Adapting to a constantly changing world

I am an 85-year-old moderate Republican. Appalled by the ability of the United Mine Workers and the Teamsters’ abilities to bring the nation to a grinding halt, I have been a Republican since long before I was old enough to vote. Today I remain a Republican solely in the hope of finding a primary candidate who wishes to bring the party back to what it once was.

One of the “crimes” that today’s so-called Republicans ascribe to their opponents is flip-flopping. I’ve always thought that thinking about a problem and deciding that you were wrong, or that circumstances have changed, or that an idea’s time has come, was a sign of intelligence. Rigidity is hardly an asset in a rapidly changing world.

I have gradually rethought many positions that I held when I was younger. For example, I now believe that contraception and abortion have more good than evil aspects. This is not through a lack of compassion. After long and agonizing self examination I concluded that being born unloved and unwanted into a family that will ignore or abuse me is worse than not being born at all. Since I have no interest in running for office this flip-flop is simply a personal idiosyncrasy. If I was seeking election, my change of mind would be trumpeted over every television station in the area in which I was running.

Public opinion regarding subjects like medical marijuana and gay marriage has drastically changed in recent years. Public opinion on the “boots on the ground” question is changing even as I write. To all those members of the electorate whose thoughts about any subject have changed, or are currently changing, I ask voters to think about whether they really want a government run by people who are too rigid to adapt to a world that is in constant flux.

This story was originally published October 8, 2014 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Adapting to a constantly changing world."