Rethinking Columbus

HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY, in case you had forgotten. Celebrate it while you still can; it may not be around much longer. Its a federal holiday, but was only made officially so in the nineteen thirties. In 1970 the date was set as the second Monday in October, in the spirit of the three day weekend. It was first celebrated in 1792, on the three hundreth anniversary of Columbus's first voyage, amid the patriotic fervor of the recently independent republic. In 1892 four hundred years of Columbus were celebrated with parades, picnics, patriotic speeches glorifying American progress of some sort, but, in 1992, when the first voyage was five hundred years bygone, far less attention was paid to it. In our modern era of political correctness, Columbus is gaining a a bad rep. Deservedly so. Columbus, though not a good guy by our standards, wa a typical European of his time; he coveted wealth above all else, particularly gold, and he knew for certain that non christian non european people were inferior to the point of not being truly human, and were thus best used as slave labor, or eliminated. Columubs made it clear in his journal:----- "they brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for glass beads. They willingly traded everything they owned. they were well built, with good bodies and handsome features. they do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword and they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. they have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjagate them all and make them do whatever we want." -------You have to admire the honesty, if not the value system. He first describes the natives in seemingly favorable terms, then plots their demise. It seems unclear whether he respects or denigrates their peaceful ways, but he certainly intended to take full advantage of them. There is no pretext or disguised intentions. These primitive non christian non european people, with all their admirable qualities,are best suited to serve Europeans. For hundreds of years the genocidal butchery of Columbus was overlooked from grade school through graduate school. Finally, the truth is being told in graduate school, and promises to eventually filter down to unaware youngsters. But Columbus Day will never be the same. The parades have vanished, the speeches and picnics vanished long ago, and altough the truth is seldom pretty, at least we can content ourselves knowing that we at least are taking a more honest approach to our history. The possibility that a three day weekend in October may soon vanish is an unpleasant prospect primarily for bankers and postal employees, but they'll find a way to muddle through.