Have you ever been conservative, or have your views ever changed?

[Alceste]

She was picking her daughter up from gymnastics, her 10-year old.

He, a convicted sex offender, took his tracking anklet off at home somehow.

He raped the daughter and killed the mother. And was only caught because they caught him running away through the woods back toward his home.

Wouldn't life in prison be just as effective as the death penalty? Not to mention cheaper for the taxpayer?

Killing the perpetrator will not bring the victim back to life.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

When I reached the age of reason I was a conservative Republican by default. It wasn't until after I had considered religion carefully, and then abandoned it, that I began to consider politics carefully.

In the first election in which I was eligible to vote, I voted for George W. Bush against John Kerry. In fact I defended him on this forum, against an army of liberal RFers! One of many things which prompted me to abandon my former political leanings and start afresh was the conclusive demonstration that there were no WMD in Iraq. The philosophical principles I embraced previously, in my rejection of religion, lead me in a politically liberal direction.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

She was picking her daughter up from gymnastics, her 10-year old.

He, a convicted sex offender, took his tracking anklet off at home somehow.

He raped the daughter and killed the mother. And was only caught because they caught him running away through the woods back toward his home.

If it's any consolation, death is an escape from the way those who abuse children are treated in prison. Life in prison for him is to be raped himself many times over for the rest of his life. If he angered you enough to want the death penalty, be assured that even a year is prison will be an eternity in hell.

 

[lunamoth]

If it's any consolation, death is an escape from the way those who abuse children are treated in prison. Life in prison for him is to be raped himself many times over for the rest of his life. If he angered you enough to want the death penalty, be assured that even a year is prison will be an eternity in hell.

I find nothing good in that. I do not agree with torture, and I hope all those ideas about hell and eternal suffering are as imaginary as I think they are. I would not wish that on anyone, but he should be killed for his actions.

 

[Alceste]

I find nothing good in that. I do not agree with torture, and I hope all those ideas about hell and eternal suffering are as imaginary as I think they are. I would not wish that on anyone, but he should be killed for his actions.

They could just take him off suicide watch.

 

[Reverend Rick]

They could just take him off suicide watch.

Being practical are we?

This is a respectful question.

 

[Alceste]

Being practical are we?

This is a respectful question.

Yes, I'm a pragmatic person. I wouldn't have that guy on suicide watch, personally. I wouldn't kill him myself though unless he asked me to.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yes, I'm a pragmatic person. I wouldn't have that guy on suicide watch, personally. I wouldn't kill him myself though unless he asked me to.

To let someone like that die on their own terms is really all you can give them. Executions are costly, solve nothing, and put far too many innocent people to death. A life in prison without suicide watch may be an unusual, yet although the while humane sentencing. They do pay for their crimes, but yet they are allowed to die when they are ready to.
That may not be such a bad thing for people you really don't want to risk getting back out, there is no risk of innocents being put to death, and what should be the right of anyone, to end their life when they see fit, is granted. It's also an honest admission from the court that life in prison will be very difficult for such a person.

 

[Alceste]

To let someone like that die on their own terms is really all you can give them. Executions are costly, solve nothing, and put far too many innocent people to death. A life in prison without suicide watch may be an unusual, yet although the while humane sentencing. They do pay for their crimes, but yet they are allowed to die when they are ready to.
That may not be such a bad thing for people you really don't want to risk getting back out, there is no risk of innocents being put to death, and what should be the right of anyone, to end their life when they see fit, is granted. It's also an honest admission from the court that life in prison will be very difficult for such a person.

In this particular case, he's already been beaten by fellow inmates. He's small and deformed. He won't last long. I think suicide is a reasonable choice in his situation. If he wants that, I don't see any reason not to help him out. If he'd rather have life in prison, then fine. He should never be allowed out though - he is too dangerous.

 

[Jupimartian]

Raised a Republican, but I live in a left-wing area and was exposed to some left-wing media. Since my teens I've become increasingly progressive as I learn about oppression.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

I grew up in the bible belt in an insanely christian family and was pretty much indoctrinated into the faith. I don't really remember any specific time that I changed my views but just slowly over time I realized that I was a liberal by nature. I began to question all of the values I have and was exposed to alternative ways of thinking and sort of realized that I felt leaning liberal pattern in what I internalized as "My views"

 

[Penumbra]

I mostly grew up with my single father, who has always been fiscally and socially moderate Republican. The first time he voted, he voted for Eisenhower's second term as president.

When I was a kid, I didn't follow politics much and figured I was the same, a moderate, and someone who should register as a Republican. I quickly realized how liberal I was when I did research in my late teens, though. So I guess it could be said that I quickly moved in the liberal direction when I became involved in politics to any extent.

My father in the last few years became more liberal in his seventies. According to him, he hadn't changed much at all, but just realized how far to the right everything shifted, so that his moderate views were now considered Democrat, or left of Democrat. He voted for Obama in his second term, and other Democrats, and didn't view them as quite liberal enough either. He was for progressive taxation, government support of healthcare, government support of education, gay rights, women's rights, freedom of speech and religion, protection of the environment, legalization of marijuana, staying out of most wars, etc. He became pretty vocal about it, and debated his son a lot as well, because he was more liberal than his son who works to produce weapons.

 

[bookwormlady]

Yes, when I was Catholic I considered myself a Conservative (Conservative Party of Canada), as well as a list of other things. I even went as far as joining the party and carrying a card for a while! I'd say that I wasn't in that camp for too long, though - maybe a few years, at best. I've been liberal (small l) in my thinking for several years now - the world just seems to have way too many shades of grey to see everything in black and white!

 

[Juanita]

I have always been a Liberal--not to say that I haven't voted for a very few Republicans through the years---but went from a bleeding heart liberal to a far left Progressive on most issues...

 

[Heim]

I consider myself to be a centrist. At the moment I am a member of (and vote for) a centre-right party. I am also very much a supporter of the social liberal movement.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

My family were hardly political at all.
I became a fairly extreme liberal in all things as a young teen.
I have remained that way.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

On the question of the death Penalty...
I am firmly against it.
Every year we see examples of people convicted and later found innocent of what used to be capital offences.
If it means that some innocent people can be freed and some certainly guilty ones only imprisoned so be it.
However I do not see either the corrective or punishment factor in execution.

 

[EyeofOdin]

I grew up in Texas, and in this town outside of Austin which ironically was one of the most conservative towns in Texas, so naturally my views were shifted a bit because I was always hearing "Republican! Republican! Ronald Reagan! Republican!" but I was always very liberal and very open minded considering my upbringing. I wasn't always pro cannabis legalization or pro choice, but I wasn't con either because I wasn't educated in those fields and I didn't want to develop and opinion on them until I was well educated enough to have a valid opinion.

 

[Underhill]

I still am in some ways. I too grew up in a bible thumping household but I find that extreme distasteful as I get older. I now find that on some things I am somewhat conservative (death penalty, gun laws etc...) and on other fronts I am definitely considered liberal (Gay rights, single payer health care etc...).

The odd part for me to sometimes reconcile is that among those I work with, I am the most liberal person they know. It's an extremely conservative area. But among the general populace I consider myself a left leaning centrist.

 

[nazz]

I used to be very conservative in the past. Both in a religious sense and in a social sense. I believed people should get married to have relations, that abortion is wrong, that nearly everything is a sin. I had a very strict, conservative upbringing. In fact when I was a child in middle school, my siblings and I, we were not even allowed to listen to popular music in the house, had to be home by a certain times, and many other restrictions.

I also had what are considered for my country very conservative political views on the economy and foreign policy.

However today I'm actually quite liberal and I am a firm believer in the western idea of progressivism.

You must have gone to the same church as me!

Even when I was religiously conservative I was still pretty liberal in my political views but I did maintain some conservative ideas when it came to issues like abortion and gay rights.