As it's also fondly called, the "Fuck you, I got mine" phenomenon.

I gotta say, I'm becoming more lefty as I age. I grew up with an emphasis on personal responsibility, self reliance etc. Those principles still ring true with me. But I have seen them twisted by conservatives to be used against individuals in the interests of the 1%, the corporations. Trump doesn't even pretend to play by the same rules. He has literally said "I take no responsibility at all" while as the president for things he was in control of. That's not a leader, it's a ruler.

In my experience, the loudest conservatives I've met have all fallen into 2 categories:

Explicitly "fuck you I got mine" I can at least appreciate the honesty with these ones.

And "I haven't read a book since 12th grade, and now I struggle to read at a 2nd grade level." And that's just performing the act of reading. Actual comprehension and critical thinking are completely beyond them.

The religious types are part of the equation too, but my area isn't particularly religious, so I don't often come across those assholes.

I’ve heard this multiple times and have very rarely seen it apply. Usually if they’re conservative in their later years, they always were. It just wasn’t as prevalent or talked about. I’ve been a lefty since I was a kid and have not deviated at all.

It’s like people that once supported Bernie now voting for Trump (they’re a strange anomaly but they exist). They were never actually liberal. They either voted entirely on vibes and feels, or they got swept up in the wave of others around them. Then eventually their true self surfaces.

I don't think age makes people conservative, I think power makes people conservative. If you accumulate wealth and power then you may become conservative in order to protect your wealth from taxes.

Just as others in this thread have said, it's the "fuck you, I got mine" attitude.

It could be "learning more about life and politics" or it could be "becoming senile and having a steady diet of FOX News, Facebook, and YouTube". Since higher levels of education are correlated with leftist politics, I'm betting on the second one.

I used to be more leaft leaning when young yes. Now I turned 40.... I'm feeling anarchist I tell ya... Burn everything stop oppressing no one should have power.

No, that's just one of those sayings that goes around. It's the assumption that people make more money as they age thus causing them to be more conservative. Maybe this was true in the 80s

I am 44 and went from conservative to liberal. My parents always told me I would switch as I got older and that was wrong. What I learned was conservatives want three things: money, controlling people, and being allowed to say the quiet part out loud.

What amazes me is conservatives are "Christian" yet don't want to provide health care to people. I don't remember Jesus in the bible healing people then asking for payment later.