What is the most embarrassing political belief you used to hold but no longer do?

[Christian Liberty]

That Dems were anti-war. Luckily I found Ron Paul. After spending several years on a liberal message forum I found out libs will justify anything their leaders do and are some of the most hateful people to debate with not to mention incredibly naive about economics. I'm not sure the GOP understands how badly Dems hate them.

The liberals think the Democrats are a right wing party

 

[Anti Federalist]

However, it's been 20 years now, that I have fully understood that government has declared War on Us.

Waco.

 

[Thor]

Easy answer for me, I used to think republicans were for small government.

I used to believe that the GOP was predominantly good guys with a few bad apples, and the Dems were predominantly either stupid or evil with a few moderates that were decent. Now, I know that they are all rotten and it is simply a matter of degree. There are a few with good intentions, and among them 95% are either shaky in principle or too easily turned to the dark side. Most people in politics have absolutely terrible intentions, only caring about amassing power no matter what it takes or the price paid.

Ding Ding Ding... My answer(s) as well.

 

[pcosmar]

I believed a lot of dumb stuff I was taught in school. Free country,, representative government,,
All despite evidence to the contrary. And the fact that I was on Parole, so My Freedom was limited,, and I accepted that.

I got a Computer in 2003,, before that my only source for info was the MSM. In 2005 My Parole ended.
in 2006 I got a Boot to the Head,, and went searching for the lost freedom.
Found Ron Paul in my searching,, and wound up here.

 

[RockEnds]

I once believed my generation would do a better job. Holy cow, I called that one wrong.

 

[klamath]

That people overall were antiwar. That people could not turn off their emotions toward killing as quick as they do or how quickly they can invent justifiers for why THEIR war is just. That is the sad conclusion I come to from spending so much time on a "supposed" antiwar forum.

 

[seyferjm]

Supporting the wars....ugh.

 

[brandon]

I've had so many that nowadays I try not to take a hardline stance on anything. Usually issues aren't black and white, and having a fanatical opinion in either direction has potential for embarrassment.

Just so you all can laugh at me, there was a time in my teens that I marched in support of Mumia. lol

 

[brandon]

I used to believe that the GOP was predominantly good guys with a few bad apples, and the Dems were predominantly either stupid or evil with a few moderates that were decent.

I had the exact opposite opinion 10 years ago

 

[ClydeCoulter]

I wasn't involved with politics at all. I was taught and believed that god was in control of everything, so just keep working on your inner beast and leave those higher minded things to god and those that he puts into power. I believed that wars and prisons were for sinners, so don't sin, that the PTB were put into place to do gods work of punishing the rebellious.

In 2007/8 I heard Ron Paul in the debates and around the same time found devastating evidence (to me) of the corruption of the bible. It was a really hard road at that point to continue to live, but I made it, so far, and am trying to make sense of it all (mankind and the future).

 

[FSP-Rebel]

I spent all my younger years playing various sports and so I spent a lot of time with my dad traveling to and from. He always listened to talk radio so I'd try to follow along starting at about age 8 and he'd often turn the radio down and go on constitutional rants after getting pissed at the topic the host was talking about. He was a JBS kind of guy so I was reading the The New American every month cover to cover and by the time I was 13 I was a dues paying LP member. I'd often read the monthly LP newspaper and see things about this republican named Ron Paul who was prior LP so I had been aware of him and realized he was a good guy. I finally stopped with the LP early in my twenties as my main focus became the FSP. Then Ron ran for prez on the GOP ticket and started his restore the GOP concept at the Rally for the Republic whilst unveiling the Campaign for Liberty and this is what I've been up to ever since.

 

[Sola_Fide]

Cool. I can see that actually.

What did they tell you?

Gordon Clark taught me that Van Til had an irrational view of the Trinity (that God was one Person and three Persons at the same time). Also he taught me that consistent presuppositionalism was fideism.

John Robbins taught me that Reconstructionism was repackaged Romanism, and that is was the gospel that positively changed cultures, not law.

 

[Anti Federalist]

That people overall were antiwar. That people could not turn off their emotions toward killing as quick as they do or how quickly they can invent justifiers for why THEIR war is just. That is the sad conclusion I come to from spending so much time on a "supposed" antiwar forum.

Upon reflection, you have a point.

My stance would be considered in line with Peter King's stance on IRA violence and "collateral damage", an unenviable position to say the least, and it has been a bone of contention between us for years now.

That said, like Doc Hollliday in "Tombstone", my hypocrisy goes only so far.

I'm not going to make a "pro terrorism" statement on behalf of the IRA, and then turn my country into an open air prison in order to "combat" Islamic terrorism.

Regardless, there comes a time to fight in any case, when the political and moral questions go out the window and it's a matter of survival.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I used to believe that WW2 helped us recover from the Great Depression. In fact it delayed our recovery. It did, however, give us a leg up to global economic superpower mostly because every other world power industry was destroyed. Still, I had swallowed the false Keynesian trope that WW2 took us out of the Depression.

In 2003 I opposed Iraq and kinda didn't so much oppose Afghanistan (didn't really support it either, didn't know Ron Paul but I was upset we were fighting without a declaration). That much was not embarrassing, it was a pretty good position all things considered, but that leads to the fact that I thought that we historically only used our military for genuine needs and that Korea and Vietnam were aberrations or exceptions to that rule. I KNEW of exceptions like Iran-Contra, but had no idea about the Shah. Of course the reality was that Korea and Vietnam were the norm, going all the way back to the 1840's. I know it now but didn't know it then. I did not know how horribly interventionist we'd really been since the Civil War.

What else? Oh yeah, lesser of two evils. In the 2000 GOP Primary, I was unaffiliated but voted for Alan Keyes because he was the only one talking about the Constitution. McCain was my second choice because I didn't know any better, and I hated Bush. BUT I voted for Bush in the 2000 General because I swallowed the lesser of two evils trope.

 

[LibertyEagle]

I used to support the Vietnam War. Now, I feel ignorant even saying that. Such a racket and such a waste. I also used to think that the Equal Rights Movement was truly about equal rights and that the whole hippie age sprung from the grassroots. Then, I found out that they, just like the environmental movement, were created to herd us into destroying our own liberty.

 

[Cleaner44]

I used to think democracy was a good thing. I did not grow up with much influence so I was pretty much a clean slate. My impressions in high school during the mid 80s was that Republicans were for corporations and that Democrats were for the little guy. I didn't think very deeply about much at first but I thought the debt that Reagan was running up was bad and that Iran Contra was proving that politicians were corrupt.

I thought that schools could be used for good because I wanted people to make informed decisions, so I thought the government and schools could solve problems like teen pregnancy through education. I thought the state was a force for good.

Inherently I did not trust what Republicans said because it was obvious they were full of shit and anti-personal freedom... that resulted in me trusting team Democrat. I started seeing through their bullshit when they would talk about money. They would obviously lie and pretend that paying less taxes was a gift from the government. I then started to see that they were anti-economic freedom. This resulted in me briefly giving team Republican a chance. That didn't last long.

I realized that I didn't fit on either fucked up team and was disgusted that they were both corrupt. It was discovering Michael Badnarik's Constitution classes in 2003 or 2004 that showed me that there was a name to what I believed... libertarian.

I would say that from 1985 to 2000 I foolishly bought two party system bullshit. The 2000 election was the first time I missed voting and I never did decide if I would vote Gore or Bush. Actually during the 2000 primary I was rooting for McCain and thought that he was a good centrist and that was what we needed, a moderate centrist instead of the extreme party dicks. That might be my most embarrassing political belief I used to hold.

 

[JK/SEA]

i was pro-choice with regards to abortion. And then i discovered Ron Paul.

It was like a crystal bullet hitting my fore head. I concluded that as someone who has always been against the death penalty, and un-declared wars , it was only a small step to conclude abortion is murder.

btw, in case it wasn't apparent, i am 61 years young. Survived the 60's....by the skin of my teeth

 

[compromise]

I supported invading Cuba.

I used to think Cuba was a great place due to the free healthcare.

 

[mczerone]

I remember being a teen thinking about my views, and coming to the realization that I might be an "anarchist" (because I valued freedom and I couldn't find any area in life where govt action could be objectively good).

I immediately shunted that thought. "No, I'm not an anarchist. That's just absurd." No further rational thought, just an immediate recoil from a term I had only heard in a negative context from the very people I disagreed with on most issues I ever actually considered.

How far ahead I could have been if I didn't waste the next ten years trying to find a space in the fringes of the political system (voting for Nader, Badnarik, generally engaging problems as a central planner trying to fix things with a single grand solution). I should have just used this new tool (at the time) of the internet to find the Austrian Economists, Ron Paul, and the actual history of stateless philosophies rather than run in fear from a socially stigmatized label.

Ultimately, I don't have any specific issues I've regretted taking a stance on. Because I don't jump into positions.

I remember when I was first working and there was talk of a minimum wage increase. I didn't immediately say "Well, that's good" or "Well, that's bad." I remember saying to myself "What are the implications of a minimum wage increase, does it really do what they claim, and is it really worth it?" So I did my own thought experiments, I did my own math, and I did my own research.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I realized that I didn't fit on either fucked up team and was disgusted that they were both corrupt. It was discovering Michael Badnarik's Constitution classes in 2003 or 2004 that showed me that there was a name to what I believed... libertarian.

I may not have had a name for it, but I grew up on Robert Heinlein, so I believed in liberty from the start. A stroke of luck probably.