Columbus Day

Today is Columbus Day.  When I was a kid I didn't think much about it.  I'm pretty sure it was never a holiday in California (where I grew up) so we marked the day and moved on.  I did go to school with a lot of Italian kids and remember them having celebrations.  As I progressed through life I don't remember much, if anything, about celebrating Columbus Day.  I know that some enclaves of Italians have parades and celebrate.  I know that my Son and Grand kids in Boston have the day off because it's a holiday there.  But like I said, not much awareness.

But with a lot of things in the digital age, information becomes magnified by access.  I've become aware today that Columbus was a low-life European scum who brought disease and exploited the natives.  He also didn't set foot on the North American continent so celebrating his discovery is just factually wrong.  He sold his services to the highest bidder.  He opened the door to slave trading and oppressed everyone he came in contact with.  Even though thousands of Italians celebrate their heritage through his adventures, they are misguided.  And the wisdom of Government has shown through as many local and State governments have bravely ripped Columbus off his pedestal and replaced the day with "Indigenous Peoples Day".  And for God's sake get rid of the statues.  They are offensive and oppressive and conjure up a hostile environment that so many just can't deal with.

Or maybe, just maybe, he was a brave man who set sail across the Atlantic a little over 500 YEARS AGO to discover what was on the other side of the ocean.  Maybe he was a visionary who believed that there was something out there.  Maybe he wanted to not only find new lands and discover new people, but also seek economic gain for his home through trade and expansion.  Maybe he didn't know he was bringing disease and maybe he brought just as many problems back.  There is no doubt that he faced extraordinary dangers and potentially hostile natives but maybe he was brave enough to discount the dangers in favor of seeking the unknown.

I don't know...I think that as we go deeper into the information age, I think it is sometimes too easy to judge history by today's standards.  We know something to be true today (or think it's true), and decide that it should have been true for all history.  As for me, I sort of like honoring some dude who was living 500 years ago (think about what life was like back then) and decided he would set out to discover an unknown land with unknown people on the other side of the world.  Seems to me that's something worth celebrating.  It's easy to get cynical if we have information that holds that achievement or that man in new light.  But you know what the definition of a cynic is?  Someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.  But I guess I can appreciate all the information that sheds new light on history and our brilliant public servants who spend their time working on the protection of the feelings of our indigenous people.  As for me...Happy Columbus Day!