I think the anger over the Harris- Biden exchange is not because she asked the question

[dawg day]

178. "Times have changed, fortunately, and I have learned a lot."

All of us over 50, who grew up in a very different time, should memorize that sentence and use it frequently.

We should not think we have to defend or continue to hold outdated positions. Yes, Don't Ask Don't Tell was a tiny but important step towards real acceptance. But am I going to argue that DADT is (or was then) a measure that insured equality? Of course not. Times have changed. I've learned a lot.

The need to defend outdated positions led Biden to say something profoundly stupid about "local rights" (states' rights), as if localities and school boards should be the one to determine how to achieve equality. He didn't mean to say that, I'm sure, and he probably doesn't believe it. But he was reminded of a position he held in the past that even he probably doesn't hold now, and instead of saying, "I've learned a lot", he started searching for reasons why he wasn't wrong, and came up with an AWFUL one.

I was struck by the relative humility of Pete B when confronted with his city's police problem now-- he actually was willing to say it's a mess and that he'd failed so far to achieve what he knows must be done. He tried not to get defensive. That's good.

We don't have to defend what is outdated. If the world has moved on from that, we can say so. We can shake our head and say, "I really have learned a lot since then."

Maybe that would come across as weak, as an admission that we were wrong. But that can't be worse than continuing to be wrong, can it?