People are dynamic beings. Over the years, we learn and grow, developing new interests, ideas and beliefs. We change. This seems to be a hard concept to grasp for a significant amount of people. I've experienced this personally on multiple occasions; when you reconnect with people you haven't spoken with in a while and they're shocked at "how much you've changed." It's almost as if people expect you to come out of the womb with firm, unchanging opinions, which is, of course, ridiculous.
The reality is that with the advancement of technology and increasing accessibility to the internet, specifically social media, people are learning more and more each day. Their knowledge on certain topics is expanding, and that insight can influence their beliefs and opinions. As people mature, you can't assume that their personal ideologies won't do the same.
We see the inability to accept change all over social media. I can't tell you how many times a day I see some celebrity or politician being "called out" for something they said or did years, or even decades, ago. Would you like it if people judged you based on what you said as a 13 year old? What about at 18 when you became an "adult?" Some of you might be fine with this, but I imagine that the majority of people are just like me and extremely embarrassed of who they were even yesterday. You are never too old to change. In fact, I encourage you to spend your life learning, growing and changing. My point is, presuming that people are static minded at any age is unrealistic.
Now, I'm not saying that people shouldn't be held accountable for their problematic past words or actions. There is a huge difference between acknowledging your wrong doing and apologizing for it versus brushing it off as a "phase". You can take responsibility for your actions and learn from them to be a better person.
Basically what I'm saying is that people are free to believe whatever they want and are also free to change that belief whenever they want. Even if they change their opinion in a matter of seconds. So, don't be surprised when that friend or cousin you haven't spoken to in 5 years is completely different when you see them next, because the fact is that you're probably just as different from when they last saw you.
"Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
-John F. Kennedy
