There are many claim that Christopher Columbus was kind of a jerk. Well, really no one can deny that when the Europeans came to the new world it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns. But what about Columbus Day (celebrated in October for the United States at least)? What does this day actually celebrate?
Maybe it isn't a day to celebrate one individual person, but instead the exploration spirit of humankind. Exploration is one of the things that makes us human. We just want to explore. This just goes right along with the other things that make us human - like science, art, music, literature and so forth.
Why not instead celebrate all the great explorers? Neil Armstrong could easily be considered just as important (if not more) of an explorer than Christopher Columbus. What about Amelia Earhart? What about Robert Ballard? What about everyone of us? Instead of classrooms trying to find a way to look at the brighter aspects of Columbus - they could look at any number of great explorers.
You could be the explorer. You could celebrate yourself.
What Can You Do?
This is easy. You can sign an online petition to get this changed. Here is the link to the WhiteHouse.gov petetion. Oh, you want more? How about the Americans for Exploration Day Blog.
What Else?
I know I posted this before, but I still love this video adaptation of Neil deGrasse Tyson's talk about space exploration.
Also, there is this motivational physics poster I made.
Oh, and don't forget to sign the petition. The due date is September 26. Sign it and share with your friends.
