🦃 The Pilgrims Tried Socialism and Wised Up!

This Thanksgiving, while families sit around tables and politicians argue on TV about what America “owes” its citizens, maybe we should revisit the lesson our founders learned the hard way.

The Pilgrims Tried Socialism and Wised Up!

Every November, we gather around tables, pass the turkey, snap the family photos, and say we’re thankful. But somewhere along the way, the actual story of Thanksgiving — the real one — got buried under Hallmark cards, classroom posters, and political spin.

Rush Limbaugh used to tell a version of this story every Thanksgiving, and whether you loved him, hated him, or never listened to a second of talk radio, the message still hits with refreshing clarity today. And Gen Z, of all generations, needs to hear it most.

Because the original Thanksgiving isn’t just a feel-good tale about Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a meal. It’s a lesson about human nature, economic reality, and the difference between a system that rewards hard work… and a system that punishes it.

Here’s what actually happened.

When the Pilgrims first arrived, they set up what was basically a socialist commune. Everything went into a collective pot — food, crops, supplies. Everyone was supposed to take what they needed. It sounded noble. It sounded fair. And it absolutely failed.

People stopped working as hard because the incentive disappeared. Productivity tanked. Hunger set in. And the colony nearly collapsed.

But then something changed. And it changed everything.

Governor William Bradford decided to scrap the collective model and assign each family their own private plot of land. Suddenly, people worked harder because they reaped the reward of their own labor. They didn’t depend on someone else’s effort — they depended on their own.

The results were instant.

Crops exploded. Families thrived. Prosperity returned. And for the first time, there was abundance — enough abundance to invite their Native American neighbors to feast with them.

That’s the Thanksgiving story America never gets taught.

Not because it isn’t true — it is. But because it cuts against the narrative so many modern politicians push: that collectivism can work if we just try it “the right way,” that incentives don’t matter, that government can replace personal responsibility.

But the Pilgrims learned in a single brutal winter what some still refuse to admit: when people are rewarded for their effort, they flourish. When they aren’t, they don’t.

It’s a message for every generation, but Gen Z especially.

Because today, we’re told capitalism is the enemy. Hard work is outdated. The government should guarantee everything. Personal responsibility is “privilege.” Dependence is “compassion.”

But history — real history — tells a different story.

It tells us that freedom works. Incentives work. Ownership works. And prosperity isn’t something you redistribute — it’s something you create.

The first Thanksgiving wasn’t just a meal. It was a turning point. It was the moment the Pilgrims abandoned a failing system and embraced one that matched human nature rather than fought it.

And the abundance that followed wasn’t an accident. It was the fruit of a simple truth:

People take better care of what they own.

This Thanksgiving, while families sit around tables and politicians argue on TV about what America “owes” its citizens, maybe we should revisit the lesson our founders learned the hard way.

Gratitude is important. But so is the reason they had something to be grateful for in the first place.

Freedom — not collectivism — is what saved that colony.

And it’s what can save ours now.

Brilyn Hollyhand is a 19-year-old political commentator, bestselling author of “One Generation Away: Why Now is the Time to Restore American Freedom”, and host of “The Brilyn Hollyhand Show”. He’s a freshman at Auburn University studying political science. For more of his hot takes you can follow him on socials @Brilyn Hollyhand or visit BrilynHollyhand.com.