In South Philadelphia, where I was born, there was quite a conflict over the statue of Christopher Columbus that many of you are probably familiar with. As an Italian-American proud of my roots, I was embarrassed by the whole thing because of course Christopher Columbus is a terrible choice of hero for our community. Sadly there is so much ignorance surrounding the history. What I would like to see, however, is sensitivity to the feelings of the Italian-American community, whose members feel insulted personally by the backlash against Columbus. Though they are surely mistaken, the Columbus vs. Indigenous People's Day issue has not enlightened them; instead, it stokes the culture wars and pushes Italian-Americans into the arms of MAGA. Are these people then "deplorables" because they do not know the history as they should? Right now there are powerful forces at work to keep ordinary people in the dark, to confuse the issues and make it seem that facing the sins of the past is a threat rather than the path to liberation for ALL of us! Christians especially must reach out in love with kindness and mercy toward those who, for cultural reasons, seek to defend the celebration of Columbus Day. Why not understand that Italian-Americans once were discriminated against and felt vindicated by having their own national holiday, misguided thought it may have been? Take it from there and work toward the Beloved Community where all are brothers and sisters, no longer victims and perpetrators in the horrible dance of conflict and harm that we seek desperately to escape -- something that can only happen if we put our trust in the Holy Spirit and not in our own flawed selves.
Years ago I read a number of James Michener novels. His fans will know that his novels begin in prehistory and move forward. In one novel, possibly Centennial, he tells a story of Spanish explorers, who encountered a native village somewhere in the Southwest. The commander, in Spanish mind you, shouts at the village occupants to surrender to his soldiers in the name of the King and the Church, as represented by a priest. "This encounter will not end well, " I thought. Of course, it did not.
While Michener wrote historical fiction, he was big into background research for his books. I thought at the time about the hubris of conquistadors as they searched the Southwest and other areas for gold and resources. The New World and its lands, resources, and people were always objects to be explored in order to be exploited.
I would suggest reading the book, "1491" about the New World before the time of European exploration.
As a child you don't really care what the holiday is about - all you know is you get a day off and you're happy about it. When you get a little older then you learn about the person who the holiday is named after; and you still don't care. Then in college when you're supposed to be learning really deep stuff you still don't care what the holiday is about because all it means to you is a day off with no classes to either party or prepare more for exams (depending on what kind of student you are). Your first few years post college working a professional job you still don't care about that holiday's origins because all it means is a paid time off. It's not until your mid-20s when you get this recurring annual holiday that you began to wonder and question what it is that is actually being celebrated. The current name of the Columbus holiday is good because it brings up many questions. We should change the name. And if we can't change the name then we should add another ethnic holiday to balance out the whiteness like Cesar Chavez holiday in California. In Singapore each of the officially recognized language groups gets equal holidays (2). Or the US can follow in the foot steps of their former colony Philippines and offer 22 national holidays.
In South Philadelphia, where I was born, there was quite a conflict over the statue of Christopher Columbus that many of you are probably familiar with. As an Italian-American proud of my roots, I was embarrassed by the whole thing because of course Christopher Columbus is a terrible choice of hero for our community. Sadly there is so much ignorance surrounding the history. What I would like to see, however, is sensitivity to the feelings of the Italian-American community, whose members feel insulted personally by the backlash against Columbus. Though they are surely mistaken, the Columbus vs. Indigenous People's Day issue has not enlightened them; instead, it stokes the culture wars and pushes Italian-Americans into the arms of MAGA. Are these people then "deplorables" because they do not know the history as they should? Right now there are powerful forces at work to keep ordinary people in the dark, to confuse the issues and make it seem that facing the sins of the past is a threat rather than the path to liberation for ALL of us! Christians especially must reach out in love with kindness and mercy toward those who, for cultural reasons, seek to defend the celebration of Columbus Day. Why not understand that Italian-Americans once were discriminated against and felt vindicated by having their own national holiday, misguided thought it may have been? Take it from there and work toward the Beloved Community where all are brothers and sisters, no longer victims and perpetrators in the horrible dance of conflict and harm that we seek desperately to escape -- something that can only happen if we put our trust in the Holy Spirit and not in our own flawed selves.
Years ago I read a number of James Michener novels. His fans will know that his novels begin in prehistory and move forward. In one novel, possibly Centennial, he tells a story of Spanish explorers, who encountered a native village somewhere in the Southwest. The commander, in Spanish mind you, shouts at the village occupants to surrender to his soldiers in the name of the King and the Church, as represented by a priest. "This encounter will not end well, " I thought. Of course, it did not.
While Michener wrote historical fiction, he was big into background research for his books. I thought at the time about the hubris of conquistadors as they searched the Southwest and other areas for gold and resources. The New World and its lands, resources, and people were always objects to be explored in order to be exploited.
I would suggest reading the book, "1491" about the New World before the time of European exploration.
As a child you don't really care what the holiday is about - all you know is you get a day off and you're happy about it. When you get a little older then you learn about the person who the holiday is named after; and you still don't care. Then in college when you're supposed to be learning really deep stuff you still don't care what the holiday is about because all it means to you is a day off with no classes to either party or prepare more for exams (depending on what kind of student you are). Your first few years post college working a professional job you still don't care about that holiday's origins because all it means is a paid time off. It's not until your mid-20s when you get this recurring annual holiday that you began to wonder and question what it is that is actually being celebrated. The current name of the Columbus holiday is good because it brings up many questions. We should change the name. And if we can't change the name then we should add another ethnic holiday to balance out the whiteness like Cesar Chavez holiday in California. In Singapore each of the officially recognized language groups gets equal holidays (2). Or the US can follow in the foot steps of their former colony Philippines and offer 22 national holidays.