How ironic, how stunning, how sad – that the day on which America celebrates our discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, second Monday in October, was replaced by Joe Biden in 2021 with “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” If calendars recognize Columbus Day, Biden does not.
These days, we are encouraged to forget, ignore, and erase Christopher Columbus. Opprobrium – vilest condemnation – is heaped on him, as if he bears responsibility for all the world’s ills. As statues, namesakes, and nameplates of American heroes like Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington are removed by activists for not being “woke,” we are losing Columbus.
To be clear, we should never – ever – do that. What lives in memory lives. Whatever failures the man had, whatever downstream effects flowed from a clash of developed and primitive civilizations, Columbus was what he was – intrepid, courageous, the living embodiment of taking risks with high purpose, tireless hope, and personal resolve.
Is that not what we want our children to do, leaders to do, society to be? Daring enough to keep trying, unflinching when storms rake us, determined to persevere when others give up, ignited by curiosity, willing to think for ourselves, explore, learn, investigate, remain hopeful when others lose hope. That was Columbus.
Somehow, saying this is not enough. The comeback is insensitivity to primitive cultures, a sense that we have discovered all truth in our time, that he should have acted on it in his time, that even as our Founders should have been “woke” not just revolutionary.
The headlong drive to erase Columbus from history, vilify him, blame him for everything the left hates, while elevating those who – in truth – were no more “woke,” Indian populations, hardly equitable to women, minorities, each other, or for that matter on track to discover penicillin, the telephone, combustion engine, human rights, or go to the moon – is a bit absurd.
Mark Twain, himself banned now, wrote with irony, not prejudice: “All I care is that a man is a human being – that is enough for me, he cannot get any worse.”
In that spirit, indulge some irony …
“Happy Indigenous Day! What about Columbus? That guy we used to celebrate for risking everything? He was a bum. A bum? Yeah, discovered it at 41, late bloomer, Italian white privilege, moved to Portugal because they had DACA, and took a loan that the Queen forgave later when he brought stuff back.
Guy named his ship the ‘Santa Maria,’ Saint Mary, you know. Obviously a deplorable type, one of those who “cling to God and guns,” and obviously total MA guy, you know “Make America.”
Anyway, we can forget him, his parents were wool weavers, capitalists, probably homeschooled him. Had to be dinged up, ‘cause everybody knew the world was flat, but he didn’t get it, total non-conformist.
So, the guy gets here, all pumped up ‘cause he’s first, and immediately starts messing with people’s heads, calls them Indians, they say ‘cause he thinks he’s in the West Indies, but gimme a break. He was messing with them, typical Euro.
The guy was a “one note Johnny” too, just went back and forth, three more expeditions, one discovering Cuba, but what a lightweight, thought he was in Japan. I mean, what, you think Cuba looks like Japan? Just watch Discovery Channel, bang, you know, or google it, what was he daft?
Honestly, the dude also discovered Haiti and Dom Rep, and look what that got us. Haiti is impoverished. Dom Rep is hit with hurricanes, just like Cuba. Get the point? This guy started Climate change. I mean, without him, no industry, no fossil fuel discovery, no big business. Get it? This guy was bad news.
If only Senator Elizabeth Warren’s relative, that one from Canada in the 1400s, had gotten the chance, everybody would still be eating local, we’d have solar power, drive soy cars, love wind, tons of corn.
But what did we get? A Euro guy who didn’t bother to think big, no electric cars, no solar cells, no focus on Mother Earth, just a bunch of sailing, bunch of sunny days on the sea. Plus, the guy spent most of his time in the south, really was the first Confederate. That’s probably unfair, cuz he didn’t invent the flag, but he would have fought with Lee for sure.
They never tell you if he had any trans sailors, if he knew about critical race theory, or was a threat to democracy. He probably was, cuz he worked for a king, wore skins like an insurrectionist. Notice he took no selfies, that’s suspicious.
Okay, so give the guy his due, he car jacked a couple of islands, got defunded, didn’t need carbon credits, cuz he used wind, but what else?
All the stuff after is his fault. The guy was like Trump before Trump, the American Dream before the American Dream, a bunch of errors, botches, failures – one or two successes, bringing Western civilization to the New World. Okay, big deal.
The real questions are still unanswered. Where’s the equity, why was he so insensitive, what were his pronouns, was he non-binary, did his men use litter boxes, why did they have unregistered guns, and why wasn’t he on Twitter – or was he kicked off?
As the History channel says: “Christopher Columbus undoubtedly changed the world. But was it for the better?” Right on, dope, FIRE, savage! Get it now? The guy’s just an example of what’s gone wrong, how great it was in 1491, and hey, maybe his relatives will compensate us. Whatdaya think? Let’s ask Biden. Happy Indigenous Day!”
Sometimes … keeping history in place, not erasing it, not rewriting it, not blaming it for the time in which it unfolded, but thinking – for a moment – about the courage, tenacity, boldness, and risk of those who persevered in their time, which is why we remember them, is worth doing. Columbus Day is one.
Well said RBC. The idea that we can take 21st century values and retroactively apply them to any figures from the past, that lived in times with quite different values and norms from what we currently hold today over 500 years later, is of course absurd. Yet the “progressive” left none the less advocates exactly that on a regular basis for all historical figures it targets for what today is known as “cancellation”.
At least 50 to 60 years ago, we more accurately described this sort of action by various Marxist based governments around the world as simply politically re-writing history to try and wipe past leaders and their acolytes from the public conscience of the people under their power. Tearing down statues, renaming buildings, burning portraits and re-writing history books was a booming business in the old Soviet Union and other Socialist Utopias. China of course still does much the same thing with little fanfare from western media. Today in our own country, we coddle the Marxists here and try to make excuses for this aberrant behavior in the name of “tolerance”. These are indeed interesting times in which to live. So we should definitely celebrate Columbus Day, even as 10 states in our country are running around saying Happy Indigenous Day!
Columbus was not the best nut he did “try” which is more that we can expect from the current administration. History is just that..History and should be there to help us deal with the present and futures times. Lincoln and Jefferson should be admired for all of the “Good” they did for our USA. They deserve respect.
Praise Columbus for Explorations alone, Poor as a colony Mgr etc
Credit where due is needed
The Marxists running the USA today know nothing about courage or morality. They are so misguided.
Just more woke ignorance blaming him and others for things they wouldn’t have know or understood. And just because the woke clowns want go make him and others go away doesn’t mean we have to. For myself it is and always will be Columbus day no matter what the weak minded drones say.
Leftists (aka Communists) like to denigrate certain true heroes but have ZERO people whom they admire that ever did ANYTHING to help the people of the world!
In their efforts to destroy America from within, the Marxist are deliberately trying to rewrite our history so that new generations of Americans will never know the true history of this country. This started with “political correctness” which is a form of censorship. Now it’s escalated to “woke” a meaningless word that defies logic. How long are we going to allow the demented left to take us down this rabbit hole???
I’m a Knight of Columbus member and I’m Proud to be one ! I’m Celebrating Columbus Day today , and Always Will !!!!
There was only ONE who was without sin, all the rest of us, including the commie idiots who think they run this country, have sinned. The day they try to “erase” my Lord Jesus, they will have to answer to me.
We need to rid our country of democrats and evil and bring it back to GOD on which it was founded.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! You nailed every miserable inch of what’s wrong today. Mark Twain is somewhere laughing til his sides ache!
I believe we should celebrate Leif Erickson as the founder of America. After all he was here 500 years before Columbus and he actually landed on the North American Continent. Unlike Columbus who landed in the islands and never once set foot on the North American Continent. No, I’m not a Demobrat nor leftist. I am a realist and believe the truth should be recognized not an idea that is not accurate.
Erase Columbus declare Indigenous People day and celebrate Hispanic heritage month This is absurdity at it’s best
If the Broke woke succeed by helping tear this Country down and it becomes the communist they think they want, I wonder what they will do when their opinion doesn’t count anymore. They really can’t think for themselves. Rather, they are the useful idiots.
Happy Columbus Day! I learned this in school and believe what He is is what he is. The “woke” culture is not real, unless your=’re a socialist, communist. or illeagal. American HIstory should not be forgotten and is part of the American culture. Many people in the country today don’t even know who Columbus is..
Commie Joe and his woke minions hate America. Happy Columbus Day!!
FJB
The DEMOCRATs changed the name of Columbus Day to “Indigenous Peoples Day” for pure political gain . Actually , they just wanted to just get rid of the day . But their major constituentcy , the civil service and police unions , had long ago negotiated Columbus Day into their list of paid holidays . Which of course means that we the citizenry are actually paying for Columbus Day (Not Indigenous Peoples Day ) .
One of the falsehoods being taught about the “native Americans” was that they were “conservationists” . Not at all true . . But what is not taught is the fact that they ate everything that walked on four feet . . THEY are the reason for so many extinctions . If they were conservationists at all , it was only because after they ate almost everything out of existence , they themselves
began to decline . Many “native Americans” spread southward along the Pacific coast to Central and South America where they continued their cruel practices , much of which has been revealed by archeology . The estimated population west of the Rockies was greater than all the rest of the native
Americans east of the Rockies for all of the north American continent . The American Indian had never even got around to inventing the wheel . They walked . . They also had no horses nor other beasts of burden . It was Columbus and later explorers who brought horses to the Americas . Therefore , the Indians OWE Columbus a great debt and should THANK him for coming to N. America . Native Americans should be celebrating Columbus Day .
In addition to Columbus , there were many many other Europeans and others who came to N. America . Among the first was a fellow named Brenden , He and his fellow travelers left their marks in various places . Which can be found in Connecticut (search America’s Stonehenge ) and all down along the Appalachian trail to Georgia in the form of Ogham hieroglyphs and dolmans (stone constructions ) , etc. There’s a growing suspicion that perhaps some Roman and Phoenicians and Egyptians were also here. And of course, we strongly suspect that the Vikings were here too . I suspect that thousands of ancient fishermen got blown off course and wound up here too , not knowing where they were , and their families may have thought they fell off the edge of the Earth .
BTW, I’ve been to Korea , one of the believed sources of the original “native” Americans . I can tell you that in the 1970 , they were eating dogs and cats Even the chickens looked malnourished . If you ever went to one of their open air non-refridgerated Butcher shops ( including summer ) ( Winter was safer ) , you’d see various kinds of skinned / gutted animals hanging on hooks from which the ‘butcher’ would cut off the part you wanted and , the additional maggot protein / flavoring was free of charge .
Any disease that was brought here by Columbus and his followers was unintentional and not understood by him and his crews. Nor was that understood by any of the fichermen who may have arrived here accidently . . Columbus and his followers also contracted diseases from the Indians . And , may have brought those diseases back to Europe .
Even today barely anyone makes sure they have a full and complete vaccination record even for self protection , let alone for the protection of the peoples they go to visit . If we today are lax on vaccinations , how can anyone with even half a brain blame explorers for maliciously spreading disease ? And this is the proof that removing Columbus day and replacing it with “Indigenous Peoples Day” is farsical and demostrates the insight of DEMOCRATS .
This is Marxism at it’s boldest. Erasing our history so our children have no idea when where, and how our great nation came to be. This is so pathetic. This moron, puppet empty suit in the WH. seems to do what ever he pleases with no push back. What ever happened to “we the people”? We pay their salaries, they work for us but all these decisions about cancellations and giving our hard earned tax dollars to their corrupt causes is getting g to be a lil much. He hates our country and he’s comin after us, he should be impeached, he doesn’t have America’s interest at heat and the sooner these brain washed democrats realize it the better. After they use these sheeple to accomplish their goals they will throw them to the curb with the rest of us……if we let them. Wake up people before it’s to late and I suggest all go out n vote to throw these sob’s out of office before they totally destroy everything our fore fathers built
Traditions created from years of celebration should never be erased by the “cancel culture”! What has caused this trashing of all the accomplishments of our ancestors by the Left? How did we permit them to become the group to decide who Americans should respect?
Biden is not a legitimate president and they really can’t erase Christopher or any other historical figure. It is ridiculous, evil and communist. We don;t have to pay any attention or give any weight to their idiocy. Who cares and who even knows what woke BS is? I don’t have time for such foolishness and neither does anyone who has a functioning brain.
None of these woke reprobate people running things understand God will not be mocked or dissed! Judgement will be meted out. I pray they repent. Jesus said unless you repent you will all likewise perish. The devil has no new tricks. Lying, deceiving, stealing, killing. Just like their father the devil.
Let me begin by telling you that I am part Native American, my Great, Great, Grandmother was a full blooded Native American, I am also British and European, ancestry. Here are the facts it makes no difference whether it was Columbus or Leif Erikson. History is History and you can change the fact that we are here and here to stay, you can destroy the nation (Which is the Democrat intent of all this denying history) but it won’t change a thing, all nations and races from around the world will still be here, As Long As The Grass Grows and The Water Flows!
We can tear down Statues and Monuments until Hell freezes over and the fact will still remain that around 500 years ago the Europeans set foot on the North American continent and for every changed History
I hope that someone is keeping track of the statues and monuments, for if we ever get our sanity back it would be nice to replace them.
I love our American history, too bad it wasn’t taught too much when I went to school in the 50’s and 60’s. And a majority of people today can’t even name most of the states in the US. But they know the latest episode of the Kardashians and the “Reality” tv shows. So sad that our country has reached such a low level of thinking!
Too many great comments here to clutter the site up with mine. I propose this and perhaps other national days of remembrance be put to a national vote, with advocates and detractors having regular, broadcast and printed speeches and public debates fo a year beforehand. Settle it by determination by citizens.
Christopher Columbus was Spanish from the region of Catalonia in Spain. All documents signed by him were signed “Cristobal Colon” not Christopher Columbus…Democrats are racist & anti Hispanic. Hispanics are leaving the perverted Democrat Party in large numbers.
Latinos with Trump 2024
The indigenous population that met Columbus was part of the evolutionary process that generated all races. However it seems that no one ever acknowledges that this same indigenous population that met Columbus also gave us tobacco and nicotine addiction that has killed millions. The evolutionary winnowing process for millions of years was fraught with indescribable pain, misery, and death for all creatures. And there was additional suffering that was caused by humans who affected other humans in the form of war and conquest. All of the suffering, and death on this accident of a planet had to be either entirely happenstance or else it was inflicted by a supernatural beast if one exists.
I can understand the reasoning behind removing the name of Christopher Columbus but to take/wipe away the only Italian American holiday is wrong. Now Italian Americans are shoved to the side as has-beens non-entities, regardless of all the contributions made. Italians were discriminated against from the first time they set foot here in America because they looked different ( skin color, dress, etc) and barely spoke English. Yet they acclimated to this country and made great contributions and we are still getting discriminated against because we are not classified as white and we are not classified as people of color. Where’s the equity here?
The more I learn about Columbus and the political dealings of his day, I’m less inclined to celebrate him. The Spanish/Catholic/Jewish oppressive politics that occurred don’t cause my heart to celebrate.
Mr. Charles states the motivation for (Christ)opher Columbus was “high purpose, tireless hope, personal resolve.” Any non-woke history of CC relates his greatest reason was to spread the Christian Gospel message to the people across the seas. I hope that was an inadvertent omission.
Great article and true. We need to cherish our history no matter the good or not so good, hopefully we have learned from history. Examine what the left has done to homes such as Thomas Jefferson. They removed his history. Sad. If we don’t pay heed to our history, we’re bound to relive.
Bidum and his progressive leftists are doing what all Marxists do when transforming and installing a new government. First they get rid of religion, then all the statues of any heroes, including the many who gave their lives so we could enjoy the freedoms we have today.
It is often said: “If we do not preserve and teach history, we are doomed to repeat it.”
Not all the history of any nation is good, but who is to be the judge of what was good and what was bad? Two people probably could not agree on what was good vs bad and our view of what was good, right and proper today, certainly would not be the same as the views of our compatriots of 100 or 200 years ago. That is when Americans believed in and so respected God, they put “In God We Trust” on the money and many government buildings.
Our views change over time because of history and as we mature. So it is good to know history.
Columbus was living in 1492, NOT in the insane world of today. He should be celebrated. History is History! That’s the way it happened. Wise up, people.
Various groups of people have been replacing other groups since the beginning of time.
RBC… To satisfy my curiosity I checked all ( 3 ) calendars around the house, the calendar I’m looking at in my den whilst I type away says Columbus Day only. The other two, one in the kitchen & the other down in the workshop say Columbus Day ( USA ) – Indigenous Peoples Day ( USA ) – Thanksgiving Day ( Canada ) – Sukkot… I do know the blue state of VT I live in did RENAME the holiday to Indigenous People’s Day, sadly enough. There is nothing wrong having an Indigenous Peoples Day for a holiday on it’s own day, but NOT shared with Columbus Day, but then again I’m NOT WOKE, therefore the state of Vermont’s WOKE legislature, both houses, this includes the RINO’s that go along to get along are OK with it, including our distinguished RINO governor, Phil Scott…
Bill… :~)
You could almost enjoy the sardonic humor, making current events analagous to the plight of Christopher Columbus but the attempts by the “woke” movement to remove him are truly outrageous, just as trying to erase Confederate figures from our history is absurd. Our history, including the discovery of America credited to Columbus, is what it is; it happened and nothing is going to change the facts. The “woke” gurus in our midst who think they possess knowledge or wisdom that’s really not theirs is what I find truly absurd.
Such a well written article, with subtle sarcasm… and I sense an underlying anger… justifiable. It’s great to celebrate Native Americans AND Columbus. When the sane people take this deluded government back… let’s fix stuff. People of all ethnicities, skin colors, genders, etc. are Americans… but stop trying to erase our history and heritage. Let’s live in the present and look forward, not be stuck in the past.
I came across the diary of Christobal Colon (real name) in which he said he was directed by the Holy Spirit of God to explore new lands. That was his mission ( a holy one) and we should honor him for our “one nation under God.”
Ho ho ho ho chi minh! The scum chanting that and their kids make policy now. They can no more be persuaded to mend their ways than oak trees can produce apples. We reap what we sow… but we also reap the thorns and thistles that we allow to grow on our land.
what does biden care he has no respect for Italian heritage! today my friends and I went to an Italian reastaurant to celebrate Christopher Columbus Day. this nonsense of Indiginous day is just that nonsense. they have a whole month dedicated to them and a day in August. Italians can’t even have one day. too bad, bc we are going to celebrate anyway! these haters can stuff it!!
those of you who think Columbus was such a bad guy – really need to read the right articles! no one is perfect and he did more good than bad!
Actualy it’s worse than this. Not only does the left amplify the bad, suppress the good, and interpret all actions by a modern and ideological point of view, they make up lies about him (and everyone else they want to destroy.) Remember, the left lies. The left lies all of the time. The left lies all of the time about everything.
To the “woke” Left, stop trying to unravel our history, which is the tapestry of this great Country.
When history is written, Biden will be remembered for having been the first person, purportedly, elected to office who made no attempt to fulfill the constitutionally prescribed duties of the office, the purposes in the Preamble to the Constitution, or, actually, represent the needs of the American citizenry with respect to policies. He has been an incompetent, arrogant, ignorant divider, an angry, old man, who should never have been allowed to be the nominee of a political party. Nothing has proven the fraudulence of the election of 2020 like the consequences of the policies which have been allowed or implemented under the current administration.
Put Columbus Day back on the Calendar. Can’t believe Biden is so short sided. This also means our children have no idea who Columbus is?
Here’s the thing. Would you be ok with someone coming to your house, killing you and your family and then burning
down your family’s home that you had for years?
I decided to NOT celebrate “Columbus Day” anymore because his leadership started the prejudice between the races in this country. Taking what isn’t yours and killing people is NOT what God, the Father, and Jesus, The Son, ever wanted us to do.
The further we go in the Biden Administration we learn that history means nothing to them, the old saying that you learn from history so you don’t make the same mistakes again dosen’t compute with them . They want to erase history & rewrite it in there own lies. Our children will not know anything about the people who lived long ago , no names , pictures ,statues , books or any knowledge of the past except what they produce . WE NEED TO GET RID OF THEM & RETAKE OUR HISTORY . NOV IS THE STARTING POINT & ALL AMERICANS NEED TO WAKE UP & STOP LISTENING TO THE LIES . GOD BLESS AMERICA
Hopefully everyone enjoyed the Columbus Day holiday this past Monday, and are looking forward to Veteran’s Day, THANKSGIVING DAY and the season of Christmas thereafter. Happy Holidays !
Incomprehensible that anyone can see any logic to all of this.
That Columbus opened up the great age of exploration can’t be denied but my one problem with him is that he greatly underestimated the size of the earth. If the western hemisphere continents didn’t exist he would have had about 15,000 miles to sail to get to the East Indies. Even the Greeks were able to calculate the size of the globe within a couple of hundred miles several years BC.