Speaking rather generally, young people tend to be more liberal while older people tend to be more conservative. Why is that? Do people just become more conservative when they age or something?
Well, over time we've seen the country (and, I guess, most countries out there) become more liberal. By that I mean the U.S. (and most of the rest of the world) has gradually been achieving progressive goals as time goes on; in 1863 Lincoln proclaimed all the slaves of the South free, in 1935 Social Security became the country's first national welfare program, in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" unconstitutional, and in 2013 DOMA was effectively overturned, to name some examples.
So what was considered liberal, say, 60 years ago is probably now considered conservative. Even the very conservative folks of today would have seemed liberal and progressive at some point in the past. Maybe, rather than shifting to more conservative positions with age, people continue to hold the same positions but appear to become more conservative as the country around them becomes more progressive. A young liberal today may see his or her progressive goals reached soon, but will watch as the country gradually goes further than his or her objectives into territory that now makes him or her appear conservative.
So while I think people may become more conservative with age relative to society, they themselves are not shifting to more conservative positions.
Well, over time we've seen the country (and, I guess, most countries out there) become more liberal. By that I mean the U.S. (and most of the rest of the world) has gradually been achieving progressive goals as time goes on; in 1863 Lincoln proclaimed all the slaves of the South free, in 1935 Social Security became the country's first national welfare program, in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" unconstitutional, and in 2013 DOMA was effectively overturned, to name some examples.
So what was considered liberal, say, 60 years ago is probably now considered conservative. Even the very conservative folks of today would have seemed liberal and progressive at some point in the past. Maybe, rather than shifting to more conservative positions with age, people continue to hold the same positions but appear to become more conservative as the country around them becomes more progressive. A young liberal today may see his or her progressive goals reached soon, but will watch as the country gradually goes further than his or her objectives into territory that now makes him or her appear conservative.
So while I think people may become more conservative with age relative to society, they themselves are not shifting to more conservative positions.
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