Today is Columbus Day and I
expect to see a good bit of Columbus-bashing. .
But as I'm half-Italian and I was born and
raised in a predominately Italian-American neighborhood in South Philadelphia,
I share the pride of Italian-Americans who know that the explorer who
"discovered" America was an Italian.
Yes, despite the views of the politically
correct, who once again this year will note that people lived here before
Columbus, that others visited here before Columbus, and that Columbus
brought slavery and genocide to the new land, I believe that Columbus did in
fact discover America.
As Michael Berliner wrote in Capitalism magazine, "Columbus
brought America to the attention of the civilized world, i.e., to the growing,
scientific civilization of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the
Untied States of America."
And for that Columbus should be honored by all
Americans.
A few years back, Charles C.W. Cooke wrote
about Columbus in National Review.
As the historian William J. Connell argues,
Columbus may not have been the first of the voyagers to discover America, but
he was undoubtedly the most important. “His arrival,” Connell explains, “marks
where we as a country and a hemisphere began our identity.”
Unlike previous landings, Columbus’s
mattered. It was the first to lead to a permanent settlement and the first
enduring landing from a civilization that boasted modern ideas such as a belief
in science, reason, individual achievement, and Christianity.
Ultimately, Columbus’s story serves as the
introduction to a story of immeasurable historical importance. To dismiss
celebration of the man because he didn’t make it to America first would be akin
to declaring that we must scorn Isaac Newton’s contribution to science because
he wasn’t actually hit by an apple.
Note: You can also read Joseph Filocomo's National Review piece on Columbus via the link below:
The War on Christopher Columbus Is Unfounded | National Review
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