It’s Columbus Day, or Is It?

Today is being celebrated by many as "Columbus Day" and others are celebrating today as "Indigenous People’s Day".  It seems like our country’s traditions are little by little going away.

The case in point are today’s observances of Columbus Day in America. It is a Federal holiday in all states except California, Hawaii and Nevada.

Why is that? Three states refuse to acknowledge Christopher Columbus? California is California. Hawaii was never on Columbus’ “radar” and the only gambling Columbus did was trying to find the new world, so I guess Nevada could care less. Let me get to the point.

Columbus Day is going away little by little in this country. There is a movement to change “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous People’s Day”. Five years ago Minneapolis and Seattle decided to rename the second Monday of October as “Indigenous People’s Day”.  In 2015, nine more cities, including Portland, Oregon, St. Paul, Minnesota and Olympia, Washington agreed to do likewise.

I am sure that for the Native American community a day for indigenous people would make sense and I say go for it.  Just don’t abolish one holiday for another. What is the problem with having both? If you don’t like what Columbus stood for… fine.  That is no reason for the rest of us to give up on ‘ol Chris. I don’t like what some of our presidents have done. Should we abolish President’s Day?

Give Columbus a break. Would you have sailed across the ocean blue with three rickety old ships? I would not have done that. I say he deserves the day named after him.