you are.  I figure if I can shift from being a hard core Christian for 25+ years to an atheist, then anything is possible.

Most of my floating has been family pressures, plus just not feeling a connection at church. It just doesn't feel relevant.

There have definitely been some conversations here which have changed my mind. When I started I was pretty hard libertarian. I'd say I'm still libertarian, except I support a more equal start for each market participant; 100% inheritance tax, and free education and medical care, and guaranteed nutritional support for all children. Plus of course investment in programs which show significant returns on investment, such as pure research and infrastructure. Sooo...

Wow!  Maybe I wasn't wasting my time with all my ranting here after all! ;)

More seriously, though, these days it often seems that everyone's mind is already made up, and can't be changed, and that the differences between us all are too great to overcome.  It's nice to be reminded chatting and debating with people you don't always agree with can, sometimes, change minds to one degree or another...even if it takes years to realize it!

The people who come to these forums usually have pretty strong opinions already and want someone to air them with. For myself, I came to sharpen debate skills, as well as to better understand and appreciate viewpoints other than my own (even if I don't agree with them). If my own views improve as well that's nice, but not expected. So I'd say I definitely got out what I expected.

Nobody asked about me, but I'd dropped off for a bit so I'm just going to assume and toss in a few:

I'm now slightly left-leaning as opposed to right, favoring a few more gun-control measures.

The Confederate statues can go, as can the Confederate flag. When all of that started I saw them as harmless representations of a bygone age that some folk, for some reason, took pride in. I no longer hold that stance.

I'm pro-abortion. There are too many people on this planet, and I don't like most of them.

I don't like religion as an organized thing half as much as I used to. I'm going to just blame living in the south for a long stretch to be the cause of that.

Looking back on my writing and opinions feels like I'm reading about an entirely different person.

Oh boy I can relate to that!  Just think about what we will think about our today selves in another 10-20 years :)