As I See It #8

Not surprisingly, I find today's decision to overturn Roe v Wade deeply disturbing.  Not surprising because if I had been commenting on this earlier in life my upset would be the same.

Which brings me to the question: How much are our opinions firmly in place long before we get old?

In my case I would say that at the most basic level, my feelings of right and wrong, what I stand for, my orientation in the world, are much the same as they were 60 or 70 years ago.  I can see a few changes.  For example, from a political point of view I am less to the left and more in the middle than when I was a young man.  But fundamentally I don't see much change.

My expectations about how things will turn out are lower now than in the past, which leads to pessimism or even cynicism.  I am more likely to be a curmudgeon.  But when I get to that place what kicks in is the realization that being a cynic doesn't help fix whatever it is that is upsetting me.  So I tend to moderate my pessimism or cynicism.

I could say that I've become a more thoughtful old man.  But even so, something like overturning Roe v Wade is depressing in the extreme.