Seems to me I was much more favorable towards capital punishment many years ago. I *still* think some kinds of deeds can't be recovered from, but I'm now quite convinced that our society, specifically our judicial system, can't reliably identify people who have committed those deeds, so.

I was a lot more moderate about gun rights 30 years ago. Probably, without having thought about it much, even thought that restricting access was mostly a good idea. Over time, it became more and more apparent that restricting access didn't work, and if you somehow magically succeeded in restricting access, you'd just reduce all the thugs to clubs and knives -- putting most people *even more* at their mercy.

I was a lot more favorably inclined towards government-run safety nets 30 years ago. The more I watch and think, the more it seems to me that people factor the lowered risk into their calculations, just like with anti-lock brakes, thus making the price pretty much unbounded. Also, the government uses such things as an opportunity to intrude in lots of unexpected ways into people's lives, and puts small-minded controlling bureaucrats firmly in charge of a growing underclass. I have moved more and more towards thinking the government is not my friend and not to be trusted, let alone relied upon.