On what issue will we see the next rapid shift in public opinion?

Obama Care. As more and more people are helped by it, the more public opinion will sway into its favour. It is already happening.

I have my doubts the views on marijuana have changed a lot. I couldn’t see that in your link. Most people I know thought it should be decriminalized and definitely available for medical use since I can remember. Easily going back 40 years.

As far as gay marriage, that I think truly has changed significantly over time. I can’t wait for it to be a non-issue. The Republicans should look forward to the politicans letting that issue drop. I think it will only help them.

I think polygamy might eventually get decriminalized also. That is a smaller group of people than those who use MJ or compared to gay people, but there is a movement to change some laws. It will never be top on the politcial radar nationally though.

I agree with @ragingloli that Obamacare will cool down if people are helped by it. But, I can’t imagine Obamacare will actually address the real problems in our healthcare system, I hope I am wrong. Even if it doesn’t address my biggest concerns, the negativity about ACA and it being used as a big political issue will die down.

I think that the repressiveness that was introduced during the Reagan years (and continues today) is slowly going to be evolving away.

The 60s and 70s were times of discovery and liberal thought, and the last 25+ years have been a reaction to the fright that people had from liberal and progressive movements. But the rubber band is snapping back, due in no small part to the absolute repulsiveness of right wing politics.

So I see liberalism and open mindedness – in all spheres – replacing the repressive republican thought leaders that we have had recently.

@JLeslie – re: marijuana – There’s a Gallup poll about halfway down that page. Back in 1995, 25% thought it should be legalized. It has been climbing, and as of 2013 58% think it should be legal. Plus, I was also just referring to the general climate. Decriminalization and/or medical marijuana legislation is pretty common now.

@hominid Ok, thanks for pointing that out on the link. I didn’t see it at first glance. I guess what I would wonder is if MJ legalization had been put up for an actual vote years ago if it would have passed? Was it ever actually on a ballot? I don’t think the polls necessarily tell the whole story. A lot of people were using it. When I went to school back in the late 80’s if you were caught smoking pot you were given a $5 fine. In other words, very little was done about smoking weed. I’m sure it varied throughout the country. I’ve never smoked pot, so I might be out of touch with how people felt about it. I just know how my family felt (none of whom do drugs, unless you count an aunt addicted to prescriptions because of her illness) and the friends I knew who did smoke it sometimes certainly would have preferred it not be illegal.

@JLeslie – the 80s and marijuana were before the days of the DARE movement and all of the financial shenanigans that came along with that. DARE meant lots of federal money coming into states (and to police departments), and they needed to show its effectiveness (which was never proven).

So in order to show the ” get tough on drugs ” flag, the courts (and legislatures) made criminal penalties that much worse.

Marijuana legality has NEVER been about the weed per se, it has always been about MONEY and who gets the money.

Look back to the time that hemp rope was made illegal. Not because it was inherently bad, but because there were other economic interests that were in competition with hemp rope. (and hemp, although very strong, needed to be treated with tar to be effective on sailing ships)

@elbanditoroso I vaguely remember DARE. That doesn’t answer what would have happened if the people voted.

Water rights, nuclear power and fossil fuel will be hot topics in the next few decades. Clean water is becoming a precious dwindling resource for many communities and demand is not slowing down. On all 3 issues people will have to re-think how they live their lives in relationship to these 3 resources and take a hard long look at the cheap convenience they do afford us yet seriously consider the long term effect they each have on our environment.

@Cruiser – I generally agree with you in principle.

Where I probably disagree with you is on nuclear power. I am strongly for it. Newer reactors are MUCH cleaner and less prone to problems than the ones built 30 years ago. Nuclear power, done right, is a far better (and cleaner) approach to energy needs than the continuing use of fossil fuels.

@Cruiser GA. I’m hoping the nuclear disaster after the tsunami in Japan will discourage nuclear power, I am completely against it and have been for years.

Water rights is already big among some states, especially up near you in the Great Lake region.

@elbanditoroso I always look over my shoulder for the law of unintended consequences. More nuclear power means more spent fuel rods and where should all that wasted be stored? You can only say not in my back yard for so long and then what? Look what recently happened in New Mexico. Just the tip of the iceberg IMO. We may think we have our shit together with regards to a safer nuclear industry but I don’t have the same warm fuzzies with some of the more corrupt governments that handle nuclear power. And now with Fukushima radiation washing up on our shores…no one can say for sure what the long term effects will be for us or them. Not good….gotta start re-thinking all this before it’s too late.

@Cruiser I think since solar and wind technology can be utilized by individual homeowners and businesses it is not promoted in the same way nuclear and fossil fuels are. Build a nuclear plant and then you have thousands of homes and businesses dependent on the plant to pay their utility bill every month. If I can just put up extremely efficient solar panels on my house, I can be energy independent. I think it is all about MONEY as someone wrote above. Some utility companies are building wind and solar plants, but that doesn’t diminish that individuals can do it for themselves. Solar panels still are not as efficient as we would like, so they are impractical for many people.

@JLeslie Again I am saying the real changes will take hold when people rethink how they live their lives and until this happens I don’t expect any real progress. It’s not more nuclear power plants, windmills or solar panels…it needs to begin when people start making changes to their lives to decrease their demand for electricity. Phantom power drain is a REAL problem that could overnight be corrected if people just took the time and effort to unplug all these phantom power drains. 20% of your power unnecessarily goes out the window with these standby electronics.

”“According to ENERGY STAR®, consumer electronics and appliances in the typical American home account for approximately 20 percent of power on electric bills,” ”

The pursuit of advanced antibiotics as well as climate change.

@kritiper That is another topic that could have and should have been avoided if people would re-think when they employ the use of antibiotics. Drug resistant germs are a huge issue in our future that would not be such a big problem today and what is worse is that pharmaceuticals are showing up in our drinking water in more than trace amounts. Who knows what the effects of long term exposure to low doses of antibiotics, hormones from birth control pills, Viagra and Tamiflu etc. will be. This should be our new war on drugs.

@Cruiser You are SO right. I heard a report years ago that mentioned the drugs in water EVERYWHERE, specifically birth control drugs. The report said that sperm counts were dropping in all species worldwide and could render all males sterile in time.

Ugh. Don’t even get me started on water rights.

Thanks everyone. Some great answers.

Regarding the real threat of antibiotic resistance and climate change – are we seeing any movement on public opinion or interest in this? Are you guys hoping we’ll see some action soon, or is there some evidence that we’re entering a period of response to these crises?

I don’t live in a dream world. I see people all the time not saying what they really believe but what they think they HAVE to say. You might think the majority of people are fine with gay marriage but I think not. Today people are afraid of being destroyed for having an opinion that the vocal loudmouths are pushing down everyone’s throats.

Climate change, legal drugs, illegal immigration? You better not speak up, just shut up and go along with the mob. brings back memories of Hitler doesn’t it?

@BeenThereSaidThat: “You might think the majority of people are fine with gay marriage but I think not.”

I understand that polling comes with inherent challenges/problems. Do you have another way to measure public opinion? I mean, even if the polling reflects something else (societal pressure) it is something. I mean, in every poll we see that a majority (just over 50%) of the U.S. public now supports same-sex marriage. This means that you could live in an area of the country and never meet a single supporter of same-sex marriage. I’m referring to the national numbers.

@BeenThereSaidThat: “Today people are afraid of being destroyed for having an opinion that the vocal loudmouths are pushing down everyone’s throats.”

I have no idea what this even means.

@BeenThereSaidThat”: “Climate change, legal drugs, illegal immigration? You better not speak up, just shut up and go along with the mob. brings back memories of Hitler doesn’t it?”

Is this satire?

@BeenThereSaidThat From the sound of your post, it appears that you think the world was always just the way it was when you arrived on the scene, and should remain the same forever thereafter. But humanity isn’t like that. Your great-grandparents held prejudices that would appall you now, and your own prejudices will appall your great-grandchildren. Our views change as we learn more about each other and the world. They must.

I think the sexual offender laws will be modified. An 18 year old having sex with a 16 year old will no longer carry a life sentence.

@ibstubro Your focus on this particular subject matter can be construed as repentance or projection…..never mind. ;)

@hominid I think response, as usual, is and/or will be too little, too late. I read that medical researchers are working at breakneck speed to thwart the ever evolving dangers from over use of antibiotics. While climate change is a big hurdle to overcome, mankind will soon be too obsessed with burgeoning disease outbreaks to worry about the climate.

The unfairness of the sexual offender laws comes up a lot, @Cruiser, both here and in my real life. A couple that we hang out with had a close relative branded as a sexual offender for life at the age of (I think) 17 and there was less than 2 years difference between him and his partner. It seems to me that nearly everyone agrees that that’s unfair, but at this time nearly no one wants to try and sort it out. If someone tackles it and comes up with a workable alternative, I think public opinion could shift rapidly.

@ibstubro I was just messing with ya and do agree with your last comment.