Opinion changing? - 3 comments
Eric asks if anyone out there, for example: us lot, are willing to admit they have changed their opinions on a specific issue, or changed their more general political stance on a more global scale, because of what they have come across on a blog?
I don't know about "self hating", but by 2003 I certainly had bought into a kind of anti-Americanism that I now find so ridiculous when I see it expressed in the comments section of the BBC website, and before May, in the Guardian Election blog. I was fairly convinced that, with George W. Bush in charge, that was about it for Planet Earth, and that a "bloody nose" in Iraq would suit them quite nicely. Not a thought of the consequences, and barely a thought about Iraqis, just that they generally suffered anyway, and that "our" interpretation of progressive meant doing nothing that shook things up too much (though I was never a pacifist, and it was never entirely about oil for me). I think these views are still common. Anyway, that was my, very brief, Lib Dem period.
Other than that, I don't think I've changed that much. I've been for income tax and benefit reform (as opposed to progressive taxation) since about '99; have supported University funding reform (OK, "fees") and a rebalancing in favour of the most educationally disadvantaged since about '98; have opposed nationalisation since before '97; and continue to support inheritance tax at the highest possible level.
Perhaps I'll expand on these two paragraphs later. Anyone else got a story to tell?
I have a few letters and speeches on file, a few mercifully never sent or delivered, and they throw up some interesting snippets. Here's an extract from a letter I sent to my local Fareham CLP, circa February 1994, which is curiously prescient:
Just as the Tory press seemed to be doing more harm to the government [of John Major] than the official opposition, they will once again turn their fire on Labour as a party willing to do anything to win power, an argument used so effectively against the party under Mr Kinnock's leadership, and accuse them of abandoning their most loyal supporters. Already important Tory figures are welcoming Labour as the latest converts to the heartless free-market dogma of Thatcher's New Right. Now there is so little of substance left in the Labour Party, not only will new members be discouraged from joining the party, but existing members will feel increasingly disillusioned and dispirited.I think that was round about the time John Smith dropped Labour's commitment to nationalisation, which is of course a great idea in principle...
Getting off the main topic slightly, I spent about 15 minutes in Fareham City Centre a couple of Friday nights ago, for the first time in about 7 years, and a more fractured, threatening, and soulless environment it's hard to imagine. It's just the kind of thing I'd expect from a Council which no longer has any Labour representatives. Unless you regularly travel between Brighton/Hove and Southampton Central and are used to being dumped out halfway due to a fault on a preceding service, you may be able to avoid the place your entire life.
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3 comments so far...
I've only been blogging 3 months, so I've not changed on much in that time.
This discussion on the make votes count forum, has made me look at the single transferable vote (STV) in a more favourable light, though I still prefer open list proportional systems. Not much else I can think of that I've really changed my mind on, I know that is a minor issue. I've also had a few ding dong battles with Andrew at Non trivial solutions and Blimpish, which have descended into childish insults. These have been painfully frustrating experiences. I really have tried to understand their point of view, but basically have very extreme viewpoints in my opinion (and probably in a lot of other people's opinions as well). I was rather gung-ho in attacking their far right views, and at first I thought maybe I should have been more conciliatory. But having seen how other people get nowhere with them by using this conciliatory approach, I've come to the conclusion I was right all along to rubbish their idiotic views and say so in plain terms.
Of course I've changed my mind on many issues over the years before I started blogging. I used to be a Tory boy with BNP sympathies up until I entered sixth form and learned the error of my ways. (The media and a lot of my peers and relatives were quite right wing and quite a bit racist in their influence at the time.)
I can guess that Eric has found (as I have) that changing people's opinions seems virtually impossible and is probably interested in how other people have managed it.
I think although at the time some discussions seem very frustrating and unproductive, they can still have an effect on people's opinions in the long term if you have made some good points, so they are not the total waste of time they appear at the time.
In life I have had people (who vehemently opposed me at the time) come up to me and say, 'you know what you saying a few years back, you were right'. So you never know what impact you have.
The important thing is to get your voice out there. Of course the process is reciprocal, we are affected by the views out there as well, (hopefully for the better!). This free speech that blogging provides is great, because I believe it will be of benefit in getting rid of prejudices that sadly a lot of our press do little to discourage.
Hi A,
interesting post. I'm still not sure I detect much anti-Americanism in British society, however. Where was this anti-Americanism, for example, when Clinton was in power? Most people I know obsess over American TV, music, writing and - often - politics.
It seems to me, however, that most of these same people are (rightly) horrified by the moral agenda persued by the Republicans and can't believe the eagerness of New Labour to be identified with them. But that doesn't mean they're anti-American.
I'm completely anti-conservative, which is why I can be found criticising American policies at times. Equally, as a European, I'm a firm believer in the UK's ties to it's European neighbours. Again, that doesn't make me anti-American.
I think a lot of people feel the same as me, and you need to be careful about labelling frustration with a bunch of profiteering, creationist right wing fucks as anti-Americanism... :-)
Well, by "anti-Americanism", I mean hostility to their influence on the world stage: their politics and politicians, their economic system, race relations, the impact of their culture as a whole on the world, their relationship with Israel, the role of oil, the secret services, and so on. I think GWB has focussed it, but it goes back a long way.
The thing about the Republicans is that all sorts of unpleasant things were claimed to be on the cards, but we haven't seen any major assault on abortion, for example. Sure, it's hardly the kind of government we'd like to see, but it's hardly fiery crucifixes. Also, they do seem to be serious about spreading democracy. We'd say "well, of course we want to see it too, but we'd be more subtle about it", it's just that these techniques seem to have been better at setting up dictators than taking them down. It's pretty scary to imagine Iran and Zimbabwe being "sorted out", but if it worked, think how many millions would benefit. You can wait for internal reform, but that could take decades.
I can't remember who said it, but the observation that self-styled progressives are the most cynical, the most resistant to change, and the least committed to putting their (fine) principles into practice, rather struck home. If you're an anti-conservative it looks like you ought to oppose the Republican social agenda (insofar as it is forced upon people - GWB's personal views shouldn't bother us) whilst also opposing the passive John Major/Charles Kennedy position on regime change.
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