Thanksgiving: a story unfolds

r
renqiulan
楼主 (文学峸)

From "Old England" the Pilgrims barely made it to America through treacherous waters. They established the Plymouth Colony in today's New England in 1620.

As reflected in their Mayflower Compact, the first instinct of the surviving Pilgrims was to go on surviving collectively. All for one and one for all. Sharing and caring sounded so promising. Soon enough, the Colony turned itself into a collective farm. An authority came into being, centrally planning and regulating everything for everybody. A people's commune debuted in the name of God.

Playing God, the authority ran afoul of human nature. Folks fought central planning like hell. They insisted on keeping what they labored for---after tax. That way, they reasoned, free producers would be much more able to help the less fortunate. After all, as the proverb goes, "charity begins at home." With it, a homegrown idea of small government loomed big. Personal liberty became respectable.

That's when and where the spirit of free enterprise was coming into play among the Pilgrims, which in due course underlied the Declaration of Independence of 1776
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Author: renqiulan 

盈盈一笑间
沙发!秋兰,感恩节快乐!占位点赞。:))

在朋友家聚餐。等回家再仔细看帖。

暖冬cool夏
All for one and one for all. 人人为我,我为人人。秋兰好文!
C
CBA7
秋兰,Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for the Thanksgiving story!
C
CBA7
From "Old England" to New England,
C
CBA7
the spirit of free enterprise is the key.
方外居士
Thanks for introducing the origin of “free enterprise “
盈盈一笑间
In the journey to Boston this summer, I visited the place
盈盈一笑间
where the Mayflower landed and reflected on American history
盈盈一笑间
of that time. Also on my travel, I met a local American
盈盈一笑间
couple whose daughter-in-law was of Chinese descent and
盈盈一笑间
a graduate of MIT. I even got a Thanksgiving greeting from
盈盈一笑间
them yesterday.

 

Happy Thanksgiving from Plymouth

r
renqiulan
Happy Black Friday to you!
r
renqiulan
Thank you! That motto comes from "The Three Musketeers."
r
renqiulan
Happy Black Friday to you!
r
renqiulan
We may not be living among the Pilgrims, but the Pilgrims
r
renqiulan
are always living among us, figuratively speaking.
r
renqiulan
Happy Black Friday to you. Yes, free enterprise is the
r
renqiulan
greatest Thanksgiving gift for Americans.
r
renqiulan
So you're close to my neighborhood. Such a small world!
卫宁
Happy Thanksgiving!
r
renqiulan
Thank you! I wish you every success and happiness.
C
CBA7
Thank you! My Friday is sunny and warm, not black at all :)