Crossing Lines—Opening Minds

Eckhart Tolle, an author best known for his books The Power of Now and A New Earth, explores the ego as a force that shapes identity and personal experience. He argues that while the ego is necessary, it can create conflict when it becomes overly dominant or detached from reality. Reigning the ego requires listening to other opinions and letting go of any expectations you may have. This opens you up to the possibility that things just aren’t as they seem.

The amount of power it takes to admit when a person is wrong is extremely discredited. I respect those who admit they’re wrong over those who twist the truth to look better.

Over the last decade, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see so many people, both online and in my personal life, drop the ego, admit when they were wrong, and broaden their horizons. That’s the beauty of being a human—of being an American. We all have the opportunity in this life to change our minds. And change it again…and again.

Although the rise in changing sides has happened over the last two presidential terms, it isn’t something entirely new. In George Magazine’s article How I Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy by Harry Stein in our June 2000 issue, Stein tells us about his personal reasons as to why he did not support the Democratic Party. “The only excesses they (liberals) won’t condemn are sexual ones,” Stein writes. “They’re for every kind of diversity going—except diversity of thought.”

Stein is an American columnist and author known for his politically conservative viewpoints, often expressed through his writings in various publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has also written books on political and cultural issues, including his memoir, No Matter What… They’ll Call This Book Racist.

“True conservatives and liberals alike are marked by their fair share of intellectual corruption, and each side has made an art of turning truth on its head,” Stein wrote. “I respect serious souls who continue to believe that liberalism remains the road to an honorable and humane future.” His contribution to George enhanced the idea that it’s important to focus on togetherness and that divided, we are weak.

Sociologist David Elkind tells Stein, “To me, it has become ever clearer that feminism—for all the great good it has achieved—has also been the root cause of much of the social dysfunction we now take as routine.”

Stein, who has taken place as a contributing editor at the political magazine City Journal, wrote How the Clintons Changed America in 2015. In it, he states, “Bill Clinton’s conduct toward women is far worse than any of the offensive things that Trump has said . . . . Trump has smeared women because of their looks, Clinton has preyed on them, and in a workplace setting where he was by far the superior.”

In George Magazine’s February 2023 issue, Steve Jameson wrote A Gay Conservative’s Journey from Left to Right. As a misunderstood child of conservative parents, growing up in a small town in Kentucky in the fifties was strenuous on 10-year-old Jameson’s newly gay identity. Jameson hid his sexuality to avoid backlash from anyone, including his family. As a result, Jameson became part of the hippie movement as a teenager. “I felt the older generation was not open to the spirit of the universal liberation that was unfolding.”

As an adult, Jameson became more interested in politics and the government. “A bizarre thing happened when I began expressing love for Trump,” Jameson wrote. “Leftist friends hurled hateful comments and even threw my art prints in the trash .” Jameson has counseled gay members on social media who voted against Trump for gay rights. “Growing up in the 1950s, knowing suppression, I told them we now have gay, racial, and women’s rights—these battles were won decades ago.”

Isa DiVincenzo of New York is somebody who has switched political parties following the tragedies of the previous administration. As a lifelong Democrat, Isa explained the origin of her views. “When I was around nine years old, I remember the Carter/Reagan election, and I asked my dad, ‘What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?” In short, her father explained to his young daughter that the Democrats “like to take care of everybody (the people)”—whereas “the Republicans were more into business and making money.”

“When Biden was running against Trump, I was hoping to have more of a democratic government because I believed in those ideas—I was also very excited to have a woman vice president,” Isa stated. “I was very disappointed with his (Biden’s) presidency—everything went up in price, and we were struggling to make ends meet.” It wasn’t until Biden was well into his presidential term that Isa determined the effects his administration was having on the economy were detrimental.

To top it off, Isa’s biggest frustration was how much money the government was funneling to other countries. “Yes, I believe in taking care of everybody—but we have to take care of us first.” The Department of Government Efficiency is working with Elon Musk to eliminate wasteful government spending that should be benefitting our citizens. “None of our people are being helped by our government—It’s a real shame.”

Vice President J.D. Vance is notorious for his clever debating skills—and for his previous stance on President Donald Trump, referring to him as a “moral disaster,” “idiot, and “reprehensible” via a Twitter (X) post made in 2016. Interestingly enough, from referring to himself as a “never-Trump guy,” just short of a decade later, he has become one of Trump’s most loyal supporters. Vance’s drastic switch-up has certainly raised eyebrows. At this point, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to speculate what his true intentions might be or how he was influenced.

“I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump,” Vance states during the Vice Presidential Debate this past October. “I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record—but most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people.” Vance continues expressing that he never truly believed Trump would be able to deliver on the promises he made. “And yeah, when you screw up—when you misspoke, when you get something wrong and you change your mind—you ought to be honest with the American people about it.”