In Defense of Columbus Day

     In 2013, I spent Columbus Day at my internship in Portland, Oregon. It was just another working day; no wall decorations, no pot-luck lunch of Italian, Greek, and Polish food, no reminiscing with the descendants of Ellis Island immigrants. In the Pacific Northwest was where I first read in the papers the movement towards supplanting Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. To do so would be one of the first steps to reconcile for 520 years of broken treaties and misunderstandings with the Native Americans. In the Pacific Northwest, little would be missed as Columbus Day, and the white-ethnic identity movement, had not permeated the West Coast.

      We can thank Richard Nixon for Columbus Day becoming a paid federal holiday in 1971, the reason being his own re-election fears. In 1968, his second time running for President, Nixon won by a small margin in a late-breaking election with twists-and-turns that took the life of Robert Kennedy. Identity politics was Nixon’s strategy that helped him win some southern states in 1968 he had lost in 1960; for 1972, he was expanding the strategy to traditionally Democratic-voting Catholics.

     Why would Christopher Columbus become the second person in America’s history to have the honor of a Federal holiday? Columbus was a man whose claim to fame is being the first well-groomed European to discover America: It is theorized that the Vikings arrived in Newfoundland several centuries before Columbus. Although not his intention, Columbus’ ‘discovery’ of America enabled generations of Spanish purveyors to strong-arm natives, and use and brutalize slaves, in their pursuit of Eldorado and the valley of gold. Even in 1971, this ought to have been enough ‘dirty laundry’ to name the proposed Federal holiday after another explorer. The answer is that the holiday should be named “Knights of Columbus” Day. Speaking on behalf of the largely Catholic white-ethnic population, it was this large and once-influential Catholic men’s organization that pushed for the holiday. America was no longer an Anglo-Saxon Protestant nation, and what better way to signify this than to elevate the status of local and parochial Christopher Columbus parades to federal recognition?

     Now that Christopher Columbus held the status of a Founding Father, based on historical bias that elevated his perceived importance, there was interest and opposition in creating the thirteenth Federal holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, in January. In some southern states, the proposed holiday ‘conflicted’ with a holiday commemorating Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson and General Robert E. Lee. Staten Island’s Congressional Representative, a strong supporter for Columbus Day, flat out rejected MLK Day as one holiday too many. Over opposition, MLK Day became a holiday.

     Since that time, there have been proposals to make our roster of Federal holidays more inclusive. Proposals include the aforementioned Indigenous People’s Day; Lunar New Year; a Latino Day; Jewish and Islamic holy days, and even a day for Harvey Milk.  Just as America becomes more pluralistic, we’ve run out of opportunities to create more three-day weekends. Hard-charging American managers would be reluctant to have more than one paid Monday or Friday off in a month. Bringing awareness of minority groups and causes into the national conscious requires another approach, and re-naming Federal holidays has limited potential. My advice? Enjoy Columbus Day, and if you see fit, give a disclaimer to friends, explaining the forgotten historical context of the holiday.

Hot Water

Yesterday was Secretaries' day. But most officials consider this day "Administrative Professionals' Day", for the sake of professionalization of every career path, or just for greedy managers who want in. Else, it could just be that Secretaries are synonymous with pensions-disappearing.
To the satisfaction of "working girls" (quoting the 1991 Carly Simon movie), there is now (and has been for a while) a day called "Take your Daughter to work day. Egalitarian fathers, or mothers, bring their daughters to work so they can see that their opportunities aren't limited to secretary, stewardess, nurse or teacher. Now I remember the grade-school debate about TYDTWD: why couldn't the boys take the day off from school? (One boy did; he was ridiculed for the rest of the year). So, in a bow to gender equality, more and more boys took part in (and ruined?) the tradition. Today's Earth Day as well, and being the busybody that I and all my friends are, were unable to attend the festivities on the Mall. Thus, the isolation between us working conformists and environmentalists with leisure time grows.

Take this to the typing pool and leave in the 20th century.

Homework Excuse: Obama left me spellbound

I just could not believe it. This year, the local tranist agency was running a normal weekday schedule- as if this holiday did not matter. It was empty at the library, until midday. For the afternoon, I had a concert to attend. The boilerplate MLK Day special at the Kennedy Center. Nothing new. Last year I performed in an orchestra at the Strathmore event. But this year I'm here and passing by lots of police- DC police, no Secret Service or Capitol Police. Someone important, but maybe not from the White House. There were magnetometers. That was a teltale sign. So were the uniformed secret service agents. On the stage was a podium with the Presidential Seal and the 'smokescreen', like the setup in the White House press room. The concert proceded as usual, though more talk than music. We did learn that our Michelle Obama was in the audience, as well as a few congressmembers. Yes, they occasionally ride the DC subway like anyone else (as feds, they do get the mass transit allowance). But- "here is a speech from the President of the United States". Loud cheers erupt. Yes, it was The Man, although his ears seemed more pointy than on television or in the paper. It was like watching 3D TV, but it was real. I could actually see his face (At the Inauguration, he was barely a speck from .7 mile away). He was about 200 feet away, and within good camera distance. There is a policy of no photography during shows, but this adage was broken by most everyone. A redcoat did apporach me at the end of the show about it, though. Standard procedure. The president was in clear view, on the stage, for about 20 minutes. He left gracefully with the awardee, a Congolese pro-Basketball star, who, with part of his NBA money, funded a new hospital and research center in Kinshasa. Yes, Obama was dwarfed by the player's sheer height. The fairy tale was mostly over, altough cameras did turn to the rear at the end of the show. I didn't see the spectacle, but I suppose that the First Family was waiving to India.Arte from two tiers below me.

668-2008

Go out and vote tommorow. Vote for and, most likely, somebody at the state level as well. Even if you are not qualified to vote, and you have nothing better to do, cast a provisional ballot. Whether Remember, I don't want to become a commie subject because of some irresponsible 20 year olds' choice to be apathetic. First thing to go- freedom of speech, and this website will disappear. So please do excercize your right as a citizen of the free world and I'm not- by law I'm too young, but I've been making sure that the barely-legal crowd is going to do so. Boy, do I feel sad for the arranger of the mock debate. Almost 18, but not quite yet. Take away votes from the people who don't need them (those apathetic 20 year olds who don't understand why they got a day off from college) and give them to 17 1/2 year old leaders of CSO teams.

Now a word about afrimative action in the Mr. Obama is poised to lose up to about 5% of potential votes on the single factor of race. Do we add 5% to his tally and give him a sure victory? Or do we give McCain several points because he has 72 years on his back? In the world of success, you don't need AA, so what's the big point of it then?

So go and vote for Obama/Biden, McCain/Palin, Nader/Gonzales, or for yourself. It should be your right not to vote for anyone, but it shouldn't be your right not to show up, though.

Tales of the Rich and Famous

Gordon Peterson (?-) is living life out as usual with his wife in Georgetown. He is still a TV star on DC Channel 7, WJLA, with his show, Inside Washington.

Barack Obama (1961-) is not home much on Capitol Hill nowadays. He is eying to move from his townhouse on The Hill to a large, white house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., aka The White House, in 2009.