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********************************** History Lesson on Thanksgiving By Matthew A. Givens ***QUOTE*** Thanksgiving is approaching once again, and with it come visions of children's plays with Indians and Pilgrims, complete with little Pilgrim hats made of construction paper. The story told in these plays and learned by public school students at every grade level is a simple one. The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock late in 1620. The first winter was harsh, but the colonists worked hard and applied themselves industriously to their own survival. They had help from the local Indian tribes, who helped them learn how to survive. The result was a plentiful harvest in fall 1621, not to mention the first celebration of Thanksgiving. It's a wonderful story. There's only one problem with it: It isn't true. It contains elements of truth. For example, the first winter was harsh, and the local Indian tribes did help the colonists learn how to survive, what to plant and how to prepare the food. But the 1621 harvest was not bountiful. In fact, famine haunted the fledgling colony. When the colonists first landed, they signed something called the Mayflower Compact. Most of us have heard this document praised as an early social contract helping different people to live together. What most of us never learned was that it was also an experiment in socialism. The Mayflower Compact required that "all profits and benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing or any other means" were placed in the common stock of the colony. Further, it required that "all such persons as are of this colony are to have their meat, drink, apparel and all provisions out of this common stock." People were required to put into the common stock everything they could, and take out only what they needed. William Bradford, governor of the colony at the time, wrote History of Plymouth Plantation. In it, he wrote that "young men that are most able and fit for labor and service" complained about being forced to "spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children." Since "the strong, or man of parts, had no more division of victuals and clothes than he that was weak," the strong men simply refused to work, and the amount of food produced was never adequate. In fact, the colony went hungry for years as strong men refused to work hard, and theft of crops still in the ground ran rampant. Bradford wrote that the colony was riddled with "corruption and discontent." The crops were small because "much was stolen both by night and day, before it became scarce eatable." The harvests of 1621 and 1622 were adequate enough so that "all had their hungry bellies filled," but that did not last. Deaths from malnutrition continued into the next year. But in 1623, something changed. Bradford reported, "Instead of famine now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." By 1624, the colony was producing so much food that it began exporting corn. What caused this change? After the poor harvest of 1622, the colony brainstormed for a way to raise more corn and obtain a better crop. The solution, like the Thanksgiving story told today, was simple. In 1623, Bradford "gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit." The socialistic experiment that had failed them was abandoned and replaced with capitalism. That turned the colonists away from failure and forward into success and growth. And this move away from socialism, along with the resulting prosperity, is what we truly celebrate today. It is easy to see why I call Thanksgiving the first Libertarian holiday. Thanksgiving, far from being the simple and uninspiring story of a group of people learning how to farm, is actually a celebration of what has made America itself great. It is the story of people working together by working for themselves first, and in so doing, improving the standard of living for everyone. These are the American ideas we hold dear. As you sit down to your table laden with turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, remember the true story of Thanksgiving, and what it means to all. * * * UNQUOTE*** Matthew A. Givens is a resident of Montgomery and former vice chairman of the Libertarian Party of Alabama. ********************************** PC Madness The term "master/slave" is commonly used in high tech "computing and other industries to describe the unidirectional control of one device or process by another." Indeed, in a previous lifetime I spent a few years in video production. The original videotape produced is called the "master," and subsequent copies are made from it. So these are commonly used, everyday terms. Not any longer in Los Angeles County. On November 18, Joe Sandoval, head of Contract and Purchasing Services issued a memo to manufacturers and suppliers doing business with the government advising them that "Master/Slave" was no longer "an acceptable identification label." "We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment or components thereof that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature before such equipment is sold or otherwise provided to any County department," writes the oh-so-politically-correct bureaucrat (http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/master.asp). BRUSHFIRE ALERT: If you'd care to share some choice comments on this insanity, you can dial up Mr. Sandoval directly (but surely not until after the holiday weekend; he IS a government employee after all) at (323) 267-2670. Of you can go to the official public comment form found at: http://isd.co.la.ca.us/scripts/isdmail.htm *************************************** How to Subscribe Chuck Muth's News & Views is published by Citizen Outreach, a member-supported 501(c)3 non-profit corp. If you enjoy News & Views, please make a tax-deductible contribution to support our work: http://www.citizenoutreach.com If you'd like to receive our FREE News & Views e-newsletter, you can sign up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ Published by Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. 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