To the Editor:

So as an independent conservative, what’s my position on government safety nets? In spite of what you’ve been told, people like me don’t want to starve children or kick disabled people out on the street just to make the rich richer. I am a full believer in safety nets and helping people out when they fall. But here’s where I differ with some:

Life is a high wire (in the circus of life). Sometimes we fall off that high wire into the safety net. That doesn’t make us unskilled or useless. It just means we have to get up, keep at it and try again. So there’s nothing wrong with falling into the safety net. What is wrong, is staying on it and not trying again.

A safety net is not the end, it’s meant to stop you from crashing to your demise. But when you hit the net, you bounce once or twice, get off and climb back up on the high wire of life to try again.

The high wire of life is where the excitement is. The high wire of life is where the challenges are. The high wire of life is where the fun is. The high wire of life is where personal pride and confidence are made. The high wire of life is where living is. All those things will not be found laying on the net.

Laying endlessly on the net may be easy, but it’s not rewarding.

Now, when someone is laying on the net too long, like some are known to do, I believe it’s up to us to give that person a little nudge to get off the net and back up on that high wire of life. That doesn’t make us mean, we just want everyone to reach their full potential. Because in the end, that’s what’s best for all of us.

Are there some people that simply are not able to climb that ladder back up to the high wire? Of course. Those people need our support and help. But you know as well as I do, that there are many people relaxing on the net that need that nudge in the spirit of  “C’mon! It’s fun! Try again! We’ll help! We gotcha!”.

This is not out of anger, self righteousness or class warfare, but out of the compassion to see those people become more than even they believe they can be. We need to stop telling people that they’ll never amount to anything, that the deck is stacked against them and no matter how hard they try they’ll never climb out of their condition (the net).

We need to begin telling the story again of a great country where anyone can become whatever they want to be. Hard work and initiative have to matter again. Let’s stop complaining about how tough it is to be up on the high wire. Let’s teach each other, once again, how to navigate, and stay on the high wire (of life).

Together we can all succeed and on the occasion that one of us falls down to the safety net, we go down as a team to help our fellow high wire daredevil to get back up as quickly as possible to come back with the rest of us to where life’s rewards are. The high wire isn’t scary as long as we watch out for each
other and help the ones who fall to quickly get back up.

Nearly all true conservatives feel the same.

Mark Cegielski

Stevens Point