Columbus Day ... Oh for the simpler times when we learned that "In fourteen hundred ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," and we were proud of it. I remember him as the intrepid visionary sailor who believed the world was round when conventional wisdom said it was flat and who had enough faith in his belief to get aboard a ship and sail away.
Now we find that he brought evil and pestilence to this new world and should be roundly condemned for his efforts. He should have just stayed home. Another hero destroyed by the modern revisionist historian bent on making the world of the 15th century comply with the political correctness of the 21st century.
Well, I'm sorry but I for one am glad he came. Our forefathers may have made some mistakes and might does not make right but I am glad they expanded their world and ours.
I am glad that Christopher proved that the world was round. I know the ancients knew that long before Christopher and that the truth was hidden by the obstinence of the church in Western Europe. I know that Leif Eriksson probably sailed along the eastern coast of America long before Columbus and that ages before him people crossed the Bering Strait and moved across the continent. None of that takes away from the daring of Columbus and his gallant crew.
There are people today who still believe the earth is flat. Some who believe the moon landings were nothing more than an Orson Wellesian dramatic presentation made into a TV miniseries. I am glad that there are those who are willing to go "where no man has gone before," men and women who circumnavigate the globe in space shuttles, balloons, airplanes and under the seas. They are all living examples of the inquisitive spirit that set Columbus on his trek across the Atlantic.
How dull the world would be if there were no spirit of inquisitive unrest that drives people to new frontiers. How sad it would be if that spirit were to die for fear of the unfortunate outcomes that may attend the adventure. How fickle we are in our condemnation when accidents and failures occur. All high adventure is fraught with danger. No great thing can be accomplished unless there are men and women willing to risk their all.
I for one will hail Columbus as I did in a more innocent age when I was a child and the world still counted old Christopher a hero. He will always be a hero to me and I am glad he came. I am glad that he set the stage for many new nations and from those nations has come far more good than ill.
We give him one holiday each year. It has become a time of sales and shopping so when you think of old Chris have good thoughts about a great man who, if nothing else, meant well.
Jerry Bullock has written his weekly column for the Daily Record for more than 20 years. Jerry is a retired Air Force colonel, an ordained Baptist minister, professional counselor, military historian, speaker, and writer. He is a native Texan tracing his Texas roots to the days of the Republic.
Columns
Life’s Like That - October 18, 2009
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A Word About Recycling - May 6, 2012
From the latest Resource Recycling eNewsletter, a few items we thought were interesting. Here are parts of them.
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Life's Like That - May 6, 2012
For five years I worked in “the City,” Washington, District of Columbia, at 1100 Independence Avenue, in the James Forrestal Building.
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Life's Like That - April 29, 2012
Over the past few years I have written often about being an overcomer when life tries to get you down.
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A Word About Recycling - April 29, 2012
Today we will include several pleasing items from the recent Plastics Recycling Update eNewsletter.
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SIFE helps organize 5K fundraiser
Texas State University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Caritas of Austin recently partnered to provide a 5K run to help provide a service continuum for those experiencing poverty.
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A Word About Recycling - April 15, 2012
Many of you older folks (my age) may remember being advised by our parents. who lived through the great depression, "Waste not: Want not."
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A Word About Recycling - April 8, 2012
Earlier we mentioned we would give a report in this column on the success of the event sponsored by several Texas State University departments, student organizations, and helpful businesses to collect obsolete or unneeded electronic items for recycling.
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Life's Like That - April 8, 2012
This is an Easter thought from the last century. It was my first pastorate in an old church on the south edge of Alexandria, Virginia.
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Life's Like That - April 1, 2012
Can you imagine the looks on the rough Neanderthal faces the first time someone asked, “What time is it?”
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A Word About Recycling - April 1, 2012
Found the following item contained in a recent Resource Recycling eNewsletter interesting, especially since it is aimed at stewardship. This is because we believe we should all try to be the best stewards possible of what we have been blessed with.
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A Word About Recycling - May 6, 2012
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Gerard Butler: the Good, the Bad and the Cannes
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Raw Video: Man Saved After Niagara Falls Plunge
NATO: Afghan Exit 'Irreversible'
Catholic Groups Sue Over Contraception Mandate
4 Arrested After Man's Beating at Dodger Stadium
