The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • December 24, 2015 Now this was a Christmas present! I received the following unsolicited email from a listener who now lives out of state. He is asking me not to use his name. *** Dear Mark, I graduated from Hopkins Street School, Robert Fulton Jr. High and North Division High School in 1971. I have an associate's degree from MATC and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. The above tells you I have deep Milwaukee roots but I now live in Las Vegas. This story is about my overnight change to a black conservative. It happened in June 1989 while driving and listening to the radio. A person by the name of Mark Belling was on the radio. He was explaining the differ- ence between liberal and conservative. No one had ever explained this to me before. When asked, I would always say I was liberal because it sounded flexible, open to ideas and friendlier. What a big lie! When the difference was explained, and I started listening to more radio discussions, I knew I was a conservative. People around me were saying things that did not make sense if you wanted to solve a societal prob- lem. I have been listening to Mark Belling for the full 25-26 years (I have reasonable proof that I have been listening since 1989). It has changed my life. I have principles to live by; my arguments are clear and backed up by facts, not emotion. I work hard to explain to my friends and family what they are voting for during each election. No, I did not vote for the person in the highest office in 2008 or 2012. I knew better. There are people I talk to about who they vote for and why. The answers always make me want to scream! The main answers: I always vote Democrat, Democrats want to help blacks, conservatives want to take things away from blacks and conservatives are racist. It is almost impossible to change someone's mind who believes these things. But I always state my case to be conserva- tive. A little about me: My education prior to MATC was extremely poor, and filled with real bullying. I'm glad to have survived it all. I have a lot to tell you about my life after school. It has been positive, successful and filled with fun. I attribute a great deal of it to 25 years of Mark Belling. I have never smoked, taken any illegal drugs and don't have a police record. I have raised two daughters with my wife of 38 years. It has taken some work to straighten out the things they learned in school from a liberal standpoint (polar bears are dying, teachers suffer because they are poorly paid) but they now know how to question one-sided view- points. I still own a home in Milwaukee and have close relatives I visit. I've written this short note to tell you thank you for the knowledge and direction you have given me. It has been a blessing to me. My kids know you as well. There are more black conservatives growing slowly. There is hope but so much damage has been done over the last eight years, it will be a long journey toward undoing the current state of the country. I still listen every day to you and Jay. "Charles" *** "Charles" (not his real name) was blessed with something most people don't have. He has an open mind. Listeners to talk radio programs like mine generally fall into three categories. The first are the true believers. These are well-informed people who share most of the host's beliefs and convictions. The second group consists of people who aren't overtly political but are thrilled to find someone expressing the same views they hold. These folks find that their opin- ions that are mocked and ostracized by the rest of the media are in fact ratified by the host. The third group generally disagrees but listens because it finds the show enter- taining and informative and about the only place you can find actual discussion of rele- vant local issues. Charles isn't in any of those groups. He was someone who was victimized by the institutional liberal bias that is perva- sive in public schools, universities, the pop- ular culture and the news media. This bias is overwhelmingly present in the black com- munity where dissenters are scorned and ridiculed and called vulgar racist names. It takes an extremely open mind to challenge everything you've ever believed. Many talk show hosts have had the same transformation. WTMJ's Charlie Sykes and I are both former liberals. My own awaken- ing started when I spent a year working in Benton Harbor, Mich. The city was desper- ately poor and ran on government aid and social programs. There was crime and fraud everywhere. It was apparent to me that throwing money at poor people not only did- n't help but made things worse. I was for the first time questioning a liberal orthodoxy. It dawned on me that if I was wrong about compassion and the welfare state that I might be wrong about other things too. Unlike Charles, it wasn't overnight. It took years before I realized I wasn't wrong about just some things but about everything. The fact that this was happening in the decade of the brilliant presidency of Ronald Reagan certainly didn't hurt. So, this Christmas season, give yourself a gift. Open up your mind. There is no more committed conservative than a former liber- al. It is rewarding, liberating and intoxicat- ing to, for the first time in your life, have views you can logically defend. (Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column appears weekly in the Milwaukee Post. Send your personal correspondences to Mark Belling at Clear Channel Communications, c/o WISN, 12100 W. Howard Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228). MARK BELLING STANDING UP for MILWAUKEE Give yourself the gift of an open mind OPINION Last week's question With local governments having mailed what it will cost you to support them, what is your response to your property tax bill? We need tax reform. Only one side talks about it; neither side really does anything. At least thank you to Gov. Scott Walker for not increasing taxes or the budget. — Noah Borkenhagen Franklin *** This is a quote from the information sheet that came with the (Cudahy) tax assessment: "In that the city hadn't revalued property since the 2008 real estate bubble our assessed values were higher than the equalized value set by the state for the past six years. This required us to revalue the entire municipality." I was pleased to see my taxes go down until I read the information sheet that came with the tax bill. Clever Cudahy politicians have been ripping me off for the past six years and it was only the state of Wisconsin that forced them to stop this fraud and comply with the law. I wish I could get a refund — like when private companies rip off customers. — Edward Sobczak Cudahy This week's question What was this year's top story — locally or far from home? Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Anonymous responses are no longer accepted by the publication. Call 744- 6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dmuck@conleynet. com. Question of the week Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dan Muckelbauer, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by email to: dmuck@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy Former liberals make committed conservatives

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