<p>GH,</p>
<p>Good point about non linear... </p>
<p>The difficulty is that some political issues do feel incredibly personal. For example, abortion. Both sides take this very personally, because it is personal. 'Federal reserve monetary policy' will never inflame most people on such a gut level! (apologies to policy wonks!)</p>
<p>Predicition: everyone's views (including yours) will evolve. As grown up realities come home to roost, many opinions will change (in both directions.) </p>
<p>The problem at age 20 is most people have not had their views tested very much by life. They are newly minted, abstract, philosophical views. They are a 'first stab.' </p>
<p>Abortion feels different once you have borne a child. You may still be pro-choice, but the tragedy of an abortion is much more real when you have grieved an early miscarriage... Issues like defecit spending to feel really different when you are the head of a household charged with steering a responsible financial course. The "Clear Skies Initiative" will be seen very differently by parents of asthmatic toddlers thinking about yet-unborn grandchildren who will be breathing that air. </p>
<p>So if one lives in the real world and thinks, one's core philosophical views will be modified by pragmatism and life experience-- and the flip sides of each political coin will be more fully understood. </p>
<p>This allows me to have satisfying friendships, in adulthood, with people who vote differently and believe differently. On certain issues I still think they are WRONG!! But I better understand their reasoning and the honest path by which they have arrived at their conclusions, because these same shaping forces have acted on me, albeit differently. </p>
<p>I think it was F Scott Fitzgerald (?) who said that "true heroism is the ability to hold two opposing ideas together in one's mind-- and still act."</p>