[JenB]

Oh, I hope the liberals I go to school with will grow out of it... just this week I had a conversation with a girl who says that if Hillary runs for President, she'll vote for the woman just because she's a woman, with a history professor who tries to blame conservatism for every evil the world has ever seen, and a girl from Japan who first said I was being intolerant for saying China is a communist country, and then accused Bush of putting America's interests first! (I mean, what do you even say to things like that?)

I do know people who grew out of their liberalism, like my own mother, but sometimes it seems there's no hope left....

[f.Christian]

me---big time!

[Chi-townChief]

David Horowitz at FrontPage Magazine is the best guy to start with. Check out his bio.

[tbg681]

Oh sure: There are lots of flaming college leftists who become conservatives. Happens all the time.

Usually occurs the moment they take a peek at their first paystub in the real world and see how they've been raped by the welfare state.

Nothing works like actually PAYING for utopia to knock all that socialist agitprop out of your head!

[irishjuggler]

I don't think most people change that much.
The most left-wing person I encountered in college was a history graduate student. She was the teaching assistant in a European history course I was taking. According to her, all the evil in the world was the fault of the European, Christian males. I used to argue with her all the time and she hated me.
I haven't seen her in 12 years, but I "Googled" her name a few months ago. Now she's a professor at a well-known university. And guess what? She's every bit as left-wing as she was when I knew her. Her web site mentions hate crimes, feminism, stopping the war in Afghanistan, etc.

[Dumb_Ox]

Well in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I spent the first semester of my Freshman year in the company of the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Then I realized how biliously atheistic and murderous they were, and became a reactionary. I wouldn't say that I've changed all that much, only I've realized that political movements are no replacement for sound philosophical and theological principles.

[Bitwhacker]

Yep. This guy.

[supercat]

I am currently working on a degree in college and was thinking: has anyone here personally known a flaming liberal college student who went on to become a conservative?

Many here on FR, myself included.

[tbg681]

As for knowing a former college leftist idiot personally, yes I do. And of all people, my boss!

He graduated college in 1971: Hair down to his ass, peace signs, worked for McGovern in '72 -- the whole smash.

Then......he went into business, got married, bought a house. Suffered like the rest of us through the dreary Carterized late '70's: Gas lines, 14% inflation, 20% interest rates, Soviets on the move, etc.

Voted for Reagan in '80 (heresay to his family and friends). Never looked back. In fact, he and I became the resident Clinton haters at the firm!

Have faith. There IS hope for the morons you deal with at school. Really.

[xsmommy]

KNOW one?? i was one! in fact i was a flaming liberal in law school too. it takes growing up and having responsibilities, a job and owning property to really know which end is up. No one who is liberal in college is condemned to life as an ignorant lib. But i do wish i had been conservative from birth. I was raised by a union Democrat, though, who remained Dem til the day he died.

[M. Thatcher]

Me.

[Dr. Frank fan]

In some sense, I am such a person. At least, I seem to recall a (very) brief time in college when I was buying into a few "liberal" (left-wing) idiocies. Didn't last though.

Your "insecurity" explanation is as good as any other. (I think maybe I wanted some girl to like me or something :)

In general, have faith, it does happen that some people grow out of their immature flirtation with leftism. Just look at someone like David Horowitz, for example. Or: Ronald Reagan. Best,

[Mr. Lucky]

The beautiful Mrs. Lucky fits your description. Her liberalism evaporated one night in a dimly lit parking garage. She can now score expert with her government model Colt.

[RaginRak]

I'm an oldie. Grew up in a Democrat family. The McGovern race for president opened my eyes. Now I'm a down and dirty Conservative.

[wardaddy]

Me too son...in the mid to late 70s. Let's see:

State co chair of NORML

ACLU member

Sierra Club member

Friends of the Earth member

Greenpeace early member

PoliSci major

Campaigned for Carter

Took the LSAT..LOL

Subscribed to Prarie Fire

Ditto Mother Jones and New Republic

Studied Che's Diaries (good read actually)

Was happy when Somoza fell (later became a contra supporter) Hair to my waste and a chronic

Is that enough?...there's hope for anyone...now I'm only slightly to the left of the Turner Diaries..LOL

[germanicus]

Recently, I was going through some old boxes of college books and folders (circa 1970-73) and found a folder with a couple dozen handouts (mimeographed-they still smell bad) of locations and times for anti-war demonstrations. I don't think I ever participated (my father said my college days were through if he ever saw me on TV) but I can't remember if I really disagreed with these people. They also gave free beer parties (keggers). If free beer was involved, then they were my friends. Somehow I survived and landed here. Whew! What a ride!

[MistrX]

Me.

[pt17]

Knew a bunch of them who entered college seeing the world as they wanted it to be. When it turned out the world didn't measure up to their idealistic visions, about half of them went down the road of looking for organizations to blame and the other half went to work and learned reality.

[Slyfox]

You might find something interesting here

[huskerjim]

I was great liberal in college. One of my saddest moments was the election in 1980 when Carter loss. I was sincere in my liberal beliefs. I thought the government knew best on managing our world; the masses were ignorant. My liberalism applied to politics and theology.

The change was in the Fall of 1983 (senior year) when the Lord changed my heart overnight. The big change was that I realized the Word of God (Bible) was true and not just stories.

My views changed in politics, theology, and even in my major, Geology. The Lord showed a great sense of humor in my overnight changes.