The Real Story of Thanksgiving (Rush Limbaugh)

RUSH: Okay, time for the real story of Thanksgiving. I want to precede this by sharing with you -- and I want to bounce off of our last call, Suzie. Sometimes she has trouble being optimistic. Now, I don't know that this would qualify as something about which you can run around and feel really optimistic about. Something struck me the other day. (It strikes me a lot, by the way.) I went to a dinner party on Friday night, and it was a buffet here where I live before I had to go over to the Breakers Hotel and introduce Ann Coulter and give her an award for David Horowitz's Restoration Weekend. There were a lot of people at this bash, and walking through the buffet and looking at all of the food, the shrimp, all the vegetables and everything, the desserts, it just struck me.

[]I started flashing back to my trip to Afghanistan. I saw some of the most unbelievable human living conditions I have ever seen, and I can tell you for a fact that the number of average Afghanis who eat food in the way we take for granted is just astoundingly high. We hear all day long pessimistic stories about shortages of this or that, we're going to deplete the oceans of all edible fish in 30 years or whatever the hell stupid notion it was, and we've been hearing these kinds of stories for years, that we're destroying species. It always amazes me when I actually stop to think about it. Just visit a grocery store. Imagine how many grocery stores there are in this country. Look at the food production in this country alone, and look at the relative cheap price that food is in grocery stores.

You can find high priced items in there, but bare essentials, market basket prices. People have to eat. There's not a whole lot of room for price gouging there unless you go to gourmet places and that kind of thing, but even at that, they're available, if you want it. The amount of food that is produced in this country, the plenty of it, is astounding, when you stop to think that wherever you are, in your one grocery store or at your restaurant when you're having dinner, imagine millions of such places, with the same stuff, and then put it all in somebody's home, where they're having Thanksgiving or what have you, or in restaurants or whatever, it's just astounding to me. The ability of the earth to produce and provide all this, against all these predictions that we're going to starve or going to have a famine, that the population explosion is going to wipe out all of these luxuries and opportunities.

It's just... I don't know. Sometimes it just blows me away, because I don't have anything to do with producing it. There are people that do, and I'm just in awe. When you asked me why I am optimistic and so forth, it's because I am in awe of the country.

Compared to the rest of the world and compared to the attacks that we endure and even our own internal bottles of people in this country that hate this country, still look at it, look at it, if you want just from the bare essentials. Look at how many automobiles there are in a used car lot, look at how many automobiles there are in junkyards. Those are the cars in junkyards that are being driven around in places like Afghanistan or Cuba, anywhere else.

We're just spoiled I think in so many areas that just the basics are often so taken for granted that their value in what they represent is overlooked on occasion.

We can even satisfy oddballs that don't want to eat meat or who don't want to eat fish, whatever your culinary peculiarities are, somebody's out there making sure that you can get what you want, even with all the assaults on the food business that there have been.

Anyway, leads me to the real story of Thanksgiving as written by me in my book "See, I Told You So!" We're on Chapter Six here: "Dead White Guys or What Your History Books Never Told You," page 70.

On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford set up an agreement, a contract, that established just and equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed in the Mayflower Compact come from? From the Bible. The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their example. And, because of the biblical precedents set forth in Scripture, they never doubted that their experiment would work.

"But this was no pleasure cruise, friends. The journey to the New World was a long and arduous one. And when the Pilgrims landed in New England in November, they found, according to Bradford's detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness," destined to become the home of the Kennedy family. "There were no friends to greet them, he wrote. There were no houses to shelter them. There were no inns where they could refresh themselves. And the sacrifice they had made for freedom was just beginning.

During the first winter, half the Pilgrims – including Bradford's own wife – died of either starvation, sickness or exposure.

"When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers how to plant corn, fish for cod and skin beavers for coats." Yes, it was Indians that taught the white man how to skin beasts. "Life improved for the Pilgrims, but they did not yet prosper! This is important to understand because this is where modern American history lessons often end. "Thanksgiving is actually explained in some textbooks as a holiday for which the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians for saving their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments.

Here is the part [of Thanksgiving] that has been omitted: The original contract the Pilgrims had entered into with their merchant-sponsors in London called for everything they produced to go into a common store, and each member of the community was entitled to one common share.

"All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belong to the community as well. They were going to distribute it equally. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belonged to the community as well. Nobody owned anything. They just had a share in it. It was a commune, folks. It was the forerunner to the communes we saw in the '60s and '70s out in California – and it was complete with organic vegetables, by the way.

Bradford, who had become the new governor of the colony, recognized that this form of collectivism was as costly and destructive to the Pilgrims as that first harsh winter, which had taken so many lives.

He decided to take bold action. Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to work and manage, thus turning loose the power of the marketplace.

"That's right. Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism. And what happened?

What Bradford and his community found was that the most creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any harder than anyone else, unless they could utilize the power of personal motivation!

But while most of the rest of the world has been experimenting with socialism for well over a hundred years – trying to refine it, perfect it, and re-invent it – the Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently.

What Bradford wrote about this social experiment should be in every schoolchild's history lesson. If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering in the future.

"'The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God,' Bradford wrote. 'For this community [so far as it was] was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense...that was thought injustice.'

Why should you work for other people when you can't work for yourself? What's the point?

"Do you hear what he was saying, ladies and gentlemen? The Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property.

Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result?

'This had very good success,' wrote Bradford, 'for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.'

Bradford doesn't sound like much of a... liberal Democrat, "does he? Is it possible that supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? Yes.

"Read the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis 41. Following Joseph's suggestion (Gen 41:34), Pharaoh reduced the tax on Egyptians to 20% during the 'seven years of plenty' and the 'Earth brought forth in heaps.' (Gen. 41:47)

In no time, the Pilgrims found they had more food than they could eat themselves.... So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians. The profits allowed them to pay off their debts to the merchants in London.

And the success and prosperity of the Plymouth settlement attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known as the 'Great Puritan Migration.'"

Now, other than on this program every year, have you heard this story before? Is this lesson being taught to your kids today -- and if it isn't, why not? Can you think of a more important lesson one could derive from the pilgrim experience?

So in essence there was, thanks to the Indians, because they taught us how to skin beavers and how to plant corn when we arrived, but the real Thanksgiving was thanking the Lord for guidance and plenty -- and once they reformed their system and got rid of the communal bottle and started what was essentially free market capitalism, they produced more than they could possibly consume, and they invited the Indians to dinner, and voila, we got Thanksgiving, and that's what it was: inviting the Indians to dinner and giving thanks for all the plenty is the true story of Thanksgiving.

Now, I was just talking about the plenty of this country and how I'm awed by it. You can go to places where there are famines, and we usually get the story, "Well, look it, there are deserts, well, look it, Africa, I mean there's no water and nothing but sand and so forth."

It's not the answer, folks. Those people don't have a prayer because they have no incentive. They live under tyrannical dictatorships and governments.

The problem with the world is not too few resources. The problem with the world is an insufficient distribution of capitalism.

Hot links to the various items referenced above and below can be found within these commentaries at Rush's web site: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com

Read the Background Material... Thanksgiving Proclamation: George Washington 1789

George Washington 1789 November 24, 2004

Listen to Rush Read Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation... (audio)

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

The George Washington 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation. I want to start with that. We'll take a break and come back with the Real Story of Thanksgiving. First, here's what George Washington proclaimed in 1789:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility [sic], union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington

You want me to count the number of references to God? How about just the first line? "Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor." Let's see. One, two, three, four references in just that first clause. What a fanatic, George Washington! Just wanted you to hear that. That's the first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. The real story of Thanksgiving -- and by the way, the real story is continuing, what I just read to you. The thanks was given to God, not the Indians.

END TRANSCRIPT http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_112106/content/gwtgp.member.html

More Thanksgiving Proclamations Throughout History... The Continental Congress || Lincoln || Reagan || GWB

The Continental Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/thanks/thanks.html

Thanksgiving in American Memory
Founders Give Thanks | Thanksgiving Remembered | In Celebration of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Timeline!

The Manner in which the American Colonies Declared themselves INDEPENDANT of the King of ENGLAND. William Hamilton (1751-1801) delin, George Noble (dates unknown) sculp. Mixed method, 1783.

Following the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress recognized the need to give thanks for delivering the country from war and into independence. Congress issued a proclamation on October 11, 1782:

By the United States in Congress assembled.

PROCLAMATION.

IT being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged; the present happy and promising state of public affairs; and the events of the war, in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils, which is so necessary to the success of the public cause; the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their Allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them; the success of the arms of the United States, and those of their Allies, and the acknowledgment of their independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States:----- Do hereby recommend to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the twenty-eight day of NOVEMBER next, as a day of solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Done in Congress, at Philadelphia, the eleveth day of October, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh.

JOHN HANSON, President.

Charles Thomson, Secretary.

NOTE: In Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, search on Thanksgiving to see the original document above, " State of New-Hampshire. In Committee of Safety, Exeter, November 1, 1782 : Ordered, that the following proclamation for a general thanksgiving on the twenty-eighth day of November instant,..." [Hot links at web site]

According to y Gasset, "...Communism, now there is a piece of moral extravagance..."

Also, the Europe the Pilgrims left was still in a stranglehold of the monarchies.

If you didn't live in the country, then you HAD to have a trade in order to live anywhere else in the cities.

Living in the rural areas, you were nearly a vassal of the lord, and worked HIS land at HIS pleasure. Your produce was strictly accountable to him. You could not help yourself to a stick of firewood or a pheasant or anything else on his land (which is where you had to live.) You could freeze or starve in the midst of plenty. You committed infractions to this rule on pain of serious punishment.

It's one of the many reasons that they left Europe and probably why the pilgrims attempted what they thought was the more equitable plan of communal production when they arrived here. However, Capitalism is the better and the more efficient way. BUT requires, absolutely DEMANDS representative government to even approach equity of opportunities and means. The real magic in this whole equation is that the pilgrims recognized this and made the necessary changes in time so that the failed system was not permitted to become entrenched.

Abraham Lincoln: http://www.classicallibrary.org/lincoln/thanksgiving.htm

Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day

October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

A. Lincoln

Ronald Reagan:

http://www.thanksgivingworld.com/thanksgiving-proclamations/thanksgiving-1981.html

Thanksgiving Day Proclamation 1981

Date: November 12, 1981
By: Ronald Reagan

America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this nation throughout its history. In keeping with America's heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to god for all of His blessings. On this day of thanksgiving, it is appropriate that we recall the first thanksgiving, celebrated in the autumn of 1621. After surviving a bitter winter, the Pilgrims planted and harvested a bountiful crop. After the harvest they gathered their families together and joined in celebration and prayer with the Native Americans who had taught them so much. Clearly our forefathers were thankful not only for the material well being of their harvest but for this abundance of goodwill as well.

In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks. As we celebrate Thanksgiving in 1981, we should reflect on the full meaning of this day as we enjoy the fellowship that is so much a part of the holiday festivities. Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do sass individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance.

Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people. Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1981, as Thanksgiving Day. In witness where of, I have here unto set my hand this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth.

George W. Bush: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051119-1.html

Thanksgiving Day, 2005
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Thanksgiving 2005 [hot link at web site]

Thanksgiving Day is a time to remember our many blessings and to celebrate the opportunities that freedom affords. Explorers and settlers arriving in this land often gave thanks for the extraordinary plenty they found. And today, we remain grateful to live in a country of liberty and abundance. We give thanks for the love of family and friends, and we ask God to continue to watch over America.

This Thanksgiving, we pray and express thanks for the men and women who work to keep America safe and secure. Members of our Armed Forces, State and local law enforcement, and first responders embody our Nation's highest ideals of courage and devotion to duty. Our country is grateful for their service and for the support and sacrifice of their families. We ask God's special blessings on those who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

We also remember those affected by the destruction of natural disasters. Their tremendous determination to recover their lives exemplifies the American spirit, and we are grateful for those across our Nation who answered the cries of their neighbors in need and provided them with food, shelter, and a helping hand. We ask for continued strength and perseverance as we work to rebuild these communities and return hope to our citizens.

We give thanks to live in a country where freedom reigns, justice prevails, and hope prospers. We recognize that America is a better place when we answer the universal call to love a neighbor and help those in need. May God bless and guide the United States of America as we move forward.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 24, 2005, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

We should always try to remember the true story of Thanksgiving. It reminds me of a book I have. It's called 'Under God,' by Michael Tait and Toby Mac (Of the music group dc Talk), which focuses on both examining the stories of great men and women of faith who helped propel this country forward (i.e. several of the Founding Fathers, several civil rights activists), and also on providing, as a warning, accounts of some of the darker moments in our history (i.e. the murder of Emmett Till, the premiere of the film "Birth of a Nation" and Woodrow Wilson's reaction to it), to help keep history from repeating itself. I highly recommend it to everyone, it's a great read.

Anyway, at one point towards the beginning of the book, it accomplishes both of these objectives by sharing the stories of two of the earliest British colonies in America, Jamestown and Plymouth. Jamestown's founders were motivated almost exclusively by greed, as they sought to find gold in the area and please their investors. They initially claimed their mission was to 'Spread the Gospel' but they only brought one preacher along with them, and didn't even let him evangelize very much. Consequently, they were seriously hindered in all their efforts as a colony, and although they did survive, the way they did so would eventually lead to the birth of one of the ugliest blots on American history. See, they managed to earn enough money to survive by cultivating tobacco, but soon, European demand for it became so high that it required all the workers they could find, which ultimately led to the beginning of the African slave trade.
In contrast, the book then discusses the Pilgrims' founding Plymouth. The Pilgrims weren't interested in lining their pockets like the Jamestown settlers were, they just wanted the freedom to worship how they pleased. They continually relied on God's guidance, and as a result, even though they too faced hardships during their first winter, they managed to overcome them and prosper.

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