Those who don't Learn their History are doomed to repeat it... Thanks for this important reminder of who we are, and where we have been.
Now it is time for us to determine where we are going, on November 4th. On Oct 7, 5:42 pm, Jim Willis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The socialists among us are coming out of the woodwork with their hair > on fire. Were the subject matter of less import this might be amusing. > The Marxists see the current financial crisis as their opportunity to > convince Joe-six-pack of the futility and inequities of capitalism. > > Personally, I just eat this up with a spoon. As these pseudo- > intellectuals blather and bloviate on a subject they understand much > as Paris Hilton understands advanced astrophysics they put on display > the wasted tax dollars we spent on their public education. > > Firstly, let us not vacillate on the difference between communism and > socialism. Either ideology is interchangeable and not dissimilar. > Suggesting a chasm is akin to two fleas arguing over the dog they > inhabit, both are, “free riding” leeches. > The wooden dagger to the heart of socialism is that wherever it’s been > tried, it has failed, including here. More on that in my jaw dropping > close; stay tuned. > > You might ask yourself, or have I ask of you, how, in just over two > hundred years, America leads the world in all fields of human > endeavor? As the author it is legitimate for me to answer my prescient > posit thusly; it is our freedoms and capitalism. After all, in its > most condensed form, capitalism is simply the freedom to engage in > commerce. > > Capitalism inspires competition insuring the best goods and services > to the consumer. It invokes innovation by rewarding it. It is the best > pricing mechanism known to the world as free markets will always self > correct. Capitalism regulates supply by linking it to demand. > > Socialism inspires no one and limits the potential of man by not > rewarding perspiration and innovation. It rewards success and failure > equally ensuring mediocrity. It stifles ambition by removing > competition. It removes ambition, aptitude and ability from the > success quotient. In short; it is the antithesis of democracy and > makes comparable brilliant innovation and sub-par performance. > Besides, America has had its foray into socialism. > > A group of separatists first fled to Holland and established a > community. After eleven years, about forty of them agreed to make a > perilous journey to the New World, where they would certainly face > hardships, but could live and worship God according to the dictates of > their own consciences. > On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 > passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. 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. > 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 starvation, sickness or exposure. When spring finally came, > Indians taught the settlers how to plant corn, fish for cod and skin > beavers for coats. 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 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. > > 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 harnessing the power of the > marketplace. > > Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and > experimented with what could only be described as socialism. And what > happened? It didn't work! 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. > > "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? > > 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 un-harnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking > the under girding 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." They prospered and what followed was the great puritan > migration. The rest is history, as it were. Capitalism it seems is > infectious and an abiding principal of the human condition; provided > it is to succeed. > Conservative Springfield 07OCT08 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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