all columbus detractors need to get a life and gain some perspective!

we remember his daring feat, not necessarily because it was the first visit by a european to the new world but because it was the first of its kind with regards to its well-known stated goals of finding a direct route to the indies and 'permanently' settling and evangelizing new lands.. NO ONE had previously attempted such a bold feat, let alone done so by cutting straight through the mid-atlantic as columbus' original expedition did..

most importantly, there was the issue of the monumentally cataclysmic cultural exchange columbus' voyage set in motion, the 'columbian exchange,' a swapping of cultural, intellectual, technological, artistic and dietary commodities across the globe which constituted the greatest and most pervasive cross-pollination of ideas humanity has ever seen, and one which essentially catapulted the human race from the middle ages into the modern age..

this is why we celebrate columbus today: for his role as a modern visionary in helping to transform the known world.. and those who conveniently choose to ignore such a monumental legacy simply because the man was not a 'perfectly pc' individual are simply doing themselves and history a great disservice.. i.e., we cannot judge historical figures by modern moral standards but rather by the standards and CONTEXT of their own age and we also cannot expect every one of history's great pioneers to have been 'perfect' in every way, for NONE were.. men are primarily a product of their times, a fact which does not diminish in the least their ultimate worth and significance as historically relevant figures nor their dramatic feats or role in shaping modern history..

yet, suddenly, the merry band of happily misinformed and judgemental anti-columbus nazis pretend to tarnish this man's modern image and reputation, by merely casting him as some kind of 'criminally racist, genocidal demon'.. a mere repeat of the same, old, tired and antiquated 'black legend' of yore.. <sigh>

legendary propaganda campaigns like the 'black legend,' merely aimed at tarnishing spain's role in the age of discovery should be things of the past for, this many years after the actual events and with the full benefit of research as well as hindsight, we should not allow ourselves to revert to the mere propaganda-mongering ways of centuries ago.. have we progressed not an inch since then? are our minds still so narrow that we are suddenly and completely unable to appreciate the monumental role that columbus and spain played in settling, evangelizing and bringing culture, technology and the arts to distant lands?

let us celebrate the man for what he was and for the supernaturally awe-inspiring feats he was able to accomplish, not for what he allegedly was not.. the same goes for the imperial power that sponsored him.. no empire has ever been perfect.. yet spain's stated evangelical goals made its crusade of discovery and colonization an infinitely more humane effort than would have been the case had a non-clerical, non-religion-based enterprise pioneered the vast discoveries spain's sponsorship of columbus pioneered.. case in point, let us simply look at the nearly extinct numbers of 'native americans' vis a vis individuals of european ancestry in north america versus the large numbers of native americans who still remain south of the border in central and south america and ask ourselves:

1. if the spaniards were supposed to be so degenerately racist and genocidally evil, how come so many millions of people of native heritage remain to this day in the former spanish colonies of the new world or asia compared to the united states, canada, australia, etc.?

2. if the spaniards were supposedly only interested in raping and pillaging, how come the former spanish colonies in the americas and around the world still constitute the greatest and most complex and cosmopolitan grouping of monumental and artistically-important cities, universities, cathedrals and fortifications in the colonial world?

3. if the spaniards were supposedly only interested in obliterating native cultures, how come such a voluminous number of native american archeological sites, monuments and artifacts remain in the former spanish colonies (especially in mexico and perú) and in museum collections around the world?

4. if the spaniards were supposedly only interested in obliterating native cultures, how come so much of what we now know about native american cultures stems from the early work of spanish missionaries in translating original mesoamerican and south american treatises from their native nahuatl and quechua into spanish and latin?

5. how come the father of modern american ethnography was the XVI-century spaniard bernardino de sahagún?

6. how come the father of 'universal' human rights was the XVI-century spaniard bartolomé de las casas?

7. how come the earliest and most significant colonial cities and foundations in north america, both north and south of the border, including the monumental colonial cities of mexico and peru as well as the california and san antonio missions in the present-day united states, are a product of spain's cultural legacy?

spain's role in creating the first and greatest 'truly global' colonial empire the world has ever seen with regards to culture, language, art and architecture, as well as the first 'global currency' and economic system in human history, are 'monumental achievements' that simply cannot be swept under the rug or written out of history.. likewise, neither can we sweep under the rug the 'monumental achievements' of its original messenger, christopher columbus.. and spain's seminal role in the present-day united states with regards to the first evangelical foundations, fortifications and human setlements likewise cannot be written out of american history for they ARE american history and remain a vital and integral part of our collective heritage as americans..

again, outdated and biased smear campaigns and 'black legends' aimed at merely obliterating an entire nation or empire's legacy in and contribution to modern history have no place in modern (educated and informed) discourse, for, as we mature and progress, our thought processes, mentality and perspective ought to mature and broaden as well, not regress and shut down..

just food for thought..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the stop