“I used to be an ’All Lives Matter’ argument guy. What helped me understand things better was the fire department analogy: all houses are valuable, but we need to pay special attention to the ones on fire.”

"Universal healthcare was a huge one for me; it led to my entire political worldview shifting. I used to be 100% against universal programs until I was shown the actual data about our current system compared to the rest of the developed world."

"As an adult, I have always had strong opinions on public education. Now, after finding myself working in higher ed (something I would not have guessed I’d be in five years ago), those opinions have only grown stronger. Private education is a scam. Public education needs to be free and needs to be funded completely differently than it is now."

"I've gone the other way. I grew up hunting and sport shooting. My dad could arm a small battalion. But more and more kids getting shot turned me against firearms, generally. I'm still perfectly okay with hunting and love some venison. And if I'm invited to do some target shooting, I'll do it every time. But I'd be perfectly okay with all guns being gone forever to save lives."

"I used to be an 'All Lives Matter' argument guy. What helped me understand things better was the fire department analogy: all houses are valuable, but we need to pay special attention to the ones on fire."

"Something I always tell my agnostic partner is that one of the worst things about being a Christian is how it warps your mind. Specifically, I had severe, ongoing depression when I was a member of the church. I believe a lot of it was because I was always offsetting any personal responsibility for my life/mindset/etc. to God, or expected/was taught to 'wait for God' and not to do things by 'your own strength.' Character flaws and poor behavior were deemed 'an attack of the enemy.' The learned helplessness/victimhood was so strong in the church. I’d pray and pray that God would lift my depression or help me out of difficult seasons, while doing nothing to move myself toward that end. Since deconstructing from Christianity, my mental health has been 100 times better, and I’ve become a genuinely kinder, happier, and more loving person."

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.