Columbus Day / Indigenous People Day

Happy Columbus Day?!  Not necessarily so:

"Columbus Day often brings to mind the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. This Monday, some cities and states would rather you think of the Sioux, the Suquamish and the Chippewa.

For the first time this year, Seattle and Minneapolis will recognize the second Monday in October as "Indigenous People's Day." The cities join a growing list of jurisdictions choosing to shift the holiday's focus from Christopher Columbus to the people he encountered in the New World and their modern-day descendants.

In many cities, Columbus Day is a celebration of Italian-American heritage, leading to opposition to the recasting of Columbus Day."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/12/living/columbus-day-indigenous-people-day/

And should we get too comfortable with our childhood views of Columbus, we might read about some misconceptions about Columbus:  http://www.livescience.com/16468-christopher-columbus-myths-flat-earth-discovered-americas.html

Thankfully, I don't have a horse in this race, so to speak.  But I am intrigued by the emotion some people are expressing around the issue, whether Native Americans, Italians, or others.  For me, Columbus Day was never a huge holiday.  But I appreciate the updated information about what really happened and understand why the differing views.

Perhaps we really are getting closer to the time when we will realize that:

                        The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.

                                          (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 250)