Columbus Day Conundrum

Columbus Day Conundrum Every year on the second Monday of October America celebrates one of its oldest “patriotic” holidays, Columbus Day. Columbus Day is a day to commemorate the discovery of the Western World by Christopher Columbus. Columbus landed in the New World on October 2, 1492 and is ultimately credited with and remembered for discovering the Americas. The United States of America, itself, has always been comprised of immensely patriotic citizens making it no surprise that the so called discoverer of such a beloved country has a holiday dedicated to him. The idea of a holiday for the man who ‘found’ the ‘New World’ from afar, does not seem all that unusual. However, when one begins to understand the kind of man Columbus really was,

America’s citizens are often very patriotic and love to celebrate those that have helped make their great nation, Columbus, supposedly, being one of these people. However, it is quite astonishing that Columbus Day is even celebrated as a patriotic holiday, considering all of the terrible things he did to the indigenous people of the New World. Citizens all over America express many different beliefs about the world, but the vast majority have a universal belief that murder and cruelty are wrong, so why celebrate a man who practically specialized in unnecessary, unprovoked cruelty. Many know the arrival of Europeans on American soil was terrible for the Native Americans, but few know the role Columbus himself played in the cruelty indigenous people

Citizens. There are many groups of people who strongly believe that Columbus contributed to the world in a very constructive way. Many are very persistent in their beliefs that Columbus Day should continue being glorified. Many argue that Columbus Day is a patriotic holiday that celebrates the man who discovered this great nation. Along with this, they argue that it is a day that celebrates the heritage of millions of Italian Americans. Another argument that is provided by those praising Columbus Day is that he is remembered as the man who merged the old and the new worlds. While these are all fair points, they are more based on Columbus’ alleged impact on today’s world. The idea that Columbus discovered the New World is not far off considering it is taught to children at young ages, but what this point fails to include, is the fact that the New World was already inhibited. Sons of Italy’s article, which is in support of Columbus day states, “Columbus Day is the only day which the nation recognizes the heritage of an estimated 26 million Italian Americans (Sons of Italy)”. This is understandable, but it is a more glorified idea which isn’t truly what the holiday is about. This insinuates that the holiday is specifically for Italian Americans to celebrate their ancestors descent from Europe and to the New World. The