Conservatives make their own luck

The recent news about Reno’s tent city has made me more aware than ever about a simple fact: There is a strong misconception among the liberal left that all Republicans are wealthy, narrow-minded creatures of habit.

Well, here is a news flash for the seemingly judgmental liberal left: You’re wrong. I am a broke college student working my own way through school, and I still hold those conservative beliefs close to my heart. I am currently taking an intensive language course at Georgetown University, one of the most expensive schools in the country, and I am paying my own way.

What needs to be understood is that people can’t simply blame life and all that it entails on luck, or, to be more specific, bad luck. I have chosen to take the route of making my own luck. I am paying now for gains in my future. That is the name of the game.

Sure, bad luck happens to good people, but it’s how folks work through that “bad” luck that defines who they are.

I am not blind to the fact that there are some who simply do face tough luck, like those who have been in real estate during this crash. That is a round of bad luck. But conservatives don’t believe that it’s luck that determines the way things end up. Many of us work hard to make our own luck.

Take the Civil Rights movement, for example. The historic racism of this country was a tough situation, but those who acted upon the hardship to bring forth change were making their own luck and were rewarded for their efforts. There are similar examples throughout history. We can rattle them off all day. The point is these people took what they had, they worked with it, and they made their own outcome. They brought a lot of good from bad.

Poor liberals seem to be good at putting down the rich. Kind of like very disturbed and distorted Robin Hoods. Yes, I get sick of seeing rich kids—like Paris and Nicole—being on television regardless of their talents or lack thereof. But by no means do I condemn them for having money. They are successful—or their parents were. More power to them. They have obtained the American dream, and there is nothing wrong with that.

No, I have never imagined what it would be like to live in a tent city. And I hope I never have to. I can’t feel empathy for those who are there because I don’t know what it is like, and for that, I am grateful. There is nothing wrong with this. Being happy and grateful for what I have—as opposed to pondering what life would be like if I didn’t have it—is normal, if not healthy. Why should one wonder what it is like to suffer such great pain?

Instead of focusing on and tormenting those who are blessed and do have good jobs, money and nice homes, maybe the liberal left should work on giving these people jobs instead of constantly worrying about raising taxes to give them money. This money will not last, but their problems will if the reason for their existence is not fixed. We can’t keep throwing money at problems and forcing tax-paying citizens to suffer, as well. By doing this, we are forcing the entire nation to suffer, and that is not going to solve anything.

Poverty is a very sad reality. But condemnation of the rich for what they have doesn’t solve the problems of the poor. Maybe the left should stop focusing on the fortunate and begin to look for an answer that could be a reality.