Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?

Columbus Day is right around the corner, and the age old question, whether or not we should we be celebrating Christopher Columbus remains unanswered.

The average American believes that Christopher Columbus was a brave explorer, who, despite horrible odds, sailed across the Atlantic in 1492 to discover the New World and proved that the earth was round. Both of these preconceived ideas are wrong. In 1491, no one actually thought that the world was flat. The idea that everyone in Pre-Columbian times thought that the world was flat was a myth made up during the 18th century. The ancient greeks actually proved that the earth was round 2,000 years before Columbus was even born. 14,000 years before Columbus “discovered” the New World, Natives had crossed the Bering Strait and inhabited the land. 500 years before Columbus, Leif Ericson technically found the New World. So, if Columbus did not discover anything new, why do we celebrate Columbus Day? People will argue that his arrival marked a new era of exploration and immigration. But, at what cost?

When Columbus returned home from his first voyage, he took twenty-five Lucayan Natives with him. Only seven of them survived. Where there was kindness, Columbus saw weakness. “I could

“He discovered the New World much like a meteorite discovered the dinosaurs. And good ol’ Christopher Columbus, sex slaver, mass murderer, and champion of sociopathic imperialism, has his own federal holiday. This is an honor shared by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.” (oatmeal.com). So, when next Columbus Day comes around, think to yourself, is this a holiday that you want to be celebrating? Do you believe that we should be celebrating Christopher Columbus? On one hand, he started a new era of exploration. On the other hand, that costed the lives of millions of tortured individuals. When October 12, 2015 comes around, it’s up to