Every election season, candidates, media and voters drag up positions candidates held years ago to question candidates’ honesty. Although candidates should be scrutinized when they contradict themselves, sometimes the scrutiny goes too far.
For example, according to the Fiscal Times, in 2004 Hillary Clinton said, “I believe that marriage is not just a bond, but a sacred bond between a man and a woman.” In 2013, she said she supported marriage for lesbian and gay couples.
CNN reports that when interviewed in 1999, Donald Trump said he was pro-choice. In a 2016 interview, Trump said he’s changed his mind and is now pro-life.
I don’t know what these candidates’ true reasons are for changing sides on an issue, but attacking them for changing their position on something they said years ago doesn’t make sense.
It’s probably true that, recent or not, many of their flip-flops are politically motivated. Obviously, a politician who changes their agenda to appeal to voters should be criticized. Politicians should be honest with their voters about how they think and plan to act on different issues, and it’s not right for candidates to lie to voters so more states will turn red or blue.
However, it’s not inherently wrong for candidates to change their minds. They’re people, and people change. College students should understand this more than anybody. College students are often subjected to a range of new experiences — meeting new people, living alone, exploring new ideas —that can lead to a change in mind on any number of issues. The campus is notorious for changing the way students think about the world.
Life itself changes people’s minds, and holding candidates to a position they supported years ago is ridiculous. Openness to other points of view should be encouraged. Democracy works best when citizens are willing to listen to each other and willing to change their position on a subject. Criticizing someone for changing their mind on a position they held a decade ago doesn’t encourage people to listen to each other.
So, if Clinton didn’t support gay marriage nine years ago but supports it now, what’s the big deal? It doesn’t immediately follow that she’s being dishonest. If Trump was pro-choice 17 years ago but now says he’s pro-life, it doesn’t immediately follow that he’s lying. Although they might be changing their positions only to appeal to voters, it’s important to recognize that change does not equal deception.
As many candidates in this election and past elections have said, the U.S. needs to change. In order for that to happen, everyone needs to be allowed to change, even politicians.
