Columbus Day vs Indigenous People Day

Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times

Tomorrow is Columbus Day. From the federal website:

Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of the Christopher Columbus in the Americas. It is celebrated every second Monday of October, and has been a federal holiday since 1937.

An editorial from the Denver Post (from about 10 years ago!) makes some excellent points about why Americans celebrate Columbus Day:

Columbus Day has been a federal holiday since President Franklin D. Roosevelt first proclaimed it such in 1934. One hundred years ago this month, Colorado Sen. Casimo Barela’s bill was signed into law, designating Oct. 12 of each year as a public holiday known as Columbus Day. Roosevelt and Barela recognized the significant achievements of Christopher Columbus, and rightly chose, with millions of other Americans, to honor him.

Columbus possessed admirable qualities, of which all Americans can be proud. Even by his detractors, he is seen as a skilled sea captain of the highest order. He challenged the conventional thought that the Earth was flat, seeking to “reach the east by going west,” an idea to which the scientists of the day were forcibly opposed. He challenged the Aristotelian philosophy of science that had guided scientists for centuries in favor of the newer philosophy of science that placed observation in a primary role of analysis. He supported the heliocentric concept of the solar system with Galileo, Copernicus and Kepler before it became known by that name. In capitalistic spirit (admirable in the eyes of most Americans), he sought glory, wealth and a title of nobility by opening new trade routes to China and Japan.

Most importantly, though, Columbus discovered the American continental coast and recorded the voyage in a way that enabled others to repeat the feat. The real achievement worthy of holidays, monuments and namesake cities is that he opened a route that could be sailed again by himself and others. It is Columbus’ method of discovery and record-keeping that distinguishes him from other explorers who may previously have “discovered” the New World. He opened the door to further discovery by explorers like Magellan, Cooke, Drake and Hudson. His discovery led to the creation of the greatest nation on Earth, the United States of America.

Unfortunately, Columbus Day has become controversial, and Social Justice Warriors have been claiming the day instead for “Indigenous People.” If there have been widespread panel discussions, debates, symposiums, and hearings at local City Halls about making this change, I have not found the reports.[UPDATE: Lawmaker takes first step to remove Columbus Day in NYC.] Why not? Initiating a tribute to indigenous people need not involve erasing a significant part of our country’s history.

Too bad. Instead, like the destruction of or defacement to statues of, say Confederate General Robert E. Lee (see also here), we are witnessing more erosion and erasure of our historical and cultural heritage (report from Time.com):

Each year, more cities, states and universities opt to celebrate an alternative to Columbus Day: Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Instead of honoring Christopher Columbus, the Indigenous Peoples' Day recognizes Native Americans, who were the first inhabitants of the land that later became the United States of America. Advocates for the switch to Indigenous Peoples Day argue that Columbus did not "discover" America in 1492 but instead began the colonization of it. For decades, Native American activists have advocated abolishing Columbus Day, which became a federal holiday in 1937.

This year, both Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day are on Monday, Oct. 9.

While the United Nations declared August 9 as International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in late 1994, Berkeley, Calif., had already become the first city in the U.S. to replace Columbus Day itself. The city's decision was influenced by the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito, Ecuador, in 1990, which spurred another Northern California conference that discussed similar issues and brought them to the Berkeley City Council, TIME has reported.

With the exception of Santa Cruz, Calif., and the state of South Dakota, which adopted the similar Native American Day in place of Columbus Day in 1990, the cities, states and universities that have chosen to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead have done so only recently, with cities like Minneapolis and Seattle voting to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead in 2014.

Not surprisingly, the only Ohio city or town on Time's list is Oberlin. But at our house, we’ll be toasting Christopher Columbus.

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President Trump in Las Vegas

Earlier today, President and Mrs. Trump visited Las Vegas and met with first responders and families of victims. Business Insider published this photo of Air Force One departing LV, “flying past broken windows on Mandalay Bay hotel that Vegas gunman shot from”.

Our President's remarks below (9 minute video via YouTube, h/t Sundance):

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Georgia high school football players are winners

Here is your “feel good” video for today (via Michelle Malkin). It’s the players coming onto the field before a northern Georgia high school (Fannin County H.S.) football game. Smile for 50 seconds:

YouTube video

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The Browns are still losers

A group of Browns players raised their fists 

during the playing of the national anthem on Sunday.

(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

The Browns are still losers. Photo and caption above, and story here on cleveland.com.

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War of 1812 : Fort McHenry

art credit: star spangled music

From the Inbox: Mr. Speaker (Newt) emailed his Fox News article on the National Anthem; I suspect many pro football players do not know any of this.

Respecting the National Anthem

As the controversy over athletes boycotting the National Anthem continues, I would like to share some historical perspective.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” became part of our sports traditions for a good reason: It brought people together in times of grave national turmoil. For this reason alone, it is a tradition worth respecting.

According to MLB.com, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was first performed at a baseball game on May 15, 1862. Given baseball’s lengthy history in America, this is likely the first time it was played at a major U.S. sporting event.

The timing was significant. In 1862, the nation was embroiled in the Civil War. America was as divided as it had ever been. People were fighting and lives were being lost in battle. It was a dark time for our still young country.

So, William Cammeyer, a businessman who was opening Union Grounds park in Brooklyn, decided to do something that would bring the nearly 3,000 people in attendance at the first game together and unify them as Americans. The band played “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It wasn’t officially the National Anthem at the time, but it was still respected as a deeply patriotic, uniquely American song.

Fifty-six years later, America entered World War I, and the nation was once again thrown into turmoil. Major League Baseball had cut the season short because players had been drafted or enlisted to go fight the Great War overseas – and teams were expected to sacrifice and contribute to the war effort.

During the seventh inning stretch of the first game of the 1918 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed.

The song had a profound impact on both the crowd and the players, as The New York Times reported September 6, 1918:

“The yawn was checked and the heads were bared as the ball players turned quickly about and faced the music. Jackie Fred Thomas of the U.S. Navy [the Red Sox’s third baseman] was at attention, as he stood erect, with his eyes set on the flag fluttering at the top of the lofty pole in right field. First the song was taken up by a few, then others joined, and when the final notes came, a great volume of melody rolled across the field. It was at the very end that the onlookers exploded into thunderous applause and rent the air with a cheer that marked the highest point of the day’s enthusiasm.”

This 100-year-old story by the Times perfectly captures why we respect Francis Scott Key’s battle hymn for the War of 1812 – and why beginning in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered it to be played during military and naval occasions, and why later it was officially confirmed as our National Anthem by an Act of Congress in 1931.

Historically, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been part of the shared story of all Americans – a strand of common thread that stitches our nation together. In times of danger, times of pain, and times of triumph, we come together, stand, and sing, because despite our differences, we are all Americans.

But day-by-day, the Left tries to undermine and destroy the things that have historically unified this country. The NFL National Anthem controversy is just the latest example of this.

My fear is that the NFL will succumb to pressure and try to side-step the problem by no longer performing the National Anthem before games. This would be the worst path to take.

As a nation, we need to have a serious debate: Will we renew our patriotism and respect our shared history, or will we allow our American institutions to decay? Are we going to ignore our traditions out of fear of ridicule from the Left, or are we going to proudly continue to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814 for an America that was worth fighting for and defending.

It still is. We need to defend it.

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Alejandro Villanueva throws himself under the bus

In my blog earlier today, I wrote:

It’s a sad day when Steelers player Alejandro Villanueva makes headlines for standing for our Anthem, the coach deplores his decision (while inadvertently exhibiting his support for lockstep groupthink) while the rest of the Steelers hide in the locker room

Now, this lousy development (h/t Conservative Treehouse):

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NFL takes a knee

Cleveland Browns just before the game

photo credit : The Telegraph

UPDATE at 7:04 (see next blog here). 

There’s tons of commentary on the NFL’s growing disrespect for our National Anthem and flag, and by extension, the American people. The essay by Daniel John Sobieski at American Thinker struck me as one of the best. Here’s a short extract:

Those who take a knee were indeed given that right by many who no longer have knees and are privileged to take a knee in a sport paid for by millions of fans who may disagree with them and who paid to see a game, not a protest. Players who take a knee think they are being patriotic, when they are merely being self-indulgent and selfish. Go rent out a stadium and invite people to pay just to see you take a knee and see if anybody shows up. 

The rest is here. Chris Buskirk at American Greatness has another worthwhile take:

Intoxicated with their own sense of self-righteousness today’s athlete-protesters look more like rich drunks spouting nonsense than responsible citizens seeking redress. And in doing so they have popped the sports bubble and reminded us that we should stop idolizing overprivileged millionaire Millennials who disrespect this country, her people, and her history. Millions of Americans have recoiled at the divisiveness brought into sports by people like Kaepernick and Curry. And for this we can thank them.

The rest of Buskirk’s essay is here. 

It’s a sad day when Steelers player Alejandro Villanueva makes headlines for standing for our Anthem; then the coach deplores Villanuevo's decision (while inadvertently exhibiting his support for lockstep groupthink); the rest of the Steelers hide in the locker room; and the Browns lose again -- in more ways than one. 

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