In Defense of Columbus Day

As we enjoy another Columbus Day, it provides us an opportunity to witness the bonfire of dysfunction in our society, for those who call for its eradication as well as those few who are brave (or foolish) enough to come to its defense. Amidst the rabble of Progressives malcontents using the occasion to exercise their anti-Americanism, Caucasian-hating left-wing minorities masking their own racism with calls of "social justice" and the hand-wringing white liberals happily joining the chorus to prove their dedication to ending "white privilege," I will join the ranks of the brave and foolish in offering why Christopher Columbus deserves the recognition and the holiday which bares his name.

We all learned very early on that Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, under a charter from the nation of Spain, embarked on an expedition from Europe, ultimately landing on the islands of the western hemisphere in the late 15th century. The discoveries made by he and his team of sailors and fellow explorers paved the way for all of us who now call the "New World" home. All of us, be we black or white, Hispanic or Asian, native Americans by birth or members of "indigenous" people. The opening up of our side of the world has by consequence greatly increased the production capabilities of our species, and enabled the human population to grow to untold numbers.

Yes, it also set off a chain of events which displaced millions of others, killing many, and bringing us to the modern era, where the trans-continental slave trade, war and disease became a consequence of one man's vision. In terms of his personal character, although 500 year-old recollections are dubious at best, there is ample evidence to suggest that he was filled with his share of human frailties, was a bit of a grifter, swindled and short-changed laborers and business partners alike and had his share of sexual escapades that would be frowned upon by polite society.

The Transform Columbus Day Alliance (TCDA) describes themselves as an international coalition of various social justice groups whose mission is to challenge the "traditional ethnocentric view of Columbus as a pioneer and sole discoverer of the Americas" and to end the celebration of "512 years of invasion, cruelty, oppression, and cultural imperialism." In other words, it's a group of angry left-wingers comprised of minorities who hate Caucasians and guilt-ridden white people in need of an outlet to show they are "one of the good guys" working together to realize the stated (and not so publicized) goals of the 1955 Bandung Conference.

In any given major metropolitan area today, one can find hordes of angry protesters and malcontents similar to those shown in the video above, decrying the "invaders" represented in the personification of Columbus. Within the far-left Hispanic political culture, the annual hate-fest will ensue, with speakers lamenting that due to this man's expedition, "their land" was stolen from them, all the while ignoring the very "Eurocentric" aspects of both their appearance and their politics. Many will invoke the spirit and glory of the Aztec civilizations, conveniently omitting the centuries of horror and oppression they themselves perpetuated against other tribes of people unfortunate enough to have settled within geographic reach of this once dominant culture.

Their utter hypocrisy aside, there is very good reason to celebrate the man who was Christopher Columbus. We celebrate him simply for his accomplishments. We celebrate him because it is likely that none of us alive in America today would exist if not for him. We celebrate him because he opened up an entire hemisphere to the world of men (oops, my apologies...and women).

When we celebrate heroes in our society, we do so for the specific pertinent accomplishment, not its spider-web of consequence. We celebrated Florida State's Jameis Winston Heisman Trophy last year for his incredible exploits on the field. When the New York Athletic Club presented him with the trophy, it was not a reflection of his private character. We did not ask if his victories caused a drunken fan or two to beat up a rivals supporter, or caused a degenerate gambler to be beaten to a pulp by his bookie's cronies. We have applauded 1994 Nobel Prize winner Yasser Arafat for one specific collaboration with Shimon Peres and Yitzahk Rabin, fully aware that for much of his life he participated in nefarious action which caused harm and death to others. And we rightfully celebrate the work of Martin Luther King Jr. which helped Americans to a greater understanding of one another and advanced the goals of equality for black Americans and subsequently all minorities in our society. We didn't honor him with a holiday based on his family life or his sexual practices, we honored his accomplishments.

Christopher Columbus was filled with human frailties and imperfections, as we all are. The societies formed as a consequence of his discoveries have exploited others, gone to war with other nations for real estate and resources, as have societies since the dawn of time. To obsess on the negative aspects in the history of the Americas also fails to recognize the advancements and contributions to humanity from all those who were born and lived in the New World, a list that is quite substantial. In terms of how certain groups of human's dealt with others in their path, there is nothing unique in the post-Columbus experience, other than the names of the nations and people involved. The only thing unique about the holiday itself is that in the latter years of the 20th century angry leftists have adopted the holiday as an opportunity to give symbolism to all of their hatreds and the tangible goal of doing to the holiday what they covertly wish they could do to the human beings whose ancestors sprang from the continent of his birth...eradicate. And that in itself is enough reason to defend Columbus Day. Viva Christopher Columbus.

All four of my Jewish grandparents arrived here at the turn of the 19th/20th century from Russia and Eastern Europe.

But I was born here and have lived here my whole life.

So I think “Indigenous Peopls’s Day” is a great idea.

There should be a day on which we Indigenous Americans celebrate our native American culture and heritage - from Baseball to jazz to all the inventions and prosperity that our culture has created and bestowed on the rest of the world — as a counter offensive to all the unjustified attention and special privileges bestowed on the illegal aliens who have invaded us over the past several decades.

So here’s to “Indigenous People’s Day.” I hope it catches on nationwide next year, as a way of reclaiming our true American heritage.

I’ll start the celebration with a nice cold bottle of Sam Adams. How will you celebrate?

I should add that display of the Mexican flag ought to be outlawed on Indigenous people’s day, just as the display of the American flag has been outlawed on Sink O’DeMaio.

I heard someone read a facebook message that said, “Happy indigenous americans day....boo Columbus.”

As if Columbus knew what was on the other side when he departed Europe. As if he knew what he’d found when he arrived.

Why don’t we petition Congress to change the name of Columbus Day to Government Subsidy Day? After all, Columbus left Spain for the Indies (the East Indies) because the Mohammedans controlled the trade routes to the Indies. He stumbled upon the West Indies. While he was here, he did not know where he was. He found is way back and fourth a total of four more times. When he finally realized he wasn’t in the East Indies, the King and Queen of Spain were upset and had him imprisoned for failing to deliver the spices he had set out to deliver and imprisoned him. He had the last laugh. He did all that traveling on someone else’s money.

Actually, why don’t these liberals petition Congress to get rid of Columbus Day as a holiday. Rather than bitch about the nonsense they bitch about, take action, get their congressmen to pass the needed legislation to make them happy.

How Muslim Piracy Changed The World

The Age of Discovery was therefore launched to find a way around the threat of Islamic piracy. Yet these journeys had another, more military, purpose in mind. In his representations to the Spanish King and Queen, Columbus made it clear that the discovery of a “short” route to China might open the possibility of an alliance against Islam. The main purpose of the projected expedition was, in the words of Louis Bertrand, “to take Islam in the rear, and to effect an alliance with the Great Khan — a mythical personage who was believed to be the sovereign of all that region, and favourable to the Christian religion …” (Louis Bertrand, The History of Spain, p. 163) Bertrand was very insistent on this point, which he emphasized in half a dozen pages. The voyage of discovery was to begin a new phase, he says, in “the Crusade against the Moors which was to be continued by a new and surer route. It was by way of the Indies that Islam was to be dealt a mortal blow.” (Ibid.)

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