Beliefs

Many years ago I read an article that tried to explain why people think the way they do. Basically the author said that early in life we all develop a view of how the world looks and we keep that with us. As we encounter new information we adapt that to fit our view of the world. It is easier to see this concept play out in others and difficult to see it in ourselves. Politics is an excellent place to observe this behavior. A group of politicians get together to work on a problem but they can’t get the other side to see their point of view. Each side has the same set of facts to work with but each side sees things through their eyes or as Shakespeare said, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
If I am a liberal I see myself as the kind of person who is concerned about others and my job is taking care of those who are less fortunate. The idea of reducing benefits to the elderly will not fit into my view of who I am. It involves not just adjusting some government program but it means adjusting who I am. I see it as a threat to my basic principles.
If I am a conservative I believe that people are capable of caring for themselves. I want to devise a system that allows people to be free to carry out their life plan without interference. I want the fewest restrictions placed on their activities and to control their behavior with regulations and taxes is contrary to my personal beliefs.
In political terms we say a person who sticks by their personal beliefs is an ideologist and one who is willing to change is a pragmatist. I have never been in politics but I have been in business and the way it works there can be seen in the decision making process. If I am faced with an important decision, I gather all available information, discuss it with co-workers and decide on a course of action. However if I am later given new information I will re-evaluate and if necessary change direction. If my core principals were challenged by new information I would have to re-evaluate my core positions.