Celebrations

Columbus Day – A day set aside to celebrate the explorer that found America. When I was in school I remember learning about Columbus – In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two Columbus sailed the ocean blue! He was an explorer that set out and landed in America.

I listened to the news throughout the day yesterday and it just amazed me how so many people had this attitude that we shouldn’t be celebrating Columbus. It’s not correct to celebrate someone who came and turned the indigenous people of America in to slaves. I don’t get it – back in Columbus’s day that is what they did – it was acceptable behavior back then. Does it make it right by today’s standards – No. I would agree that if an explorer today found an island and enslaved its inhabitants it would not be right – but this was back in the 1400’s! People these days take being “Politically Correct” to the extreme. I am amazed that people who are my age seem to lead this way of thinking saying they don’t want their children to be exposed to this – really?? Tell me how learning about Columbus and having Columbus Day damaged you!!

On that same note – last year the Superintendent of Seattle Schools sent out a memo saying that the schools should not “Celebrate” Thanksgiving because of how it is really not a day of celebration for the Native Americans. How did we get to this point where we have to worry about everybody’s feelings? It has made us into a society where we only have free speech and free thinking as long as it doesn’t offend a particular group of people. This comes up this time of year a lot as we get closer to the holidays –

• No more dressing up as witches on Halloween at school because it might offend the Wicken Religion.
• Don’t dress as a devil or a ghost because it represents evil
• We have Winter Break – not Christmas Break so we don’t offend non-Christian groups. What about offending the Christians by telling them they can’t celebrate their religion – as if there’s something wrong with it.

Again – how did dressing as a witch or coloring a Christmas Tree harm us when we were kids? I understand that we need to evolve with the changing times – I just think we have moved so far to the other end of the spectrum. So – celebrate what you want as long as you don’t do it in public or share your celebrations with anyone else because you might hurt their feelings.

That's just my opinion.

De