Christopher Columbus: Should He Be Celebrated?

Christopher Columbus: Should He Be Celebrated?
By: Julia Dykstra

On the second Monday of October every year, most schools around the country take off school to celebrate the "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. However, in recent years it has been discussed and argued if he is really someone to be celebrated. His voyage across the Atlantic in 1492 changed the world forever, and completely changed the lives of the people living all over the world. His discovery changed trading patterns and brought wealth to many struggling European countries. But did this really have a positive impact? Columbus set the precedent for the land in the Americans to be used for European gain, meaning the people and the land were being used solely to benefit European countries. This resulted in the stripping of the lands precious metals, as well as the slavery, and murder of the vast majority of America's native populations. European settlement would also the place of Native American civilization that was there before.

While from a European standpoint, the discovery of the Americas was definitely beneficial. But when looking back, should this discovery and the man responsible really be celebrated? This has led to many people wanting to not only tear down statues memorializing him but to get rid of the day that honors him. Instead, should we as a country honor the lives taken by his discovery and observe "Indigenous Peoples Day"?

This year, over 55 cities in the United States, as well as 3 universities have officially decided to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day. On the holiday, Indigenous Peoples Day was trending on Twitter and there was even an Indigenous Peoples Day snapchat filter. Young people turned to social media to voice their opinions, and as far as I could tell, more people were supporting Indigenous Peoples Day then defending Columbus Day. Personally, I think it is more important to honor the people that were taken advantage of and suffered, then supporting and honoring the perpetrator of their suffering.  With the recent passing of this holiday, the country should reflect on not only the good that resulted from the European finding of the country in which we now live but the history of the people who lived here first.

I got my inspiration for this post from the article below: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/learning/should-columbus-day-be-replaced-with-indigenous-peoples-day.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Flearning-current-events&action=click&contentCollection=learning&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection