Today is Columbus Day, which commemorates Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of America in 1492. During the past decade or so the intrepid explorer's reputation has fallen victim to the rise of political correctness. The latest to blast Chris is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who accuses him of "genocide."
This is unfortunate, and it's high time someone set the record straight.
First of all, Columbus--to the best of my knowledge--never killed any indians, and he can hardly be held responsible for the actions of others who followed him. And does anyone honestly believe that if Columbus had NOT made his discovery, the rest of the world would not have stumbled across the Americas at some later date? Besides, Columbus was Italian and sailed on behalf of Portugal. The Conquistadors, who shoulder much of the responsibility of what eventually happened to the native population, were Spanish.
Besides, it's not his fault that indians were already living here and kept getting in the way. They should have just gone back to where they came from! And while Columbus may not have been the first to find the Americas, his discovery was the first to "take." It set the stage for future European colonization and demonstrated the need for srong, effective immigration policies.
The bottom line is that if it weren't for that colonization, there would be buffalo roaming across the interstates. And if you think an overturned tanker truck causes traffic tie ups, think what a heard of bison would do. President Sitting Bull would have admitted SMOKING that corn husk but argued that he never actually inhaled. And he would have denied having sexual relations with that squaw, Pochohantas. Additionally, man would never have landed on the moon, John Wayne wouldn't have had a career, there would never have been a Star Trek or Star Wars, the light bulb would never have been invented, and we'd all be writing emails in the dark.
Oh, and the entire world (including the French) would be speaking German.
So happy Columbus Day!!