Columbus Day - Are you teaching them the good, bad, or both?

I find it all interesting, how many people out there did bad and good stuff cause if they were not there doing what they did would we be here doing what we do now? Living in a somewhat 'free country' and all that?
All my kids were pointing out is that Columbus may have done bad things, but there are people all through history who did that we pay more attention to as if they were good.
It was just an observance.

 

It's not exactly in left field, more like center. Writings, whether from those on his own ship or from his enemies need to be understood within the context of the current and past culture. Take spanking for example, what was done by parents out of love for their children a 100+ years ago would be seen as abuse today. Was it really abusive the way parents treated their children? Sadly, culturally, truth is relative and not absolute and therefore what culture views today as wrong won't be the same tomorrow. The question is not did he whip people, or did he have slaves and other such questions. We should be looking at how he dealt with the norms of his day culturally. Was he a kind man that treated his slaves better than other slave owners? Did he whip people just to torture them or was it only as punishment? It's not really fair and it doesn't do justice to history to say that everyone who owned slaves was wrong, or everyone who whipped others was wrong. Why? Because usually we're judging them based on our cultural views of what's morally right/wrong. How do you know he wasn't a very nice man who tried to do what's best based on what he thought was morally right from the culture around him?

There is nothing about his writings or those associated with him to prove that the traditional story is inaccurate. Problems arise more from people's opinion than history itself.

 

WOW! that was well said wackzingo! Bravo! Very good summation!

 

Done with this one.
All I said was we need to teach EVERYTHING about that person. PERIOD.

Hitler YES, STALIN ....YES...everyone and everything.

I NEVER ripped on Columbus and I don't feel the need to tear down that man/holiday. NOPE NEVER SAID IT, I just SAID that we need to study everything about it because there was more then one person that "discovered" America.
We also need to see that there was more to the story/person then what was said in textbooks. THATS ALL.
Was he terrible ( the natives thought so, even Spain arrested him and stripped him of his titles), was he thinking he was doing the right thing at the time ( beatings, murder, trickery) , did he "find" us and put us on the "map, did he get gold, did he travel far , YES TO ALL. All of that is who he WAS.

I listened to you all and your point of view, I agree to a point on some, I understand that he deserves this but I also understand that others had a role in this as well. People do bad, horrible things and that needs to be taught even if they have a holiday named for them or not.


Please this is getting so out of hand...I wonder why I even comment anymore.

 

No one is saying we shouldn't teach the bad, too, so don't get your undies all bunched up. Some chose not to, because of the age of their children. But they will revisit the topic when their child(en) have the maturity to understand both sides. I think most of us don't make him out to be some saint. I agree that we need to teach the bad, too, but as said, in context to the social situation.