CRITICAL READING IN ACTION

Part I.  Should I Celebrate Columbus Day?

 

Below you’ll find few views of Columbus Day.  The first is Bill Clinton’s, which is the one you are most familiar with.  The second is the CIA’s, which mentions in passing the decline of Native Americans in islands like Haiti and Cuba, but leave it to you to figure out the reasons for this declines, and its extent.  The third is a description, by Reuthers (a mainstream American media outlet, controlled by billionaires and their corporations), of 2004 events in Venezuela.  Following a class discussion,  you’ll need to add a fourth and a fifth paragraphs to this file on your own, as part of a research project.  The  fourth paragraph would be based on a description of Columbus’ treatment of Native Americans, written by his fellow explorer, Bartolome de las Casas (go to: http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl310/casas.htm).  The fifth would involve your synthesis of these various readings, and a detailed, reasoned answer, to the question:  Should I Celebrate Columbus Day?

 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 12, 1996

COLUMBUS DAY, 1996

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Throughout our history, America has been inspired by the courage and daring of Christopher Columbus. Like him, we are a people who dare to dream, to chart a bold course, and to surmount formidable obstacles to reach new horizons.

Columbus' arrival in North America not only confirmed his beliefs about our planet, but also initiated an epic struggle between the Old and New Worlds. Yet out of that triumphant voyage and the meeting of many peoples developed a Nation and a way of life vastly unlike those Columbus left behind. 

The expedition that Columbus -- an Italian supported by the Spanish Crown -- began more than 500 years ago, continues today as we experience and celebrate the vibrant influences of varied civilizations, not only from Europe, but also from around the world. America is stronger because of this diversity, and the democracy we cherish flourishes in the great mosaic we have created since 1492. Americans of Italian and Spanish heritage can be particularly proud, not only of Columbus' achievements, but also of their own contributions to our country. 

As we honor and remember Christopher Columbus, let us use his example as a beacon to help guide us into the 21st century. His life, his voyages, and -- above all -- his vision can inspire us as we prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. Let us remember that all of us, regardless of our origins, are important participants in that journey, and that our uncertainty about what lies over the horizon should not shake our faith that, together, we will succeed. 

In recognition of Columbus' epic achievement, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934 (48 Stat. 657), and an Act of June 28, 1968 (82 Stat. 250), has requested the President to proclaim the second Monday in October of each year as "Columbus Day." 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 14, 1996, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of Christopher Columbus. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

 

_____________________

CIA:  “The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries.”

_____________________

Reuters - Oct 12, 2004

Chavez Supporters Pull Down Statue of Columbus

 

By Pascal Fletcher

 

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Supporters of Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez celebrated Columbus Day on Tuesday by toppling a statue in Caracas of the explorer whom Chavez blames for ushering in a "genocide" of native Indians. 

Police firing tear gas later recovered parts of the broken bronze image, which was dragged by the protesters to a theater where the Venezuelan leader was due to speak. 

Two years ago, Chavez rechristened the Oct. 12 holiday -- commemorated widely in the Americas to mark Christopher Columbus' 1492 landing in the New World -- "Indian Resistance Day." 

The new name honored Indians killed by Spanish and other foreign conquerors following in the wake of the Italian-born Columbus who sailed in the service of the Spanish crown. As the left-wing nationalist president led celebrations on Tuesday to honor Indian chiefs who resisted the Spanish conquest, a group of his supporters conducted a mock trial of a statue of Columbus in central Caracas. 

They declared the image guilty of "imperialist genocide," looped ropes around its outstretched arm and neck and heaved it down from its marble base. No police or other authorities intervened as the protesters drove off in a truck yelling, "We've killed Columbus!" 

"This isn't a historical heritage. ... Columbus is the symbol of a conquest that was a globalization by blood and fire, a cultural massacre," said Vitelio Herrera, a philosophy student at Venezuela's Central University. 

Outside the Teresa Carreno theater, the protesters hung the statue from a tree and then let it fall to the ground. Police arrested several of them. 

Chavez has called Latin America's Spanish and Portuguese conquerors "worse than Hitler" and the precursors of modern-day "imperialism" he says is now embodied by the United States, the biggest buyer of his country's oil. 

The base of the toppled statue was daubed with slogans such as "Columbus = Bush. Out!" 

The protesters, many who wore red T-shirts with slogans supporting Chavez, repeated the Venezuelan leader's fierce criticism of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. 

"Didn't they tear down the statue of Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq? For me, (U.S. President George W.) Bush represents barbarity and Chavez represents civilization," said 57-year-old Orlando Iturbe. 

Some passersby were shocked. "I don't agree with this," said Jose Luis Maita, who watched with his wife and small daughters. (Additional reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero)