For the times, they are a-changin' (yay!)
Sometimes, opinions around an issue change only a little bit (if at all) over a long period of time. Then again, certain factors come together to cause a rapid shift in attitudes about a subject. A great example of the latter is attitudes Americans have held toward gays in general, and toward same-sex marriage in particular. The changes in both both were rapid and profound. In 2004, 60% of Americans were opposed to same-sex marriage. Fifteen years later, 60% were in favor ! A similar change was taking place in the 90s, when the vast majority of Americans held generally unfavorable views about homosexuality. But as more gay people came out of the closet, and more and more Americans realized that they knew someone who was gay, a similar flip-flop in polling numbers was recorded: what had been widespread antipathy morphed quickly into a generalized tolerance, if not outright acceptance. A similar seismic shift, not around sexuality, but about race is now underway, but this tim