Okay, so I wouldn't vote for Mitt Romney anyway. But I don't see anything wrong with flip-flopping, per se. Perhaps people are really implying that the real issue is that Romney (or anyone of his ilk) claims that his views are in accord with whatever constituency is most advantageous to him at the moment, counter to his genuine beliefs. That's a valid complaint, but that's not flip-flopping. That's just plain dishonesty.
True flip-flopping, on the other hand should be encouraged. I've flip-flopped on a lot of views in the last 5-10 years, and I think that I'm a better person for it. In contrast, the person you should worry about is the staunch ideologue, the individual who refuses to change his/her mind even when the evidence demands it.
Indeed, in the course of my life, I have found that one of the most reliable predictors of a person's intelligence and thoughtfulness is the willingness to change his/her mind. I'm not sure why that is, but I recognize it all the time. But for some reason, as a society, we place a higher value on obstinately sticking to your guns, even when you might be wrong. And the highest value of all? That's "faith," of course, which is blindly believing in something without a shred of evidence whatsoever. In fact, the less evidence there is, the more laudable the faith!
But thank god for the flip-floppers; the ones who had the courage to flip-flop on slavery, women's rights, and animal welfare.
2 comments:
really? slavery, women's rights, and animal welfare? that's what you went with?
anyway, i'll agree with you to the extent that the populist is worse than the flip-flopper, as you defined it.
but i think what people really mean (or really SHOULD mean) when they say flip-flopper is someone who vacillates and REGULARLY changes his/her opinion on important issues. we hate it because it's like being a fair weather fan (which is one of the seven deadly sins) or like being a duke fan.
plus flip flops make that insufferable noise when you walk.
but what you would you know about it all, freakin flip-flopper.
:D
Point taken, I actually haven't researched Romney enough to know either way. I just heard he'd switched his position on global warming, which didn't seem so unreasonable.
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