Columbus Day

Happy Columbus Day, all!

As a quick aside, the historical Columbus was uncovered when I was still very young; by highschool, the "real" Christopher Columbus - slave trader, brutish captain, abuser of Amer-Indians, et.al. - was widely accepted. Furthermore, the whole thing about Vikings having landed in America first was also popular. I get all these things and constantly argue against whitewashing history - history is pretty ugly, as a rule - so it's all fine and good that Columbus was a shit and the Vikings landed here first, so on, but that misses the point of the holiday. We celebrate Columbus Day for the same reasons we do July 4^th: it's about our country, not who discovered it or oppressed or slaughtered anyone, etc.

I'm not preaching and it's really no big deal to me; Columbus Day is just like my birthday: yet another day. I'm not cynical, either! Quite the opposite, in fact; I'm saying let's let bygones be bygones. Discussing Columbus' failings as a man is History; celebrating the fact that North America was discovered is what's important, and we shouldn't allow History's warts to overshadow that. Like I said, as a rule, history is pretty ugly.

Anyway, most everyone is off today, so there isn't much to report. Keep checking the site, as I'm constantly adding and editing pages. The big roll-out is coming on Halloween, like every year.

Have a happy Columbus Day!

© C Harris Lynn, 2009