The Real Thanksgiving Story: Socialism Doesn't Work!

There's a good article on the Ludwig Von Mises Institute website about The Great Thanksgiving Hoax. Did you think the Plymouth Plantation was a place where the pilgrims all landed on the rock then worked happily together and enjoyed the benefit of their labor? Unhappily that wasn't the case -- at least not in the beginning. No, the pilgrims were a contentious and lazy lot for the most part and the workers (remember the little red hen) were in the minority.

In his article, Richard Maybury writes that, "the governor of the colony, William Bradford, reported that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. He says the colony was riddled with 'corruption,' and with 'confusion and discontent.' The crops were small because 'much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable.'"

Well, gosh, how did these poor folks make it? You'll have to read the article. Then share "the rest of the story" with your family around the Thanksgiving table. You might end by quoting St. Paul's admonition that he who doesn't work doesn't eat. And remember, the cooks shouldn't have to do the clean-up. Pecan pie, anyone?