This comment is in response to the recent uproar about Columbus Day and its changing to Indigenous Peoples Day, at least in Maine.
My take is this: Columbus Day is a fraud. It has been celebrated in New York City since 1866 as basically an Italian Pride event. It wasn’t until 1937 that it became a national holiday. I think politics played a major role in this.
Why Columbus? Because October lacked a national holiday, and, hey, here was one ready-made, so to speak. It was easy and it just worked. If he had discovered the Americas on the Fourth of July or Dec. 25, there would be no Columbus Day. So, the thinking was, why not?
The answer to that question is that we picked a bad guy to celebrate. Columbus was a blood-thirsty, racist religious conqueror who destroyed and enslaved those people he encountered for the glory and reward of God, King and Country. Not good.
My response to all the hub bub is this: No more Columbus Day. I don’t know very many people who actually want to celebrate the reality of that past anyway.
I say no more Columbus Day. And no Indigenous Peoples Day either. No disrespect to First Nation peoples. I say let’s wipe the slate clean and create a new holiday. We’ll call it Heritage Day. Let’s all celebrate whatever heritage we have, our ancestors, our cultures and the mixing of all the ingredients that make up this tasty American pie we call the U.S. of A. Let’s make it a positive day for everyone to enjoy as they see fit.
As for me, I don’t like celebrations and I’m retired, so every day is just another holiday. I’m just going to have another beer and read my book as usual.
George Christie
New Vineyard
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