We hear much today about how everything should be "fair" and "equal." Plymouth Colony, 1620, was one of the first experiments in "fairness" and "equality" by the first colonists with disastrous results. Almost 50 percent of the colonists were dead within the first year. The colony was rescued by William Bradford, who instituted a system of what we now know as free market capitalism.
Food, clothing, housing, and medical care are now defined as "rights." America maintained a system for many years in which these things were provided free to its participants. It was called slavery. That system was finally abandoned after over 625,000 Americans were killed and large areas of the country were devastated.
One can only wonder where the current emphasis on "fairness, equality, and rights" will lead us.
Philip W. Haymaker, Sr.
Hixson
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Mr. Haymaker,
I don't know where you get your information, but the Puritans only landed at Plymouth Rock because they had ran out of beer. Those same people you hold in such high esteem, also burned witches at the stage out of ignorance and superstition.
The Puritans, those people whom Robert Ingersoll claimed "braved the dangers of the deep to come here and persecute their fellow man." In the early stages of our country protecting the community held the highest priority, so socialistic policy was very popular. In fact, it was essential to the survival of the community.
Every community had some type of policy that was what socialistic. People who say that our country was not founded on socialism, ignore the fact that land was stolen from the Indians to give to settlers just like Mr. Haymaker; for free. Something for nothing? Sure sounds like socialism to me.
Stephen Durham
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How ironic. The native Americans shared their skills, food and friendship with the puritans (socialism?).
Betsy Bramlett
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Mr. Durham and Ms. Bramlett have attempted to dupe unsuspecting citizens into believing that socialism, which is communism by a different name, has been responsible to a large degree for our national success, we have just been too ignorant to admit it. Since the national income tax has been configured according to the Marxist dictum "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," I won't deny that socialism/communism is what we have here today. But it was not always so.
Communism in its most basic form can be seen occurring in most families, where those who work share unconditionally with those who don't. However, the main motivation of those who emigrated to this land was freedom of religion, the freedom to make a profit, or some combination thereof. Fortunately, the concept of making a profit was able to flourish in this country long before Europe succumbed to progressive ideas.
What does the emanation of progressivism from Europe have to do with America? Well, similar to a scene common to any of the Sigourney Weaver / Alien movies, progressivism that erupted in Europe quickly turned towards North America. I suspect that we are closer to the phase where our own stomachs erupt instead of having a Sigourney Weaver outcome, but the average citizen out there deserves to be told that Abe Lincoln and Karl Marx were not birds of a feather, no matter how many people try to say otherwise.
Paul Triplett
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When I share what I have earned that is personal "freedom of choice." Sound familiar? When the government takes what I have earned and gives it to someone that is socialism.
Margaret Thatcher was credited in saying,"The problem with socialism is you run out of other peoples money to spend." Maybe not word for word but close.
N.D. Kennedy Sr.
Ooltewah