Chris, Che and Higher Hypocrisy

Posted by Larry Miller on April 9, 2009 under How | Be the First to Comment

On the third of August, 1492 Christopher Columbus left Spain leading an expedition consisting of three ships of brave adventurers. He had an idea where he was going, but he couldn’t be certain. His crew knew even less. But they pressed on. On October 11, while off the southeastern coast of North America, he spotted the Caribbean islands. While not the land they were looking for, their mission was a success.

After centuries of informal and state celebrations, Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1970. It was a day to celebrate country, history and the spirit of adventure. Italian-Americans rejoiced in their heritage. Recently the holiday has fallen into disfavor among the academic elites and politically correct. Brown University has become the latest institution of supposedly higher learning to banish this American tradition to the dust bin of history.

At the request of the student body, the faculty voted to replace the Columbus Day recognition with a Fall Weekend celebration. One has to wonder where these students got the information on which they based their righteous indignation. Some would see the possibility of manipulation of these students trying to find their way on their own for the first time in their lives.

The historical revisionists have now chosen to emphasize some of the things that may have gone on between Columbus and the native Americans over the magnitude of his accomplishment. One web site explains this thinking by telling us it “rejects the celebration of Christopher Columbus and his legacy of domination, oppression, and colonialism. We also reject historical misconceptions regarding Columbus and his ‘discovery’ of the Americas.” He is called a savage and castigated as a slave trader. Read more of this article »