Aileen Riotto Sirey and
Angelo Vivolo offer their take on Christopher Columbus in a piece at the New
York Post.
Why are we so eager to
search out scapegoats for the injustices of history? Whatever the reason,
Christopher Columbus is now the fall guy for the sins of slavery, the
exploitation of indigenous peoples, the rape of natural resources and most of
the legal, financial and territorial abuses that followed the first European
steps in the New World. His accusers want to eliminate Columbus Day and replace
it with Indigenous Peoples Day.
Columbus
is a 15th-century man in a 21st-century court, and the jury is stacked with
self-righteous, injured parties who have 20-20 hindsight. Vilifying him won’t
change the unfairness of history, but it will delegitimize the outright and
undeniable contributions of Western civilization. Tearing down statues to him
won’t undo the damage from two worlds colliding, but it will mask the progress
and achievements that emerged from two worlds converging.
Columbus
Day exists for two reasons. The first: Columbus was the explorer who completed
four recorded voyages across the Atlantic, showing great courage, determination
and skill. His audacity and vision revolutionized worldwide human migration.
Hundreds of millions of immigrants have followed his brave example over the
course of more than five centuries. Today, his legacy endures in every
immigrant who seeks opportunity and a better life.
You can read the rest of
the piece via the below link:
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