Giving Thanks to those that gave
This week we gather family together and celebrate one of our nations' oldest traditions, "Thanksgiving Day". We all know the story we were told in school about the help the initial settlers received and how Gov. William Bradford (yes distant relative) struggled even with the Native Americans help. While the help the Native Americans gave the settlers was crucial, the story we know stops short and misses some key details. Important take-aways from the missing details include:
- Forty members on the Mayflower first escaped to Holland to avoid religious persecution.
- The Mayflower had some Dutch sponsors who required all economic output go to a central bank.
- The central bank held all property and financial resources.
- William Bradford was charged with enforcing the "Mayflower Compact".
- Gov. Bradford declared their "collectivism a dismal failure after more than half died that first year.
- Gov. Bradford rewrote the rules of the commune and gave each person a share of land to "own".
- The new rules allowed for free enterprise and capitalism.
- After the new rules' success made it back to Europe, many peoples of faith choose to come to the new world to make their fortune and prosper in this free society.
- Overall message here: America experimented with socialism day one and it was a total failure, lethal actually, only free enterprise and capitalism saved the colonies, and America, from disaster.
Rush does a better job of telling the story than I ever could and here is a link to his detailed story of Thanksgiving. Rush's Pilgrim Story
This Thanksgiving, lets remember the sacrifices made day one for our nation, the ongoing sacrifices made every day by our military personnel and those that keep us safe on a daily basis including our fire-fighters and law enforcement personnel.
Thank you all for those that have served our country in any capacity to keep our nation safe, free and righteous. Bless you all!
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