Sunday, August 30, 2009

Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?

The definition of a "hero" according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: "one that shows great courage" and "a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities". A hero sets off and does something heroic (hence the name, "hero"). If this is the case, Columbus is certainly not a hero. Columbus set off intending to discover a new trade route to Asia but instead, he unintentionally found the New World (key word: unintentionally). Wow. He is celebrated today for a mistake that just so happen to be a good one. Does that mean we should take a day off to celebrate those students who fail in school for their mistakes? No. Then where is the logic behind celebrating Columbus day? That's not to say that people are ungrateful for his discovery. I realize there are benefits of finding the New World and I realize that Columbus opened up new opportunity for people's future. However, people have to take into consideration that Columbus didn't initially set out to discover the New World. Columbus is not the hero that everyone makes him out to be (No offence, Christopher Columbus!).
Posted by at
Labels:

4 comments:

  1. AlyAugust 30, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    I strongly agree with you Aubrey. I couldn't have said it any better. Yes, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, but by mistake. And with that, he should not have a day named in honor of him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SarahBethAugust 30, 2009 at 3:34 PM

    You have a good point, but I disagree in a sense. There are alot of people who are considered "heroes" in todays society who didnt necessarily do something intentionally. I think that he should be considered a hero because if he would not have "unintentionally" stumbled across the Americas then the United States may not be anything like it is today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Clifton McDanielAugust 31, 2009 at 6:49 PM

    I would have to disagree with you. What about someone who accidentally discovers the cure for cancer while researching something else? Should he not be given credit for it? Would he not be a hero? I like how you gave the definition of a hero in your post. I did something similar in mine. Although I don't believe he should get all the glory for "discovering" the New World, I do believe he deserves recognition for it and therefore we should celebrate Columbus Day. Besides, who actually thinks about Christopher Columbus on that day? Anyways, just my opinion and I respect yours :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. craigSeptember 1, 2009 at 5:21 PM

    Kevlar has saved thousands of lives. not only stopping bullets but protecting from fires.
    Kevlar+accident.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)