Good Birth Control

Columbus Day irks me, it truly does. Even when I was a child and had the entire “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492″ lesson, this day of celebration never really added up for me.

Seriously, we give the US Post Office and our banks the day off because a man “discovered” the new world (only because he was lost… completely off the beaten path of India) which happened to already be inhabited by… Native Americans. Don’t even bother mentioning the fact that we were also taught that the Vikings and others had been here before Columbus.

Yeah, seriously. Why don’t the rest of us get to celebrate and take a day off when we can’t find our head or tell the difference from our rear? Can’t we all convince a royal entity to fund our good fortune of stupidity? Can we all be given a “get out of jail free card” to do whatever we want to others for our own personal gain and glory?

If our children are going to be forced to learn about this day every year of their elementary career, perhaps they should be taught the actual facts and not the Mary Poppins version.

Students are tested to ensure they have mastered what they have been taught and they are expected to show respect to their teachers and classmates as well as be honest (no cheating or copying).  Yet this lesson in history reeks of a man that could not navigate, took credit for other’s accomplishments and profited from the misfortune he brought upon others. If you think Native Americans were not affected by this “discovery” then take your birth control pill NOW, please.

Biscuit and Wrangler’s schools did not have the day off this year, but they did not go. Both announced that they felt badly this morning and I let them stay home. Honestly, I didn’t even realize it was Columbus Day. I’m a bit glad they missed this lesson today. They still learned about it, but I told them the story of Christopher Columbus without all the cutesy rhyming stories of the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria and sailing the ocean blue. I told them the story in which Christopher Columbus is not a great hero or role model but instead, a man in the wrong place at the right time that dramatically altered life for many there after.

The United States of America is truly the “melting pot” of the world and it’s time we put aside our differences and learn from our past. My own bloodline is a mix of European and Native American… possibly more than that! I’m sure if you’ll dig far enough back in your own family history, you’ll find similar results.

Are you satisfied with the history of Columbus Day? Should we really celebrate this day for what it is or should we simply recognize the errors of our forefathers and learn from their mistakes?

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