u-reak-uh!

("speak for yourself", you say. "I am", I say...anyway...).

Columbus Day, to some, is a celebration of this society's/country's origins. To others it is a condoning of many atrocities, including the rape of the Native American culture and its people. I'm one of the later, being of a bit of a cynic and non-conformist...

The holiday wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't a "national holiday", observed by our gov't and enforced by its offices and business partners (i.e.: the bank, health centers that receive gov't funding...).

But there lies the irony; the government (i.e.: Christopher Columbus) is not always right. The government makes mistakes, and, if we let them, they intentionally harm us, the general population.
Is that a good thing? Hell no. But it is a reality, which is why we have laws and which is why those laws are enforced. Bad people, or people who do bad things, will always exist. It is the government's job to, as best as possible, shield the public from these things, or at least condemn them by enforcing these laws with sometimes seemingly vengeance-like consequences.

THIS government is "of the people, by the people, and for the people". I've always argued that if the people of the U.S.A. want communism, they should have it. Likewise, if they want to let the Muslin Extremists take over this country, so be it. However, I don't think the MAJORITY (even half, really) of this country would stand for Muslin Extremists taking over our culture. However, one could argue, that's exactly what the Native Americans did. However, such an argument would be rather weak by itself, since much of the fall of the Native American people was due to deceit (i.e.: spreading diseases...), which can be hard to detect...

The sad fact is we put so much trust and respect in our government, when most of us don't even know much of anything about our leaders. Most vote based on the candidate's Republican vs. Democrat status/label, in most cases w/o even listening to other side's case/plea. If one were running as a Democrat and wanted to lower taxes and better enforce the laws against sex offenders and murderers, the Republican-voter wouldn't even be aware of the aformentioned Democrat's stance.
And, I must admit, I don't know a whole lot about our candidates either, except 99% (or almost) are not running for the good of the country and they, more or less, have some shady business going on behind the public eye.
Even worse, despite how much trust we put in our government, most of us don't vote. I do, but most don't even bother. I heard one guy I used to go to high school with, saying he didn't/doesn't vote b/c there's too many things going on behind closed doors. I agree that is the truth, the little I know about the Bush presidents, J.F.K. (the president, not the film), and that justice who died a few years ago (was it Burger? I think this was around 2004 or 2005...) just reeks CONSPIRACY! And the L.A.P.D. practically brags about their corrupt existence.
BUT WHAT DOES ANYBODY DO ABOUT IT? We just let it happen. Many of us are too busy trying to rake in as many latest-and-greatest video games and toys for our children and the newest chic clothing for ourselves and all the up to date technology to look up the potential fate of this country. Being noble just isn't as important as being rich is it? But then again, I'm poor, so maybe I'm just jealous (I'm not really, I know I don't deserve a penny that you haven't already given me - I live 0n "welfare", FYI).

Anyway. I guess all I'm saying is that Columbus day IS important, b/c it gives us a "reason" (as if we need one anyway...) to reflect on the past and use its lessons to determine our future. Isn't that what every Holiday is about?