Our modern culture is in a history destruction mood. In the last couple of years statues of American heroes and important historical figures have been destroyed or removed. One of the most reviled historical figures is Christopher Columbus. Why is this so? Most of the people who want him erased from history probably know next to nothing about him. American heroes such as Thomas Jefferson or George Washington are being tarred and feathered by clueless people who are history illiterate. They only know what is parroted by those who hate America.
In 1991 PBS broadcast a seven-hour documentary in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. A two-hour summary of this brilliantly done documentary is still available from Amazon, entitled "The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus." Click here to buy it. You can also find this summary film on YouTube. Click here to watch it. You will learn more by watching this documentary than in taking a one-year course in a college class. One of my favorite sayings is from the Spanish philosopher, George Santayana: "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it." Most people who express any animosity toward Columbus could not answer one question about him. It is true that he was reviled even during his lifetime. After making four trips to the new world and bringing back treasures to Spain, his reward was to be put in chains and jailed. At his funeral no one from the Spanish government or any official attended.
I often see young people wear a Che Guevara T-shirt. I would bet that if I asked any of these folks what they know about Che no one could tell me. Che was a brutal killer. If you look at the list of pieces I've done on this blog, I have one on Che with many facts about him. To read this article on Che: click here.
In 2015 PBS aired a very nice documentary on the history of Italian-Americans in the early part of the 1900s. Discrimination was out of control. Even the Catholic Church discriminated against Italians. You could not attend the same Mass as Anglos; you had to go in the church basement to worship. Irish priests would refuse to marry an Irish-American to an Italian-American. Even in the 1960s, some law firms would not accept Italians or Jews in their practice. Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, was one example. The most celebrated American singer, Frank Sinatra, was frequently linked to organized crime figures. Whether this was true or not, it was meant as a slam against him because of his ethnicity. To view this documentary click here.
Parager University has just done a five-minute video on why we must celebrate Columbus. Click here to watch it.
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