PAX Centurion - September / October 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • September/October 2015 • Page 27 Pilgrims: the first socialists It didn’t work then, it doesn’t work now S EEING THE THRONGS of starry-eyed college students and gray-haired hippies with granny glasses going gaga at Bernie Sanders’ rallies, I could only shake my head at the naiveté… no… the gross stupidity… of those who are currently idolizing a man who has openly stated that it is his intention to take up to 90% of the income of “the rich.” (Ahm, for those of you who might be unaware, the current income of an average Boston Police Officer makes us “rich,” according to Sanders’ definition. Make sure you tell that to your college-age astronauts whose student loans you’re paying before they head off to a Bernie Sanders rally….) Anyway, this being the Thanksgiving season, the thought occurred to me that maybe the little skulls-full-of-mush who we’re paying thousands of dollars to “educate” (or is it indoctrinate?) at Faber Col- lege and associated Institutions of higher learning might be interested to discover that socialism and Bernie Sanders are nothing new. No, not at all. Socialism has failed before, as it will always fail. As you’re eating your Thanksgiving turkey, paid for from your hard work, ex- plain to the young brain surgeons that when the Pilgrims began their first full year in Plymouth in 1621, after a brutal winter, the agree- ment was for all to share equally in the food that was raised by the entire colony (the so-called “Mayflower Compact”). No matter how much each individual raised through his/her own hard labor, all food, clothing, meat, supplies etc. were to be shared equally. That first year, the crops failed misera- bly. The workers greatly resented waking before dawn and working the fields until after sunset while the lazy, indolent, mendicant sloths of Plymouth Colony lay about, secure in the knowledge that regard- less of their non-efforts, they would still receive a “fair share” (sound familiar???) of the other worker’s labors. This was socialism in actual practice- “From each according to his means, to each according to his needs.” ( Karl Marx) The next year, Gov. William Bradford decreed that each colonist would till their own fields and keep the majority of their own pro- duce, with a small tithe going to the common good to take care of the truly sick, infirm and elderly. The indolent sloths soon got the mes- sage: grow your own crops, work your own fields, or you won’t eat! Simple! That year, the colony bloomed and became self-sufficient and resulted in the first Thanksgiving, giving thanks to the Native Americans who had helped them survive their first tough winter inAmerica. Thanksgiving is truly a celebration of capitalism and individual effort.Your “feast” will be as big – or small – as you are willing to work for and provide for your family. While all understand By James W. Carnell, Pax Editor the need for charity for those who truly need it, charity does, indeed, begin at home. Socialism will always fail because it takes from one group, who get up in the morning and work all day and pay taxes, and gives the results of that labor to those who have decided to sit on their fat butts and let the government provide them with housing, food, health care, transportation, education, and all other needs and wants. A society where a few pull the wagon while many climb into the back and demand to be transported to their next meal will fail of necessity. It cannot survive. But that is the demented world occupied by Bernie Sanders and his followers. The Pilgrims discovered the failure of socialism in 1621. Tell your college-age nitwits this true story while they’re scarfing down your turkey and stuffing and telling you how Bernie Sanders and ElizabethWarren want to make everything “equal” and “fair.” Massachusetts Gov. William Bradford and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders – two socialists – one learned, one won’t.