Why Is Flip-flopping a Sin?
Some of the blog’s posting about Cindy Sheehan have got me thinking about something that bugged the shit out of me last year (about this time too): When did it become a sin to change your mind?
I mean, the Republicans spent a lot of time calling John Kerry a “flip-flopper” and having little rallies outside Kerry’s campaign stops where they all held up actual flip-flops and waved them in the air like good little bots. There was a lot of talk about how John Kerry supported the war in Iraq and had “flip-flopped” and how we can’t trust a man who doesn’t stick with his convictions.
There’s talk now about how Cindy Sheehan said or thought one thing when she and her husband met with President Bush last year and that it was completely different from what she’s saying now. The Republicans and their followers seem to think this is a horrendous crime.
In both of those examples, what the Republicans don’t want the public to realize is that both people made up their minds originally with one set of data at their disposal and as time past, new data was uncovered and this caused them to rethink their stands on things.
I certainly don’t see anything wrong with changing your mind in light of new information and facts. I don’t think we should stubbornly stick to our original belief until our dying day despite any conflicting evidence.
If I’d done that I’d still believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, aliens, the Boogeyman and other make-believe creatures from my childhood. I’d probably still believe that Capital Punishment is wrong (now I’m undecided). I’d believe that aliens crashed at Roswell. I’d believe that as a woman, it’s my duty to get married and reproduce. I’d believe that role-playing games were the tools of Satan. I would never have been friends with PW again. I would never have dated BJ. I would never have dated JB the second time around or broken up with him again. I wouldn’t have changed my major from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Science. I would never have learned from my college experiences to open my mind and be more accepting and less judgemental (if you think I’m judgemental now… :p). Certainly I never would have believed that I could be an independent, single woman living alone and like it.
That’s a lot of mind changing, a lot of growing up, and a lot of discovery.
I imagine that Cindy Sheehan has gone through a lot of discovery this last year. I imagine that while grieving for her son, she began to question why he had to die. Bush led this country to believe that we would make the world a better place by invading Iraq and putting a stop to Sadaam’s giant hoard of weapon’s of mass destruction. The Bush Administration stirred this country up into a wild patriotic huricane and sent out sons, brothers, daughter, sisters, fathers, mothers, and friends off to war believing we were doing the right and noble thing.
But in the last year or so, even Bush and his Administration have been doing some flip-flopping. When no WMD were found, the reason we went to war changed in the rhetoric as if we were not supposed to noticed. We now are fighting for Iraq’s freedom from a tyrrant…and then little hints of things many of us long suspected began to trickle into the media — the Downing Street Memos among others.
I imagine that Cindy began to feel very angry considering her son had gone off to war thinking he was doing a noble and just thing and now the reasons were a little more hazy and tainted. I imagine that I’d change my mind too.
I imagine that’s why John Kerry changed his mind about the war. I imagine Congressmen change their minds a lot as bills and admendments come and go and change within hours.
I like to think it’s an admirable trait to change your mind when faced with new information and life’s experiences. Otherwise, what a boring carboard world we’d live in.
So, why do the Republicans think it’s such a sin? I don’t understand. I’d be happy to explore the philosophy behind it, if someone wants to explain.
Interestingly, a lot of Americans are exercising their right to change their minds. I remember when being against the war in Iraq meant being in a small minority but now polls show more than 50% of Americans think we never should have gone.
Hmmmm…some other big flip-flops:
- After years of isolationism, America decided to enter WWII.
- President Wilson originally didn’t want to give women the right to vote.
You know, I’ve always disliked those tacky little shoes, but I might go out tonight and buy a pair of flip-flops…just on principle.
Tags: flip-flopping, John Kerry, Cindy Sheehan, George W. Bush, Republicans, politics
