BABY BIRDS
What can raising newborn birds teach liberals about self-reliance?
BY HEIDI HARRIS

Heidi Harris is co-host of KXNT 840 AM's morning show with Alan Stock. Listen to her Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 a.m. Other stories by Heidi Harris

Unexpectedly, I became a bird mother this spring. A friend mistakenly knocked a nest down while cleaning out the eaves of his house. Since he caught the nest in mid air, the baby birds inside were not harmed, and I wound up with them. Raising baby birds is tricky to say the least, and lots of callers to my radio show offered great advice. 

Believe it or not, they've made it for several weeks and now have all of their feathers. From day one, my goal has been to bring them to adulthood and to help them become self-reliant. I talked to bird experts who advised me to cut back on the hand feedings and put seed in the cage. They assured me the birds would find it. This was tough the first couple of days. I kept the cage outside my kitchen window, and every time I peeked in, they frantically flapped their wings, trying to get my attention. They looked desperate, but I held my ground, and stuck to just twice-a-day supplemental feedings. 

There are many types of birds in my neighborhood, and I see the mommies each spring, walking in the yard with the mostly feathered babies following along, flapping and begging. I've noticed the moms are no longer feeding them at that age, regardless of how much they flap. The moms just continue scavenging, and expect the babies to learn by example. The "experts" don't cut any slack, so why should I? 

Sure enough, the tough-love worked, and the birds did find the seed. It would be cruel to keep them in a cage forever, dependent and unable to enjoy freedom. I consider mine the compassionate approach. I'm certain that if these birds had been raised by a liberal, they'd never be able to live on their own. After all, they had a tough childhood, losing their mommy and growing up in a foster home - they can't possibly be expected to ever take care of themselves! 

Self-reliant birds don't have to hang around parks, expecting to be fed. Self-reliant people don't either. When Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who is saddled with the entire valley's homeless population, has the audacity to expect "homeless" people to become self-reliant, he's demonized. Oscar and I don't see eye-to-eye on many things, but we both want homeless people to be at least as self-reliant as my baby birds. 

How can you be characterized as lacking compassion when all you're encouraging is a life of self-reliance? Some would argue that most homeless people don't want to be homeless, but I would beg to differ. Many people who "work" medians make more than enough money to live indoors. Choosing to return to the underpass each night is a choice. 

People are naturally lazy. It's built into our DNA. If we can have someone meet our needs without us having to lift a finger, we'll welcome it. Even after my baby birds discovered the seed, when they saw me they'd still flap and beg. Of course they'd rather be hand fed than scavenge. Anyone who can stand in line to be hand fed in a park is fully capable of working, and for liberals to deny that obvious fact is disingenuous. Mentally ill homeless are in a separate category, and are deserving of private and public services, which the mayor has acknowledged. 

Liberals need to distinguish between those whose mental illness precludes self-reliance and those whose laziness rejects it. Until then, a rational discussion on the homeless problem will elude all of us. LW