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We've all celebrated Columbus Day since we were children, but in recent years, my annual greeting of Happy Columbus Day meets with increasing resistance from friends and strangers who claim Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated because he obviously could not have "discovered" America when people already lived here.  More recently, claims have escalated to calling him nothing more than an evil white man who destroyed a peaceful Eden.  

Of course, there was always the playground jab that Columbus was so lost that he called the natives Indians.  He thought he had reached India rather than a new continent, making him more of a Wrong Way Peachfuzz, for those of us who also cherished Rocky and Bullwinkle as American icons.

The anti-Columbus movement spread primarily from college campuses, as highly educated revisionists who quite frankly don't like the United States very much due to many specific historical grievances in the glaring light of post-1960's secular standards and perspectives.  They beat the drum that Columbus plundered treasures, killed or enslaved natives, and most dastardly of all began the evil colonization of third world civilizations.

The anti-Columbus movement gradually took hold at school districts, city councils and entire states.  This year, President Joseph Biden proclaimed October 11, 2021, as Indigenous Peoples' Day, so I guess I should get onboard and go along with the government proclamation of a new supplanting Columbus Day.  At least it still brings a day off school for children, government workers and many others.

For much of the world, Chistopher Columbus remains a hero.  I personally consider his brave journey across the Atlantic Ocean to have been positively transformational for the world.

So Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day, but also Happy Columbus Day!

Why not take a transatlantic or Caribbean cruise of your own to celebrate whatever you want to celebrate?

We can discover together some great deals available through the end of 2021 and beyond!

Wes

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