On Monday, Ron DeSantis did something which surely steamed the Left.
Again.
Florida’s governor signed a proclamation honoring Columbus Day.
“Columbus Day commemorates the life and legacy of the Italian explorer who made Europeans conscious of the existence of the New World,” he observed, “and whose travels opened the door for the development of European settlements in the Western Hemisphere, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of the United States of America.”
Some of you may recall a poem about the navigator on an ocean of blue, and Gov. Ron tipped his hat to that very work:
[W]hen Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 as a Genoan traveling with the sponsorship of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, he and his crew…set the precedent for the contribution of European immigrants to the development of the culture and economy of the countries of the Western Hemisphere.
Columbus Day was first proclaimed, the order noted, in 1892 — the “400th anniversary of [his] discovery of America.”
And to hear Ron tell it, Christopher “stands a singular figure in Western Civilization who exemplified courage, risk-taking, and heroism in the face of enormous odds.”
These days, risk-taking seems the opposite of what’s revered.
Would-be discoverers of new things now cling to “safe spaces.”
People can’t hardly ride their bikes without masking up:
Concerning enormous odds, Columbus is still facing them.
In fact, to the northeast of Florida, a very different decree was dispensed.
From “A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 2021“:
Since time immemorial, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have built vibrant and diverse cultures — safeguarding land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition across the generations. … Our country was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity for all people — a promise that, despite the extraordinary progress we have made through the years, we have never fully lived up to. That is especially true when it comes to upholding the rights and dignity of the Indigenous people who were here long before colonization of the Americas began. … NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2021, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Curiously, as I’ve indicated before, the lineage so celebrated is not indigenous.
Ancestors of the nation’s tribes are believed to have traveled to North America from Asia via the Bering Strait.
But we live in times, perhaps, more political than precise.
And it seems to me Columbus Day sits at the core of a Great Divide.
The Right and Left have never been more at odds, and the issue of whether to praise the man who began what we are or strike him down defines our difference.
The question, at its core: Does America deserve to exist?
Headlines, as of late, have suggested No:
Professor Insists U.S. Is ‘Only for White People,’ Talks ‘Redemption’ When ‘There Is No America’
In the building of America, immigrants once came to Ellis Island — over 20 million, in fact, from 1892 to 1924.
They doubtlessly aimed to create something great.
Fast forward to New York’s leader confirming their failure:
Back to Columbus, I recently covered Google’s staff training, which employs a Pyramid of “genocide.”
Among the foundations of mass murder: “Celebration of Columbus Day.”
Yet, Gov. Ron DeSantis — like the America which preceded him — celebrates Christopher Columbus.
It’s sure to give the leftward political, social, and governmental side of the aisle fits.
And it’s fitting — he’s ruffled them over lockdowns, vaccines, masks, critical race theory, and the border, among other issues.
It seems to me Ron DeSantis vs. the Left symbolizes our current state.
The governor — along with many traditionalist Americans, from sea to shining sea — is celebrating October 11, 2021 — Columbus Day.
Given invective from the Democrat domain, it seems the explorer is keeping afloat in a different sea than that posited by the poem — an ocean of Red.
The Blue appears to no longer want him.
These days, the Democrat Party’s ship has drifted so far westward, it’s canceled the one that carried our forefather:
As for “invective,” here’s a case in point (Language Warning):
And that — on this Columbus Day — is where we are.
Nonetheless, Ron DeSantis is here:
On this Columbus Day, as American entrepreneurs embark upon a new age of exploration, we acknowledge that without the heroism of explorers who ventured into the unknown some five centuries ago, we would not be here today in this hemisphere, on this continent, in this country, with the ones we love, as Americans propel humanity forward as the engine of innovation and the guarantor of global security and stability.
Let’s hope America does exactly that.
-ALEX
