Somethings I just don't understand

Anybody that has kind of been reading the stuff I post will know I've been going through some personal growth (luckily it isn't my backside).

That being said, one thing I've noticed about it all:

People who thought they knew me, never really did or they thought so little of me before that they didn't believe I was capable of growing as a person.

I've gotten comments from more than one person along the lines of (it's not all, just a sampling):

• I've known you for xxx years. The person I knew would never think/feel something like that.
• Oh, you are just trying to fit in with your new friends.
• You've always felt xxx way about this issue. I don't believe you feel the way you say you do.
• You are acting so out of character.

In my 20 years of adulthood, I cannot recall ever doing anything to fit in and I'm not going to start now.

Lots of people feel they know me. How I think and feel based on similar past situations. I've really given a lot of thought to a few things and either they just never really took the time to truly get to know me or they have such a narrow opinion of me as to think I could never possibly change.

Now perhaps they feel I could never change because they themselves are for the most part stagnant individuals, never having their own beliefs challenged by anyone, so they stick to their own little rut in life. That's fine. If that is the case and they enjoy where they are, then hey, more power to them.

To those who feel I've changed too much, sorry you feel that way. I'm enjoying the learning and growing and I intend to do a lot more of it. It's not as if my heart has changed. I'm still the same person, I just view some things differently than I did xxx years ago.

There is nothing wrong with changing your mind when you have new information; changing your mind just to change your mind, that's something else entirely.

Years ago, cocaine was used for medicinal purposes. Then people were given new information on cocaine and they decided, humm, not such a good medicine after all.

Foreign Policy you say

I find this article most interesting.

http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/6848097.html

'No subject in the world is as complex as foreign affairs. You are dealing not just with natural facts, such as disasters and disease, but also with social facts such as human beings who change their minds and behave creatively. Natural facts — like a virus — don’t do that. They behave according to fixed laws. Further, social facts are embedded in different cultures. People from different cultures interpret the same facts differently. What does a devout Muslim see when he or she walks by a Christian church? In some cases, an infidel institution. Not exactly what a devout Christian sees. Individual human beings and diverse cultures create multiple meanings from the same set of facts. Given this enormous complexity, how do we make any sense at all out of international
affairs?'