Our political culture has many problems, but a big one is an unwillingness to admit when one has been wrong…and we’re seeing that happen big time among many right now as they double down on defending things they know are wrong (e.g. the myth of widespread election fraud, Qanon, or arguing it was Antifa who invaded the Capitol, etc).
Thus, in an attempt to try to normalize the practice of publicly admitting past mistakes, here is a (partial) list of political views that I once held that I now believe I was wrong about. If you’re willing, I encourage you to publicly share your own list (only if it’s humble and sincere; snarky confessions don’t count!).
PS-this isn’t a space to disagree and to try to argue that my former views actually were correct; my point is to promote the idea that people can, and should, be willing to publicly change their minds when faced with the evidence, and that to do so is not shameful or “weak”.
1. I was wrong to have supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which I mistakenly thought would swiftly bring peace and democracy to that nation. I am grateful for Mr. Losee who patiently engaged in letters back and forth explaining why he, a Vietnam veteran, thought an invasion of Iraq would be a mistake. He was right, and I was wrong.
2. I was wrong in 8th grade to argue that affirmative action policies were fundamentally unfair; I now believe that they are one of many tools to try to correct an unfair past and build a better, more just future.
3. I was wrong to think in 2008 that Obama’s election would lead to an increase of abortion overall and a legalization of “partial-birth” abortion. Neither of those things happened, and in fact, the abortion rate dropped to record lows during Obama’s time in office.
4. I was wrong to think that the Occupy Wall Street movement would lead to any major or systemic change. As massive as that movement seemed in 2011, looking back 10 years later I don’t think it produced any tangible results.
5. On a similar note, I admit I was overly enthusiastic regarding the 2011 Arab Spring. I thought that popular movements would swiftly topple dictatorships across the Middle East, but what we’ve seen in Syria, Libya, and other nations is overall pretty messy.
6. I was wrong to believe that Donald Trump would get the United States into a new foreign war. While I do think we had some close calls, and I would be worried if he had been re-elected, the fact is that he has (almost) completed his four years in office without starting an additional war.
7. I was wrong to expect that demographic changes would make Democratic electoral dominance inevitable. Instead, as was proven this November by conservative vote shifts in Florida, Texas, and many other places, one cannot assume that urban residents and ethnic minority voters are an automatic lock for Democrats.
8. I was wrong to think that Facebook, Twitter, and other large social media corporations could adequately govern their own spaces without government regulation. The profit motive is far too enticing to promote a healthy ecosystem, and I now think the government should take steps to break them up, regulate them better, and/or somehow ensure that these platforms are not fundamentally harming our society via fake news, extremist groups, and polarization.
Again, this isn’t an exhaustive list of political topics I have been wrong about, but these are some of the big ones that come to mind. May all of us, and especially our political leaders, be willing to admit when we were wrong–and commit to doing better.