Flip-Flopping

Flip-flopping, pandering, lying......

I heard the word "flip-flop" the other day and noted that it's almost always used in a negative context, as if "flip-flopping" is a bad thing.  Hmmm......

I suppose outwardly/publicly changing one's opinion to pander to voters, with no intention to hold true to those new views is a bad thing.  OK, I guess it might also be termed lying.  But in and of itself, is "flip-flopping," that is changing one's mind, a bad thing?

Isn't it good to be opinion to new ideas, that what one holds or has held is wrong?  Isn't it good to grow, perhaps, intellectually, emotionally, etc.?

Of course, principles are to be valued.  They form a foundation for one's thoughts.  But it's important to evaluate "flip-flops."  For instance, was Abraham Lincoln a "flip-flopper" because he changed his views on slavery and blacks, on the nature and purpose of the Civil War?  More recently, is Donald Trump "flip-flopping" on his stances on issues over the past years?  Was Lincoln pandering?  Is Trump pandering?

Is changing one's mind always "lying?"  For instance, marriage vows usually include the words, "until death do us part."  Do those seeking and getting divorces qualify as "liars?"  After all, they took a vow.  I've never heard divorced person called a "liar."

And of politicians, I know the truism, "You can't do anything if you don't get elected."  Is, then, lying OK for politicians running for office?  I think the instances of campaign promises, bold and overt, being abrogated (OK, the pols are lying through their teeth) once elected are dishonest.