Sad Columbus Day!

Today is Columbus Day. As a child, I was told that today is the day we celebrate the man who discovered America. For years, I accepted this holiday as I did with all other holidays.  I didn’t think about whether it made sense or not. I just knew that we didn’t have to go to school on Columbus Day because we were celebrating the discovery of America.  It sounded like a good deal to me. It wasn’t until about middle school that I started to hear about the atrocities he committed against the native people. If you’ve never heard about Columbus’ Genocide, you might want to check out this article from the Huffington Post. But basically, Columbus discovered America in about the same way Hitler “discovered” Poland.

In his own words, Columbus says of the natives, “They willingly traded everything they owned. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want,’ (Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2013). Digital History.). He realizes that these people are completely harmless and his first thought is to enslave them. That sounds pretty evil and demonic to me. There has been dispute over exactly how many people Columbus slaughtered, but there is some consensus that it numbered in the millions. In my opinion, that’s reason enough not to celebrate him. It’s reason enough to put him in the same category as Adolph Hitler.

Somehow, if that weren’t enough reason not to celebrate him, there’s more. According to the Washington Post, “Columbus didn’t “discover” America — he never set foot in North America. During four separate trips that started with the one in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central and South American coasts. But he didn’t reach North America.” If somehow, that’s still not enough reason to eliminate Columbus Day, you may want to think about the fact that Columbus probably wasn’t the first explorer to breach this side of the globe. The Washington Post goes on to remind us that, “it is believed that Norse explorer Leif Erikson reached Canada perhaps 500 years before Columbus was born, and there are some who believe that Phoenician sailors crossed the Atlantic much earlier than that.”

I understand that Columbus changed history. His voyage eventually encouraged large-scale travel and colonization to the Americas. But that does not mean he deserves a day of our praise and celebration. The enslavement of Africans also played a crucial role in the history and formation of the United States but it is clear that it should not be celebrated. It should be no less apparent with Columbus.

I think this every year and yet still, here we are. And it’s not as though I’m the only person aware of these facts. They’re all being broadcast through mainstream media sources. The articles I cited are only a small sample. The knowledge that Christopher Columbus committed what would now be considered war crimes is widespread throughout the internet, as is the public opinion that celebrating this man is despicable. Over the past few years I’ve tried signing a few online petitions to remove the holiday but to no avail. I would almost ask why our “Representatives” in the government don’t change this ridiculous tradition but when I remember that they shut down because they couldn’t talk out an issue, I realize I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Certainly, we should keep trying to rid the world of this day but for now, it seems that we are stuck with it.

In that case, I will continue to celebrate Columbus Day in my own may. Not as a day to honor a hero, but as a day to acknowledge the existence of villainy in this world. I will celebrate Columbus Day in the same way that many “celebrate” Holocaust Remembrance Day.  I will say a prayer for the souls of the slaughtered innocents. I will take time to be silent and reflect. Violence and Hatred exist within our world. Their effects are misery, chaos, and death. Hatred exists in different forms and can be acted out by many different types of people, but it is all the same. It all stems from the decision that it is acceptable to harm another person for having a conflicting opinion. I truly believe that as a society, we have the potential and capability to transcend this type of hatred. If every person in the world truly desired Peace over all else, there would be no other option than for it to happen. Choose Peace over Greed. Choose Peace over Power and Dominance.  If we all choose Peace, it will happen.

This week, let’s meditate on recognizing the mistakes of our past to create a more peaceful and positive future. If we do not learn from our mistakes, they will constantly repeat themselves. In the macrocosm, I cannot help but to wonder if there is a correlation between the United States celebrating Columbus Day and the United States invading countries across the globe, toppling their governments, killing all people who oppose, and instituting “democracy.” In the microcosm, consider any wrong that you have committed in your own past. Have you ever thrown someone else down to raise yourself up?  Have you ever hurt another individual either intentionally or unintentionally when in retrospect there was a more peaceful option? I would wager that everyone has. Take some time to think about how you can choose more Peaceful options. Think about the past few years, the past few months, the past few days. Are you creating as much peace as possible? If you can help someone you’ve hurt, then do so. If we have to draw attention towards this day, then let’s do something positive with it.

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