November 29, 2025 • 10 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving with family, with friends
with Love. A few days ago, we aired our tribute
to Rush Limbaugh. For today's podcast, I'd like to share
Rush's the true story of Thanksgiving. This has become an
annual tradition for us. It never gets old because Rush,
as you know, is timeless.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
The true story of Thanksgiving, the story of the Pilgrims,
begins in the early part of the seventeenth century. The
Church of England, under King James the First was persecuting
anyone and everyone who did not recognize its absolute civil
and spiritual authority. Those who challenged ecclesiastical authority and those
who believe strongly in freedom of worship were hunted down, imprisoned,
(00:44):
and sometimes executed for their beliefs. 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 hardship
but could live and worship God according to the dictates of.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Their own consciences.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
On August first, sixteen to twenty, the Mayflowers set sail
it carried a total of one hundred two passengers, including
forty Pilgrims, led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford
set up an agreement, a contract the established just and
equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective
of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed
(01:30):
in a Mayflower Compact come from?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
They came from the Bible.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons
of the Old.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Example, and because of the biblical precedent set forth in scripture,
they never doubted that their experiment would work. But it
was no pleasure cruise. 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 detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness. There were
(02:04):
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 that they had made
for freedom was just beginning. During the first winter, half
the pilgrims, including Bradford's own wife, died either starvation, sickness,
or exposure. When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers
(02:27):
how to plant corn fish for cod and skin beavers
for coats. Life improved for the pilgrims, but they did
not yet prosper, and 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
(02:48):
their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude
grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Here's the part that's been omitted.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
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 that they cleared and the houses they built belonged
to the community as well, and they were going to
distribute it equally. All the land they cleared, the houses
(03:20):
they built belonged to the community. Nobody owned anything, They
just had a share in it. It was a commune.
It was the forerunner to the communes we saw in
the sixties and seventies out in California. And it was
a complete with organic vegetables, even just like the communes
of today are.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
God No, there's no question it was organic vegetables.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
He decided to take bold action.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to
work and manage, thus turning loose the power in the marketplace.
Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had
discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And what happened. It didn't work, but it nearly starved.
It never has worked.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What Bradford in his community found was that the most
creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any
harder than anybody else unless they could utilize the.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Power of personal motivation.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
But while most of the rest of the world has
been experimenting with socialism, for well over one hundred years,
trying to refine it, perfect it, and reinvent it. The
Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford
wrote about this social experiment should be in every school
child's history lesson. If it were, we might prevent such
needless suffering in the future, such as that we are
(04:55):
enduring now. The experience that we had in this common
course and condition. This is Bradford, the experience we had
in his common course and condition. Tired or tried someday
years that by taking away property and bringing community into
a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
As if they were wiser than God.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Bradford wrote, for this community, so far as it was
was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retired
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 being paid for it. That was thought injustice.
(05:41):
Why should you work for other people when you can't
work for yourself? What's the point. That's what he was saying.
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 unharnished the power of good old
free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property.
(06:09):
Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work,
and permitted to market its own crops and products. What
was the result, Bradford wrote, this had very good success,
for it made all hands industrious, so as much more
corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Is it
(06:30):
possible that supply side economics could have existed.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Before the nineteen eighties. Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Read the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis forty one.
Following Joseph's suggestion, Pharaoh reduced the tax on Egyptians of
twenty percent during the seven years of plenty, and the
earth brought forth in heaps well. At no time, the
pilgrims found that they had more food than they could
eat themselves. This this is where it gets really good
(06:57):
if you're laboring under the misconception that I was because
I was taught in school. They set up trading posts.
They exchanged goods with the Indians, the prophets allowed them
to pay off their debts to the merchants in London,
and the success and the prosperity of the Plymouth settlement
(07:17):
attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known
as the Great Puritan Migration. But this story stops when
the Indians taught the newly arrived suffering in socialism pilgrims
how to plant corn and fish for cod. That's where
the original Thanksgiving story stops. Story basically doesn't even begin there.
(07:38):
The real story of Thanksgiving is William Bradford giving thanks
to God for the guidance and the inspiration to set
up a thriving colony that socialism caused near starvation. The
bounty was shared with the Indians. They did sit down,
they did have free range turkey and organic vegetables.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
But it wasn't the Indians who saved the day.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
It was capitalism and scripture which saved the day, as
acknowledged by George Washington in his first Thanksgiving proclamation in
seventeen eighty nine.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You liked the Michael Berry Show in podcast, Please tell
one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a nice
review of our podcast. Comments suggestions, questions, and interest in
being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated directly
to the show at our email address, Michael at Michael
(08:42):
Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website,
Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast
is produced by Ramon Roeblis, the King of Ding. Executive
producer is Chad Knakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(09:07):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLean.
Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit. Where not,
(09:29):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(09:54):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free counseling.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Three
The Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving with family, with friends
with Love. A few days ago, we aired our tribute
to Rush Limbaugh. For today's podcast, I'd like to share
Rush's the true story of Thanksgiving. This has become an
annual tradition for us. It never gets old because Rush,
as you know, is timeless.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
The true story of Thanksgiving, the story of the Pilgrims,
begins in the early part of the seventeenth century. The
Church of England, under King James the First was persecuting
anyone and everyone who did not recognize its absolute civil
and spiritual authority. Those who challenged ecclesiastical authority and those
who believe strongly in freedom of worship were hunted down, imprisoned,
(00:44):
and sometimes executed for their beliefs. 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 hardship
but could live and worship God according to the dictates of.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Their own consciences.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
On August first, sixteen to twenty, the Mayflowers set sail
it carried a total of one hundred two passengers, including
forty Pilgrims, led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford
set up an agreement, a contract the established just and
equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective
of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed
(01:30):
in a Mayflower Compact come from?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
They came from the Bible.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons
of the Old.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Example, and because of the biblical precedent set forth in scripture,
they never doubted that their experiment would work. But it
was no pleasure cruise. 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 detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness. There were
(02:04):
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 that they had made
for freedom was just beginning. During the first winter, half
the pilgrims, including Bradford's own wife, died either starvation, sickness,
or exposure. When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers
(02:27):
how to plant corn fish for cod and skin beavers
for coats. Life improved for the pilgrims, but they did
not yet prosper, and 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
(02:48):
their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude
grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Here's the part that's been omitted.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
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 that they cleared and the houses they built belonged
to the community as well, and they were going to
distribute it equally. All the land they cleared, the houses
(03:20):
they built belonged to the community. Nobody owned anything, They
just had a share in it. It was a commune.
It was the forerunner to the communes we saw in
the sixties and seventies out in California. And it was
a complete with organic vegetables, even just like the communes
of today are.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
God No, there's no question it was organic vegetables.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
He decided to take bold action.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to
work and manage, thus turning loose the power in the marketplace.
Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had
discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And what happened. It didn't work, but it nearly starved.
It never has worked.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What Bradford in his community found was that the most
creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any
harder than anybody else unless they could utilize the.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Power of personal motivation.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
But while most of the rest of the world has
been experimenting with socialism, for well over one hundred years,
trying to refine it, perfect it, and reinvent it. The
Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford
wrote about this social experiment should be in every school
child's history lesson. If it were, we might prevent such
needless suffering in the future, such as that we are
(04:55):
enduring now. The experience that we had in this common
course and condition. This is Bradford, the experience we had
in his common course and condition. Tired or tried someday
years that by taking away property and bringing community into
a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
As if they were wiser than God.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Bradford wrote, for this community, so far as it was
was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retired
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 being paid for it. That was thought injustice.
(05:41):
Why should you work for other people when you can't
work for yourself? What's the point. That's what he was saying.
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 unharnished the power of good old
free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property.
(06:09):
Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work,
and permitted to market its own crops and products. What
was the result, Bradford wrote, this had very good success,
for it made all hands industrious, so as much more
corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Is it
(06:30):
possible that supply side economics could have existed.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Before the nineteen eighties. Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Read the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis forty one.
Following Joseph's suggestion, Pharaoh reduced the tax on Egyptians of
twenty percent during the seven years of plenty, and the
earth brought forth in heaps well. At no time, the
pilgrims found that they had more food than they could
eat themselves. This this is where it gets really good
(06:57):
if you're laboring under the misconception that I was because
I was taught in school. They set up trading posts.
They exchanged goods with the Indians, the prophets allowed them
to pay off their debts to the merchants in London,
and the success and the prosperity of the Plymouth settlement
(07:17):
attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known
as the Great Puritan Migration. But this story stops when
the Indians taught the newly arrived suffering in socialism pilgrims
how to plant corn and fish for cod. That's where
the original Thanksgiving story stops. Story basically doesn't even begin there.
(07:38):
The real story of Thanksgiving is William Bradford giving thanks
to God for the guidance and the inspiration to set
up a thriving colony that socialism caused near starvation. The
bounty was shared with the Indians. They did sit down,
they did have free range turkey and organic vegetables.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
But it wasn't the Indians who saved the day.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
It was capitalism and scripture which saved the day, as
acknowledged by George Washington in his first Thanksgiving proclamation in
seventeen eighty nine.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You liked the Michael Berry Show in podcast, Please tell
one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a nice
review of our podcast. Comments suggestions, questions, and interest in
being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated directly
to the show at our email address, Michael at Michael
(08:42):
Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website,
Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast
is produced by Ramon Roeblis, the King of Ding. Executive
producer is Chad Knakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(09:07):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLean.
Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit. Where not,
(09:29):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(09:54):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free counseling.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
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