Changing or even just modifying one's beliefs is how we all grow as humans. None of us is born omniscient or all-knowing, so realizing that certain previously-held ideas may be off (especially those forged in our innocent youth) is actually a sign of strength, not weakness. I'm a vegetarian with no interest in hunting, but I have no qualms with those who choose to do so.

Diane Ravitch merely saw a way to continue making money after the Bush administration left. It's all about money for her. Anybody who listens to her is an idiot.

Hunting to eat the meat is fine. Hunting for a trophy sucks. Bear hunters who want a rug... I always hope they get mauled.

In my opinion, going through public education system through the 1970’s -80’s I observe that we were taught improperly about the nature of hunting in America. Honestly, what did we learn about the Bison/Buffalo in school? We learned that they were one of several species of animals “hunted” to near extinction. Hunting was taught time and again as the CAUSE of wide spread elimination of certain animals. We even hear in the news of “hunters” illegally killing far more deer than they are legally allowed. We the name for that behavior is not hunting it is called poaching which is actually theft. We should be taught that Bison and other animals were wiped out by settlers and business people simply to make a profit. The current day concept of hunting was instituted by Teddy Rossevelt’s and his friends and they put in place limits on how much game could be take, seasons for hunting, and rules against selling wild animals for food counteract the very real observation that animals were treated as a limitless resource.
Rob Smigielski

A very thoughtful, well-written article. One of the best I've read in the Patch.

"So my question is this: When was the last time you changed your mind about an issue? Or let new evidence moderate your views? ":

Margie, my opinion will never change. No matter what you ask or say in your articles there will be a lot of comments that have nothing to do with your article. Most if not all of the comments will go off in all different directions. And most will be motivated by some very strong political belief of the author of the comments.

Nothing personal against you, just an observation of mine.

Margie, you were not entirely wrong. One of the few things I have enjoyed about growing older is gaining the ability/willingness to see the other side and adjust my opinions accordingly. That being said I don't think I've ever done a complete 180 but rather settled on the belief that the truth, no matter how muddy, is somewhere in the middle. Your use of deer hunting is a perfect example in that your argument that it is "more moral" to harvest a surplus of deer to put food on the table instead of promoting the horrific state of affairs that we find ourselves in regarding factory farming is in miy opinion spot on. However the photo you use to accent your article represents something all together different. (And I mean no offense to the person in the photo. I do not know him or his situation) Walt is right and I don't want to turn this into a debate over deer hunting (actually I do but I won't) but I have been arguing this particular subject from both sides for forty years and if nothing else I've learned that there is no clear cut right or wrong side of the argument but when we are all willing to "change our mind" even just a little we get a lot closer to the truth.

I think a person's viewpoints resemble a lump of clay. When they are young, their viewpoints are molded easily, possibly changing many times in their young years. As a person gets older, their opinions on issues solidify based on their experiences-just like the way clay hardens. Eventually you reach a point where you are quite set in your ways, and just like a solid dried piece of clay, there isn't much you can do to change it.

I have seen my viewpoints change over the course of my life. When I was a teenager (early 90's), I was quite liberal on most issues. As I reached my 20's, my views started moving to the right, most notably when it comes to gay issues and abortion. When I found out that a few people I know had some negative experiences with homosexuality, and seeing the things you never hear about in the media, it really opened my eyes to the dark side of it. As for abortion, I just kinda sat on the fence until my son was born. Once that happened, I became what I would term "Pro-Child". I still hold a couple of liberal stands, such as on the environment, but my pendulum has swung to the right and has stayed there for a good number of years.

Thank you, Jaded1, for the kind words and to everybody who took the time to comment. Walt, as far as comments go, I think some of these are very much to the point. But I agree that isn't always the case. Years ago I wrote a column that discussed some parenting issue and made the mistake of using the cliche "Everything else is basket weaving." I found out in no time how many basket weavers I had ticked off. More recently in a column on the PSSAs, I was essentially called an elitist by one commenter and a champion of mediocrity by another for the same column. It comes with the territory.