[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] The Real Story of Thanksgiving and George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "Faith" <fdewaay at msn.com>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] The Real Story of Thanksgiving and George
Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation
Date: 
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:35:31 -0700

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_112107/content/01125113.guest.ht
ml

The Real Story of Thanksgiving 
Rush Limbaugh

      "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," and this is what's not
taught. This is what's left out. "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. 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. 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 collectivists! Now, "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. ... 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! Surprise, surprise, huh? 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," every
kid gets. "If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering in the
future." Here's what he wrote: "'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.'" That was thought injustice. "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 Clintonite, does he? Is it possible that
supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? ... 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, aside from this program, have you heard this
before? Is this "being taught to children -- and if not, why not? I mean,
is there a more important lesson one could derive from the Pilgrim
experience than this?" What if Bill and Hillary Clinton had been exposed to
these lessons in school? Do you realize what we face in next year's
election is the equivalent of people who want to set up these original
collectivists communes that didn't work, with nobody having incentive to do
anything except get on the government dole somehow because the people
running the government want that kind of power.  So the Pilgrims decided to
thank God for all of their good fortune.  And that's Thanksgiving.  And
read George Washington's first Thanksgiving address and count the number of
times God is mentioned and how many times he's thanked.  None of this is
taught today.  It should be.  Have a happy Thanksgiving, folks.  You
deserve it.  Do what you can to be happy, and especially do what you can to
be thankful, because in this country you have more reasons than you've ever
stopped to consider. 


http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_112107/content/thanksgiving_proc
lamation__george_washington_1789_.guest.html
      "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."   Rush Limbaugh

      The George Washington 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation
      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