By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO
This was a parable told to me when I examined our choices in this upcoming election.
“In a distant valley, there stood a towering tree, its branches sprawling over the land, providing shade and shelter to the people below. This tree, however, was unlike any other. It mirrored the health and nature of the community that nurtured it. When the people were diligent, cooperative, and self-reliant, the tree thrived—its leaves shimmered with vibrant green, its roots stretched deep into the earth, and its fruits were bountiful. The entire community prospered, and everyone reaped the rewards of their effort.
“But over time, some people grew complacent. They relied on others to tend the tree, leaving the work to a few. Some even began to demand more shade, more fruit, without contributing. Soon, others joined in, asking for more from the tree than they gave back. As this mindset spread, the tree began to change. Its leaves lost their luster, its roots grew shallow, and the once plentiful fruit became sparse. The tree, once the heart of the valley, began to reflect the selfishness, division, and inattention of the people who had so richly benefitted from its robustness in the past.
“One elder stood before the people and said, ‘This tree is not dying because of its nature, but because of ours. As we care for it, so it will care for us. If we are divided and neglectful, so too will it wither. But if we unite and nurture it as one, it will flourish, and so will we.’
“And so, we learned: our tree was but a reflection of ourselves. The health of the tree, like the health of our government, is a mirror of our community’s care, responsibility, and our will.”
Government, whether local, state or federal, will always be a reflection of its constituency.
The story of 1620 founding of the Plymouth Colony offers a profound lesson about the dangers of government systems that ignore human nature in favor of utopian ideals as promised in Plato’s Republic.
The romanticized version of Plymouth’s history celebrated in our public school system often misses a key element: It was not the idealism of collective labor that saved the colony, but the very opposite.
It was, instead, a failed collectivist experiment. Land and resources were shared equally among all. This proved that when there is no personal incentive to work harder with meaningful outcomes, people naturally become unproductive. In Plymouth, this led to food shortages, rampant disease, and a near collapse of the entire settlement.
Here’s where the irony thickens. In an era that loves to laud inclusion and collectivism, many forget (or conveniently ignore) that it was private property rights and individual responsibility that ultimately saved Plymouth Colony. When the leaders ditched the grand communal vision and divided the land among families, the results were nothing short of miraculous. Suddenly, people were motivated to work for themselves, their families, and their futures. The colony, once starving, began to thrive.
Today, we find ourselves staring down similar illusions. Whether it’s through our own government’s self-serving dictums, union efforts, social programs, or singular issue-driven political platforms, we see the same old collectivist ideas creeping back. Only this time, they come cloaked in the righteousness of progressivism. Candidates and propositions woo voters with promises of solving specific problems without ever addressing the larger picture.
Union-backed political figures and proposition campaigns often promise prosperity for a select group or expanded benefits for a specific class, all while proposing solutions to narrow issues like raising the “minimum wage” or promoting “voting for the best candidate” instead of the party. However, these promises fail to address the broader needs of the entire community, neglecting the long-term health and prosperity of the majority in favor of short-term gains for the few. This selective approach risks fragmenting society and entrenching government control, all under the guise of progress.
And sure enough, with each election cycle, these promises pile up like short-term bandages on a long-term wound, creating a government bloated with inefficiency and bureaucracy.
This piecemeal approach to governance mirrors the collectivist mindset that nearly destroyed Plymouth. When the interests of a select few dominate, the greater good is sacrificed. Union-controlled candidates, in particular, often push for policies that benefit their narrow constituencies but impose costly burdens on the wider population. Think of it: expanding public sector unions’ influence might bring better wages to their members, but what does it cost the average Alaskan? Higher taxes, the demise of small businesses, increased government spending, and a slow erosion of the freedoms that come with self-reliance and individual accountability.
The lesson here is as relevant today as it was in 1620: a government that tries to manage every problem through collectivist means, rather than empowering its people to solve their own challenges, will always falter. The more we allow union-backed candidates and singular-issue politicians to dictate public policy, the more we risk repeating the mistakes of Plymouth Colony—only on a much grander, more dangerous scale.
The true story of Plymouth teaches us a vital truth: A government will always be a reflection of its people. If we value personal responsibility, limited government, and individual freedom, we must demand these principles from those that represent us.
But if we continue to fall for the promises of short-term fixes and collectivist ideals, we will only find ourselves burdened with an ever-growing bureaucracy and a government that serves the few at the expense of the many.
Michael Tavoliero is a writer at Must Read Alaska.
Very well stated.
👍👍
Could not have been stated better and with great understanding.
A very good read. It would have been good to include the letter from GovernorWilliam Bradford describing the change and extolling the virtues of capitalism. It’s a classic.
Home Depot sell tyrants blood?
Home Despot maybe?
Bravo! Very well stated and well written.
This is a greatly written please explaining, why one should not vote for Trump and its singular-issue politic of driving ‘Murica into a dictatorship.
Rally and vote Harris, who has proficiently explains her political agenda, with multiple focus points, and promote freedom. One doesn’t have to abandon heir faith to vote for the most compassionate candidate.
You have been blinded. You have let the “Ministry of Truth” flatter yourself with the lies that you and “The Party” desperately need to be true so all of you don’t have to go through a scary and humbling awakening. I invite you to break yourself free. You will find out how hard you have been gripping if you just let go. You will also find out you have been afraid of the wrong things and the wrong people that aren’t who you have been rewarded to see. Then you will find something much bigger than you that is much more fulfilling than working for “The Party”. You will find all of us, not just the select few that are stuck trying to construct a false reality that seems objective when in reality it is duplicitous and full of smug and insecure hatred.
I’ll remind you that Biden committed more executive orders in his first 100 days in office than Trump did during 4 years. And that’s just a nibble of how you have been willfully duped.
I’m sincere. Break yourself free and you will find out how stifled you have been. You’ll find out you don’t agree with anyone about everything and that’s ok. It’s actually great. Half of the nation isn’t racist greedy people and if they aren’t that it might be understanding why they don’t like being called that even though they have been made to tolerate it more than anyone should. And perhaps a much more productive and positive discussion will begin concerning disagreements if those kind of false accusations aren’t used simply to self validate fear and hatred.
If Plymouth Colony hadn’t learned how to let go of a collectivist mindset, they would have perished.
This brings to mine the Kennedy campaign of the 60’s. “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”. After his election, he created the Peace Corp. Even one of my teachers was motivated to serve 2 years. There was a lot of other fundamental changes. This was the Democratic Party caring about our Democracy. Where has it gone? It is not only the glutiny of Union’s but the whole society has got into ‘free bee’s’, I am special, and everyone is a winner if they show up attitude. I am not sure there is any hope because once given, it becomes a right. Maybe that is why this country is consuming itself, faster with the emotional media where the complete truth is never given (twisted truth) and lies are accepted. Division and conflict over the core values of a society is the bases for irrational behavior by both government and the governed.
I agree with your point, but the Pilgrims of 1620 need to be understood. They arrived in November and spent the winter on the ship. Half of them had died by the time of the Fall harvest feast. There were only eight adult women. Obviously, the families were not what they were when they set sail. There were fatherless families, motherless families and orphans.
In addition, they were a beleaguered group of 52 people in a land that was mostly hostile towards them. The Wamponoag were friendly because they needed an ally against those tribes hostile to them. The idea that they would just walk off the boat that first Spring and it was every family for itself would have been suicide.